Watch Geneva Ballet perform at Artscape and then rehearse with the dancers and learn their moves in one of three workshops. Photo by Gregory Batardon

For aspiring dancers interested in choreography, contemporary ballet, or for the chance to learn directly from touring professional dancers, you’ll get it all with the dance workshops that the Geneva Ballet company of Switzerland will be hosting in Cape Town on 7, 9 and 10 July 2014.

As part of the company’s first visit to the city, Geneva Ballet will be offering the workshops alongside their double-bill performances of Lux and Glory, on at the Artscape Theatre from 8 to 10 July 2014. You can read (and watch) more about these two pieces here.

The two-hour workshops, which are aimed at professional, pre-professional and advanced level dancers, will give dancers a unique opportunity to learn excerpts of the choreographies that the company is currently performing. These repertory workshops will be presented free of charge at Cape Town City Ballet’s studios in Rondebosch.

Each workshop will be taught by experienced Geneva Ballet dancers, and will consist of warm-up exercises to lead the participants through contemporary movement forms, followed by teaching and building dance phrases from Glory, a work choreographed by Andonis Foniadakis.

South African born dancer, Angela Rebelo, who has been touring with the company since 2013, will be one of the teachers. The others are Vladimir Ippolitov of Russia, Armando Gonzalez from the USA, Nathanaël Marie of France and Saranawee Tanatanit of Thailand.

In this short video clip, watch these and other Geneva Ballet dancers rehearse some of the cool moves that you could be learning:

Workshop registration details:

Dates, times and teachers:

• Monday 7 July 2014: 13:30 – 15:30, Vladimir Ippolitov & Armando Gonzalez.
• Wednesday 9 July 2014: 11:30 – 13:30, Nathanaël Marie & Sarawanee Tanatanit.
• Thursday 10 July 2014: 11:30 – 13:30, Vladimir Ippolitov & Angela Rebelo.

Venue: Cape Town City Ballet studios, UCT Middle Campus, Rondebosch, Cape Town

Requirements: Dancers are welcome to register for more than one workshop, but will be responsible for their own transport and are advised to arrive 30 minutes before the workshop’s starting time.

The workshops are free of charge and open to professional and pre-professional advanced-level dancers.

To register: Individual dancers, schools or dance companies are invited to submit their names, contact details, as well as the names of the participants to info@zeldaproductions.co.za.

For more information: Contact Kathleen Kortes Lynch of Zelda Productions on 076 714 5969.

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.

Now in its second year, the festival focuses specifically on showcasing short films where dance and movement is the medium of communication (see the video clip below for an example). Through this festival, the creators – Joni Barnard and Jane Crewe from the Wits School of Arts – hope to encourage students, young professional choreographers and filmmakers to explore this exciting field of screendance.

Teaming up with Screendance Africa, the Cape-Town based dance-for-film experts, the Re-visioning Dance Festival will be screening works from South Africa, Rwanda, a collaboration between artists in the Congo and Canada, as well as the USA.

These works feature artists such as Jeannette Ginslov, Catherine Meyburgh, Dada Masilo, Dusko Marovic, William Kentridge, Louise Coetzer, Chantel Cherry, Ella Gabriel, Umar Bradlow, Shelley–Anne Rabe, Ndoli Kayiranga and Eugene Dushime (Rwanda), Tori Lawrence (USA), Stefan Verna (Congo/Canada) and many more.

The programme will also include a special sneak preview screening of a global dance film that is still under construction.

While directed by Joni Barnard, a lecturer in the Movement Division at the Wits School of Arts, the festival is brought to life with the support of third year Wits Arts Management students, who manage all aspects of the running of the festival as part of an intensive internship in arts management.

Festival details:

Dates: 17 – 19 October 2013 at 19:00
Venue: Wits Downstairs Theatre, East Campus, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
(Free parking is available in Senate House; the entrance is on Jorissen Street, Braamfontein.)
Running time: Forty minutes, no interval.
Tickets: R10, available at the door.
For more information: Contact Catherine Pisanti on 011 717 1376.

Telling stories via dance on film

See this short film that featured at the 2012 Re-Visioning Dance Festival for a haunting and surreal example of the art of motion control…

Every little detail counts – artistic director, Iain MacDonald, coaches Shannon Glover during final dress rehearsals for Cinderella. Photo courtesy Joburg Ballet.

