Dance News

A few surprises revealed in Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote casting

A few surprises revealed in Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote casting

Don Quixote is known to be one of the most lively, big, bold and vibrant ballets, and we should be expecting exciting things from Joburg Ballet who love to snatch every opportunity to show off their virtuoso skills. Don Quixote opens at the Joburg Theatre tonight, 28 August, and runs until 13 September 2015, but […]

Continue Reading

Joburg’s leading dancers perform in Ballet Highlights Gala – new format, new venue

Joburg’s leading dancers perform in Ballet Highlights Gala – new format, new venue

For three performances only, Joburg Ballet are visiting a new venue with a shorter one-hour programme at a smaller price-point, aiming to take the best ballet highlights to more people. And with an impressive sounding line-up of popular dance pieces, you might want to take up the opportunity too at the Roodepoort Theatre this weekend […]

Continue Reading

Cape Town City Ballet takes Thumbelina to Pietermaritzburg

Cape Town City Ballet takes Thumbelina to Pietermaritzburg

On 8 and 9 July, the full-length ballet of Thumbelina, a Cape Town City Ballet Youth project, will be on stage at the Hilton College Theatre produced in association with the KZN Midlands Youth Ballet  Company. Starring nine principal dancers from the Cape Town City Ballet in the leading roles, and 71 ballet students from […]

Continue Reading

Grand classical Russian ballet tour to open in South Africa this week

Grand classical Russian ballet tour to open in South Africa this week

Having already toured to 36 cities in France since the start of the year, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre open their South African tour on Wednesday 6 May at Montecasino in Johannesburg performing Giselle, followed by Don Quixote and Swan Lake before they head to Cape Town to perform Swan Lake at Artscape from 19 […]

Continue Reading

Performance

Video: Viengsay Valdés and Brooklyn Mack reveal their ballet challenges and inspirations

Video: Viengsay Valdés and Brooklyn Mack reveal their ballet challenges and inspirations

As the prima ballerina of the National Ballet of Cuba, Viengsay Valdés is widely acclaimed as one of the leading ballerinas of our time. Watch her and US ballet star, Brooklyn Mack from the Washington Ballet, in this mini-documentary video clip as they perform and talk about their inspirations and challenges, particularly with Swan Lake. […]

Continue Reading

Video: Peek inside Joburg Ballet’s Swan Lake production

Video: Peek inside Joburg Ballet’s Swan Lake production

Joburg Ballet have created a video series that takes you into their studios and into dancers’ homes to follow their journey as they rehearse and prepare for every detail of their new production of Swan Lake 2015. With new choreography, new stage sets and an international cast from China, Cuba, the United States, Brazil and […]

Continue Reading

More photo highlights from the 2014 SAIBC part 3: Going behind the scenes

More photo highlights from the 2014 SAIBC part 3: Going behind the scenes

Take a peek behind the curtains, snoop backstage and peer from between the wings of the fourth South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC) with this special behind the scenes photo gallery. Held at Cape Town’s Artscape Theatre from 18 to 22 February 2014, the SAIBC attracted 70 dance participants from around the world to compete […]

Continue Reading

South African International Ballet Competition photo highlights part 2: Awards and Finals

South African International Ballet Competition photo highlights part 2: Awards and Finals

Following on from our Part 1 story (read it here), enjoy these photos from the Finals and Awards of the South African International Ballet Competition, held on the Saturday night of 22 February 2014 at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. Magical moments from the SAIBC Finals and Awards Don’t squint, click on a photo […]

Continue Reading

Body

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

In her recent sports and fitness article, Discovery’s online editor, Catherine Davis, asked: Is ballet a sport? And, are ballerinas athletes? To any aspiring and professional dancer, the answers to these questions are painfully obvious. Painful in more ways than one, but sadly only obvious to some. The art and pursuit of making dance look […]

Continue Reading

Discovering your sleep debt score and why it matters to a dancer

Discovering your sleep debt score and why it matters to a dancer

You probably won’t know it, but you could already be deep into sleep debt and this silent loan shark is steadily stealing the shine off your performance. Sleep debt is caused by accumulating sleep loss over time and yes, your body does keep score – that late night I-know-I-shouldn’t-but-I’ll-have-it-anyway coffee sets you back at least […]

Continue Reading

Insider cross-training tips direct from the ballet professionals

Insider cross-training tips direct from the ballet professionals

Do you ever have those days where you know there is so much more you can do in ballet class, but your body stubbornly refuses to cooperate? Of course you do, silly question, pushing the body beyond its boundaries is basically the definition of ballet, right? After all, there is no such thing as too […]

