Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

The Cape Town International Ballet Competition is taking back the original name it started with in 2008 and will now be known (again) as the South African International Ballet Competition.

Dirk Badenhorst, the founder and CEO of the competition, has said that in view of the City of Cape Town’s decision to terminate its funding of the competition, the competition will no longer carry the city’s name.

The fourth South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC) will be supported by the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund and takes place from 17 to 23 February 2014 at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.

As a ballet entrepreneur, it would seem Dirk Badenhorst rather likes the challenge that comes with a good name change. Apart from the ping-pong name changes for the ballet competition, his other ballet venture, Mzansi Productions, joined with the South African Ballet Theatre in July 2012 to become South African Mzansi Ballet. Then little over a year later, thanks to significant funding by the City of Johannesburg, they changed the name once more to Joburg Ballet.

Let’s hope the City of Joburg continues their funding well into the future, lest we have to report another funding-fragile name change yet again. However, if you read this mixing business with ballet case study, you’ll see that Joburg Ballet’s funders and partners should be particularly chuffed with the ballet company’s growth in 2013.

Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

Still time to enter as a dance participant

Hailed by dance enthusiasts as one of the most exciting happenings on the South African ballet calendar, the SAIBC has taken place in Cape Town every second year since 2008 and is the only event of its kind on the African continent.

Said to attract top dancers from SA and the world, this year’s participants already include dancers from Switzerland, Cuba, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, China and the biggest number of South African entrants yet. The prize money totals R340,000.

The closing date for entries is on Monday, 13 January 2014. For the application and competition rules, queries should be addressed to Dirk Badenhorst on badenhorst.db@gmail.com or on 083 324 0949. More details are also available on www.ctibc.com.

Still time to book as a dance spectator

Open to the public and taking place at Artscape Theatre, the Preliminary Elimination Rounds take place on Tuesday 18 to Thursday 20 February at 6pm and the Finals take place on Friday 21 February at 7:30pm. The Awards evening, where the top 5 dancers in each category will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals and monetary prizes, takes place on Saturday 22 February at 7:30pm.

Special Gala performances take place on Sunday 23 February at 3pm and 7:30pm to showcase the competition winners along with the Young Korean Ballet Stars from South Korea and top dancers from the National Ballet School of Cuba.

A version of this gala event called the Young Ballet Stars of the World will also be performed at The Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg on 25 and 26 February 2014.

Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

SAIBC booking details:

Dates: 18 to 23 February 2014
Venue: Artscape Theatre, Cape Town
Tickets:

• R60 for the Preliminary Elimination Rounds via Computicket here (18 – 20 February at 6pm).
• From R150 to to R350 for the Finals via Computicket here (21 February at 7:30pm).
• From R180 to R300 for the Awards evening via Computicket here (22 February at 7:30pm).
• From R200 to R350 for the Gala performances via Computicket here (23 February at 3pm and 7:30pm).

Young Ballet Stars of the World booking details:

Dates: 25 and 26 February 2014
Venue: The Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, Johannesburg
Tickets: from R120 to R360 via Computicket here.

Jin Ho Won in her Gold medal winning performance at CTIBC 2012. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing

South Africans first saw South Korean ballerina Jin Ho Won (21) when she won her double gold medals in the senior division of the Cape Town International Ballet Competition in 2012. Now she has returned, this time to Johannesburg, as a guest ballerina in South African Mzansi Ballet’s new production of Cinderella, alternating in the title role with the local SAMB principal dancers.

Jin Ho Won studied both in South Korea and at American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York. She has also danced extensively in South Korea and with American Ballet Theatre 2 in the USA, and will now be able to add South Africa to the list as she takes part in  SAMB’s new full-length ballet.

Apart from her award-winning performances at the Cape Town International Ballet Competition, she’s also danced in the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, the Youth America Grand Prix in New York, the Beijing International Competition and you can watch her in this video, where she received a gold medal at the Seoul International Dance Competition…

All-new production of Cinderella

Artistic director Iain MacDonald has choreographed the ballet to the sparkling melodies of Johann Strauss II. SAMB tells us that the lilting and charming sounds of Strauss’ only full-length ballet score will be heard in Johannesburg for the first time, replacing the more familiar Prokofiev music.

The ballet company’s previous production of Cinderella broke box-office records in 2009 and the 2013 staging promises new delights with Strauss’ sumptuous melodies, new choreography and  re-imagined sets by designer Andrew Botha.

Cinderella is also the first production to be presented by the company since the announcement in June of generous funding from the City of Johannesburg. (Read more on that here: Funding and future name change announced by SAMB)

The casting is still to be announced, but in the meantime, you’ll have an opportunity to see Jin Ho Won in rehearsals at an Open Day at the SAMB Studios at the Joburg Theatre on Saturday 31 August from 10am to 1pm.  Booking is through Edgar Moagi on (0)11 877 6898 or edgar@samzansiballet.com.

Or, for those not in Johannesburg, here’s another video of Jin Ho Won from her performance as Kitri (Don Quixote) from the Beijing International Ballet Competition. Enjoy!

Hannah Bettes, a 2012 competitor from the USA. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing courtesy of CTICB.

The fourth Cape Town International Ballet Competition (CTIBC) takes place from 17 to 23 February 2014 at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town, with the addition of a third age group for competitors.

[Update: The competition was renamed to the South African International Ballet Competition in December 2013, read more here.]

Taking place every two years, the CTIBC – Africa’s only international ballet competition – was first launched in 2008 with subsequent competitions in 2010 and 2012, attracting talented dancers from across the globe to compete for gold, silver and bronze medals as well as substantial monetary prizes.

New category for young scholars

In unveiling the details of the 2014 competition, the CEO of CTIBC, Dirk Badenhorst, announced that a new category, Scholar, will be open to dancers aged 12 to 15 years. The other categories are Junior, for dancers aged 16 to 20 years, and Senior, for dancers aged 21 to 28 years.

First judges confirmed

South African Mthuthuzeli November was the 2012 Gold medallist in the junior contemporary section. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing courtesy of CTICB.

A distinguished panel of judges from around the world is being assembled for the 2014 competition. The following judges have been confirmed, with more announcements to follow:

• Marcia Haydee, director of the Ballet de Santiago, Chile. She was a former ballerina and artistic director of the Stuttgart Ballet, creator of leading roles in ballets by legendary choreographer John Cranko.
• Dawn Weller, director of Australia’s Graduate College of Dance and previously a former ballerina of PACT Ballet and artistic director of PACT Ballet/The State Theatre Ballet from 1983 to 2000.
• Hae Shik Kim, artistic director of the Seoul International Dance Competition. Hae Shik Kim was also the founding dean of the Korean National University of Arts School of Dance and former ballerina and artistic director of the Korean National Ballet.
• Xin Lili, former ballerina, now choreographer and artistic director of the Shanghai Ballet.
• Ramona de Saá, former dancer, now Director of the National Ballet School of Cuba and Associate Professor of Cuba’s Higher Institute of Art and Methodology of the National Centre for Schools of Art.

The names of the further judges will be announced following Dirk Badenhorst’s visit to China in July where he will be a Judge at the Beijing International Ballet Competition.

Competition entry details:

The closing date for entries for the fourth Cape Town International Ballet Competition is 13 January 2014. You’ll find the application form, rules and more information on www.ctibc.com, or send your queries to Dirk Badenhorst on badenhorst.db@gmail.com or +27 (0)83 324 0949.

And if you want a peek into what took place at the previous (2012) competition, watch this video from SABC3’s Top Billing for insights and inspiring clips of winning performances.