Ernst de Jong with his American Dream Wheel.

South African artist Ernst de Jong – considered somewhat of a legend in the art and design world – marks his 80th birthday with artworks and stage designs specially painted for the Stars of American Ballet production, taking place at Montecasino’s Teatro from 20 to 22 June 2014.

As the design director for the South African bank notes (with the big five animals) and the artist behind many everyday items, from Five Roses Tea to the blue and red designs on Cobra taps, Ernst de Jong has been quoted as saying, “Nobody can escape art. [It’s] the furniture that we sit on, the fashion that we wear, the designs of the cars we drive.”

And now his artistic influence stretches to the ballets we watch too.

The paintings he’s created each reflect one of the items performed in the Stars of American Ballet galas, such as Tarantella, Le Corsaire, Balanchine’s Who Cares and others. They will appear behind the dancers on large onstage LED screens, making it the first time that LED screens form the décor for ballet in South Africa. The artworks will also be exhibited in various locations at the Teatro at Montecasino.

Okay, this is lovely, but what’s the link you ask?

The link is a rather personal one, with Ernst de Jong’s own granddaughter, the Johannesburg-born and New York-based Andrea Schermoly, appearing as one of the stars in the show. She was awarded the Outstanding Choreographer Award in 2012 and 2013 at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and this year received the Emerging Choreographer Grant to choreograph at Lincoln Center at YAGP’s 15th anniversary gala.

Here’s an entertaining example of her choreography from the 2012 YAGP. This one’s called “Tricks are for kids”, performed by junior competitor Adam Bernstein.

You can watch more of Andrea Schermoly’s choreography in action, along with works by Balanchine and pieces from other crowd-pleasing classics such as Le Corsaire and Don Quixote at the 5-performance-only season of Stars of American Ballet this weekend.

Born in the USA by South African artist Ernst de Jong.

Presented by local ballet entrepreneur Dirk Badenhorst, the show is directed by Joaquin de Luz of the New York City Ballet and features the following American dancers:

Ashley Bouder, Joaquin de Luz, Amar Ramasar, Emilie Gerrity and Indiana Woodward (all from New York City Ballet);
Adiarys Almeida (International free-lance dancer, previously Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and Corella Ballet Madrid);
Isaac Hernandez (Dutch National Ballet, previously San Francisco Ballet);
Jonhal Fernandez (Ballet de Monterrey);
Joseph Gatti (international freelance dancer, previously Boston Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet);
Anna Maria Lucaciu (Cedar Lake);
Andrea Schermoly (Nederlands Dans Theater);
and Michaela DePrince (Dutch National Ballet Junior Company and star of the First Position movie).

Booking Details:

Dates: 20 June 2014 at 8pm; 21 June 2014 at 3pm and 8pm; 22 June at 11am and 3pm.
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg
Tickets: from R150 to R420 via Computicket.

Principal dancer at New York City Ballet, Ashley Bouder, joins fellow NYCB principal Joaquin de Luz and other American ballet stars on a trip to South Africa. Photo courtesy Stars of American Ballet.

For the first time in over thirty years – which essentially translates to “for the first time ever” for our younger ballet enthusiasts – a group of American ballet dancers are travelling to South Africa to perform in a limited season of The Stars of American Ballet, a production featuring acclaimed dancers from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and more, on at Montecasino’s Teatro in Johannesburg from 20 to 22 June 2014.

See works never yet performed in SA

The gala programme, presented by local ballet entrepreneur Dirk Badenhorst, will include highlights from major classics such as Le Corsaire, Don Quixote and Diana and Actaeon, but will also showcases works never before performed in South Africa, such as George Balanchine’s Broadway inspired classic Who Cares? to the much-loved music by George Gershwin.

Joaquin de Luz, New York City Ballet principal dancer and the director of this production, commented in New York on the upcoming historic visit to South Africa:

“My fellow dancers and I are looking forward to our visit and the opportunity to dance for South African audiences under Dirk Badenhorst’s banner. We have assembled a group of outstanding American stars and a repertoire of classical ballet highlights that will show them at their best.”

He adds, “We are also bringing some pieces that SA audiences have not had the opportunity to see as well as works by legendary choreographer George Balanchine. So it will be a blend of the new and the familiar that we know will thrill and enthral”.

Watch this short video of Joaquin de Luz performing a variation from Le Corsaire:

Big names in American ballet

The 5-performance-only run at the Teatro at Montecasino features dancers Adiarys Almeida, Ashley Bouder, Joaquin de Luz, Isaac Hernandez, Jonhal Fernandez, Joseph Gatti, Anna Maria Lucaciu, Amar Ramasar, Ana Sofia Scheller, Andi Schermoly, Daniel Ulbricht, Indiana Woodward and Michaela DePrince (star of the First Position movie and who has previously danced to acclaim in Joburg Ballet’s productions of Le Corsaire and Don Quixote).

US ballet star Michaela De Prince returns to SA for her third visit to perform in Stars of American Ballet. Photo courtesy Joburg Ballet

Commenting on the coming visit in June, presenter Dirk Badenhorst said: “No-one sets the stage alight quite like America’s great classical ballet stars, with the speed, sense of daring, and razzmatazz that is so unique to American ballet. For this reason I am delighted to be able to bring these great dancers to South Africa and to offer our audiences something we don’t often see here: classical ballet in the American style.”

Booking Details:

Dates: 20 June 2014 at 8pm; 21 June 2014 at 3pm and 8pm; 22 June at 11am and 3pm.
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg
Tickets: from R150 to R420 via Computicket.