Open doors at Cape Town City Ballet’s Open Day

| March 28, 2014 | 0 Comments
Get behind the scenes and take a look around the life of a professional dancer during Cape Town City Ballet's Open Day on 29 March 2014. Photo by Jeanine Bresler

Get behind the scenes and take a look around the life of a professional dancer during Cape Town City Ballet’s Open Day on 29 March 2014. Photo by Jeanine Bresler

Cape Town City Ballet’s annual Open Day takes place this Saturday 29 March 2014 with a full day of activities offering a peek behind the curtains and into the real workings of a professional ballet company.

The event, hosted at the UCT School of Dance in Rosebank, is presented by the Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB) in association with the UCT School of Dance and the Cape Junior Ballet. Tickets for the action-packed day will go on sale at the door at 09:30 on Saturday.

The Open Day will include fun activities for little ones, eye-opening opportunities for young, aspiring dancers, along with open rehearsals and a variety of dance performances to be enjoyed by ballet lovers across all ages.

Learn insights into how dancers prepare for the next big show at CTCB's Open Day. Photo by Jeanine Bresler.

Learn insights into how dancers prepare for the next big show at CTCB’s Open Day. Photo by Jeanine Bresler.

Visitors can arrive at any time, but the schedule looks something like this:

Watch the professional dancers in their Company Class which begins promptly at 10:00; or visit the Cape Junior Ballet dancers in their Pre-Professional Classical Ballet Class, including repertoire and coaching.

At 11:15, one the CTCB’s outreach partners, ZAMA Dance School, will present a special lecture demonstration on working with young dancers in Gugulethu and perform a tap dance piece called Blurred Lines. The UCT School of Dance will offer a look into the life of a student dancer, with a Contemporary Dance Class, a Spanish Dance Class, as well as an African Dance Class.

Special fundraising performances including a variety of short ballets and pas de deux scenes will take place at 12:30 and 13:30. Tickets for these performances will sell for R50 from the Friends of CTCB table.

During the day, there will also be a company rehearsal for CTCB’s forthcoming production of Swan Lake, which is an exclusive opportunity to see how one of the world’s most beloved ballets takes shape behind the scenes.

There will also be an introduction to stage make-up, face-painting for the playful ones as well as a fun and relaxed beginner’s class called “Introduction to Ballet”, open to all ages where everyone can participate dressed as they are. And to further inspire big ballet dreams, many of the company’s beautiful ballet costumes will be on display.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day, giving visitors even more opportunities to rub shoulders with their favourite dancers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Tutu wonderful! Kids from the Zama Dance School from Gugulethu take part in the fun at CTCB's Open Day. Photo by Andrew Warth.

Tutu wonderful! Kids from the Zama Dance School from Gugulethu take part in the fun at CTCB’s Open Day. Photo by Andrew Warth.

Tickets to Cape Town City Ballet’s Open Day:

Date: 29 March 2014, from 09:30 am.
Venue: UCT School of Dance in Rosebank, Cape Town.
Tickets: Admission of R30 for adults and R20 for children under 13 is available at the door only and includes attendance of all activities except the fundraising performances. For these performances, at 12:30 and 13:30, tickets at R50 will be available at the Friends of CTCB table.

Proceeds from the Open Day support CTCB’s Outreach & Development Programmes.

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Category: Dance News

About the Author ()

Hi, I'm Robynn, and I'm a student of the potential of the body, the marvels of the mind, and the beauty of it all combined in ballet. As the editor, BodyMindBallet is where I get to learn, to share and to enjoy this wide world of dance - and with every day I gain an ever richer respect for the athleticism of dance and the skill of performance artistry.

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