Lifestyle/Community
Vicki Mervis makes the world a better place through dance
Vicki Mervis (42) reaches out to the underprivileged through the medium of all forms of dance. Largely shunning the limelight, this Trinity-qualified dance teacher, steeped in musical theatre and even rock ‘n roll, modern jazz and hip hop, is eminently qualified to see to the needs of the younger generation, athough she does not exclude adults.
SHARON GOMER
Active in the Gallo Manor/Morningside/Wendywood area of Sandton, she puts on a concert every year with her whole studio and enters them for Trinity exams. Wherever there is a need, Mervis is willing to help and she often goes to Soweto schools to perform for disabled and underprivileged children there.
She regularly invites underprivileged people to watch her concerts and towards the end of last year she put on her annual concert at the Fairway School in Corlett Drive where her eager students shared with the audience what Mervis had taught them, releasing their imagination and giving them a voice to express themselves through dance, body movement, acting and singing.
Mervis shares her passion for dance with her students who in turn love her to bits. She has over the years been able to change the lives of many underprivileged kids – and adults for that matter.
This Jewish woman gives so much and never expects anything in return, but in her way she is changing the world for the better.
To her, “teaching” in every aspect of the word is one of love, of furthering a young person’s life, of very often giving them the direction that they have been looking for.