Joburg Ballet revives a great Pretoria tradition with The Nutcracker
Claudia Monja dances with the Nutcracker Prince and the Rat King in Joburg Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Bill Zurich.
We’re told that year after year, from the 1980s until the turn of the century, the hugely popular Christmas classic The Nutcracker was always a firm feature on Pretoria’s festive season calendar. That all changed after the closure of The State Theatre Ballet in 2000, and even the subsequent South African Ballet Theatre moved from Pretoria to Johannesburg soon after.
But now years later, the magic will be sparked anew when the newly renamed Joburg Ballet (previously SA Mzansi Ballet) brings their production of The Nutcracker to Pretoria’s SA State Theatre for the first time from 22 to 30 November 2013, with nine performances featuring the full ballet company.
See Joburg Ballet’s Angela Maree and Javier Monier when they perform in Pretoria in November 2013. Photo by Bill Zurich.
Joburg Ballet’s Nutcracker is based on the much-loved traditional classical version, which first premiered in Russia all the way back in December 1892. The current production has been further developed by artistic director Iain MacDonald, with the help of ballet mistresses Angela Malan and Lauren Dixon-Seager.
Set to Tchaikovsky’s magical melodies, The Nutcracker tells the story of a young girl called Clara who receives a nutcracker soldier as a Christmas gift. She dreams her nutcracker turns into a handsome prince who then leads her to strange and enchanted places, like the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets. The audience gets swept away too and meets a delightful assortment of Sugar Plum Fairies, Nutcracker Princes, Christmas Tree Fairies, Chinese, Russian and Spanish dancers, waltzing stars, dancing snowflakes and more.
Good cheer and family fun…
While you remind yourself of the simply marvelous music, have a good laugh at these three South African ballerinas giving the funniest rendition of The Nutcracker ever, caught on camera as they wait in the wings during a 2008 performance by the South African Ballet Theatre.
Booking details:
Dates and Times:
22 & 29 November 2013 at 7:30pm
23, 24 & 30 November 2013 at 3pm
23, 27, 28 & 30 November 2013 at 11am
Venue: The Opera at the South African State Theatre, Pretoria
Tickets: from R50 to R340 via Computicket.
Special deals and discounts:
- 10% for block bookings of 10 or more;
- 15% for pensioners;
- 20% for Friends of the Ballet;
- 50% for children aged 4 to 7;
- 50% off all Opening Night seats (22 November);
- R50 for school shows on 27 and 28 November at 11am.
Category: Dance News