Continue Reading

Ballet cross-training: Best out-the-class ideas for in-the-class performance

Ballet cross-training: Best out-the-class ideas for in-the-class performance

It may sound counter-intuitive, but if you want to improve your ballet performance, you may need to step outside the ballet class to do it. Cross-training is the new must-do for professional and aspiring dancers, helping you improve fitness, flexibility, strength, injury recovery, musicality and more. Now don’t get me wrong, the only way to […]

Continue Reading

Mind

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

In her recent sports and fitness article, Discovery’s online editor, Catherine Davis, asked: Is ballet a sport? And, are ballerinas athletes? To any aspiring and professional dancer, the answers to these questions are painfully obvious. Painful in more ways than one, but sadly only obvious to some. The art and pursuit of making dance look […]

Continue Reading

Celebrating the Madiba Dance and the man who loved to move

Celebrating the Madiba Dance and the man who loved to move

At a recent concert in Johannesburg, South African musician Johnny Clegg shared a little story with the audience about a special moment back in 1999 at a concert in Frankfurt, where Nelson Mandela surprised everyone on stage and delighted everyone in the audience by unexpectedly walking on stage in the middle of one of Clegg’s […]

Continue Reading

Mind Over Body – Public talk in Johannesburg on 30 May

Mind Over Body – Public talk in Johannesburg on 30 May

Are you injury-prone, struggling with your flexibility, weight or your health? What if it turned out that you have some hidden agendas and unconscious motives relating to your physical body? “No way” you say? Well, you may just change your mind, quite literally, after hearing this evening talk on 30 May 2013 where Dr John […]

Continue Reading

Fixing the fear of standing in front: 5 tips to conquer unset classes

Fixing the fear of standing in front: 5 tips to conquer unset classes

I’ll admit, there was a time when I would dread unset classes. I was so anxious about standing in front that I’d make damn sure to always aim for the middle of the barre – you know, the safe zone, always with someone in front and behind to copy. Class after unset class, I would […]

Continue Reading

Other Recent Posts

A few surprises revealed in Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote casting

A few surprises revealed in Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote casting

| August 28, 2015 | 0 Comments

Don Quixote is known to be one of the most lively, big, bold and vibrant ballets, and we should be expecting exciting things from Joburg Ballet who love to snatch every opportunity to show off their virtuoso skills. Don Quixote opens at the Joburg Theatre tonight, 28 August, and runs until 13 September 2015, but […]

Continue Reading

Joburg’s leading dancers perform in Ballet Highlights Gala – new format, new venue

Joburg’s leading dancers perform in Ballet Highlights Gala – new format, new venue

| July 8, 2015 | 0 Comments

For three performances only, Joburg Ballet are visiting a new venue with a shorter one-hour programme at a smaller price-point, aiming to take the best ballet highlights to more people. And with an impressive sounding line-up of popular dance pieces, you might want to take up the opportunity too at the Roodepoort Theatre this weekend […]

Continue Reading

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

Video: Is ballet a sport? Are dancers athletes?

| July 7, 2015 | 0 Comments

In her recent sports and fitness article, Discovery’s online editor, Catherine Davis, asked: Is ballet a sport? And, are ballerinas athletes? To any aspiring and professional dancer, the answers to these questions are painfully obvious. Painful in more ways than one, but sadly only obvious to some. The art and pursuit of making dance look […]

Continue Reading

Cape Town City Ballet takes Thumbelina to Pietermaritzburg

Cape Town City Ballet takes Thumbelina to Pietermaritzburg

| July 7, 2015 | 0 Comments

On 8 and 9 July, the full-length ballet of Thumbelina, a Cape Town City Ballet Youth project, will be on stage at the Hilton College Theatre produced in association with the KZN Midlands Youth Ballet  Company. Starring nine principal dancers from the Cape Town City Ballet in the leading roles, and 71 ballet students from […]

Continue Reading

Grand classical Russian ballet tour to open in South Africa this week

Grand classical Russian ballet tour to open in South Africa this week

| May 5, 2015 | 0 Comments

Having already toured to 36 cities in France since the start of the year, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre open their South African tour on Wednesday 6 May at Montecasino in Johannesburg performing Giselle, followed by Don Quixote and Swan Lake before they head to Cape Town to perform Swan Lake at Artscape from 19 […]

Continue Reading