What does it take to create a brand new ballet? Robynn Burls visited Joburg Ballet to meet the real fairy godmother godfather working behind the scenes in the company’s recent season of Cinderella. This is what she discovered about the man behind the magic…

I extended my hand out as I walked up to meet Iain MacDonald, Joburg Ballet’s artistic director, but before I knew it the handshake became a hug. This, I came to learn, is Iain’s way, and it was quickly apparent why he’s so well liked by everyone who knows him.

Cinderella’s magical carriage and charming/comical horses arrive to cart her off to the Prince’s ball. Photo by Susanne Holbaek.

We were sitting down for a coffee and a talk following another successful performance of Cinderella, but any plans I might have had of some form of structured interview were tossed aside two minutes into what immediately became a lively, animated chat, delving into Iain’s latest creation.

He’s naturally warm and easy-going, but clearly equally intense with his enthusiasm for his craft. And the more we talked, the more I could identify his inspired signature all over this brand new ballet – from the little comic moments (like the bobbing of the horses heads as they pulled Cinderella’s carriage) to the laugh-out-loud antics of the ugly sisters, to the very grand and extended final wedding pas de deux.

Balancing act – mixing grand moves with traditional expectations

Iain admits that he created the kind of ballet he would’ve loved to dance himself. Being particularly fond of the pas de deux scenes, but not the stop-start solo variations in-between, he opted to drop the traditional approach and go for one big, impressive final pas de deux instead.

“I wanted it to be a wow thing,” says Iain. “I mean, the whole ballet was based around the final pas de deux. You’ll notice there are no big variations, where he goes, she goes, and I did that intentionally, because I think we’re so used to that.”

And ‘wow’ it was. The final pas de deux was certainly complicated, challenging and dazzling. It was also quite possibly game-changing, especially for the poor Prince who required tremendous strength and a deep stash of stamina to make it through this piece. And just when you thought they’d completed their final hoorah move, the couple went on to do another aerial trick and another (one-armed) lift.

Burnise Silvius and Jonathan Rodrigues created a magic all of their own in Cinderella’s big and dramatic final wedding pas de deux. Photo by Susanne Holbaek.

Iain knew his final pas de deux was tough, but he created it anyway confident that his opening night Prince Charming had the strength to pull it off. In fact, the handsome Jonathan Rodrigues couldn’t be a better fit for the role, leaving more than just Cinderella swooning over his suave, effortless strength and purrrfectly toned b…

Ahem, getting back to the story, Iain said, “For me, the prince is a tall, dark, good-looking guy and I wanted every woman in the audience to be oohing and aahing over him, which works, and the pas de deux is ridiculously hard and Jonathan’s a strong, strong partner”.

Uh-huh, no doubt about that. You can see Jonathan rehearsing with the lovely Burnise Silvius in this video montage from the SABC…

But it’s not only Iain’s final scene that was “ridiculously hard”, the corps were challenged right from the very start too. He had the flower sellers, bakers and dressmakers doing multiple pirouettes while still holding their baskets and breads. (You try doing a double pirouette en pointe while holding a big basket of stuff!) “They asked me if they could put it down” laughs Iain, “and I said no!”

And watch this short video clip (43 seconds) where Iain talks to Top Billing about Cinderella’s entrance and the big pas de deux…

Last minute changes and unexpected surprises

Apart from creating challenges for the dancers, Iain had a few challenges tossed his way too when at the last moment – at 6pm on the final dress rehearsal night – they still had to change sets and rework certain key entrances and exits. But that’s show-business for you.

Iain admits he also had a few flat-lining days during the choreography process, circling in a creative drought not sure how to proceed. And then there were the freak-out moments too.

In particular, he laughs at the cosmic joke that was played on him a few weeks before opening night, running out of time to still teach and finish the ballet. At the height of this stress, with no time to spare (or so he thought), in glided the ever-so-cool-and-calm Colombian choreographer, Álvaro Restrepo, who then wooed almost the entire Cinderella cast into a collaborative Colombian-South African piece for Celebration 5. While Iain helplessly watched the time tick away, itching to get things moving along as swiftly as possible, Álvaro had all the dancers sitting in a large circle… meditating… for three days!

Iain laughingly concedes though that it was probably exactly what everyone needed to calm the frenetic pace and frazzled nerves.

Finding the funny side

In fact, Iain seems quick to spot the humour in most things, which is probably why laughter and giggles bubbled up so naturally from the audience throughout his Cinderella production. Humour was not an afterthought, but rather a very central consideration for Iain.

After commenting on some piece of comic choreography, Iain said to me, “I hope you got the humour throughout the whole ballet. I wanted mom, dad and kids to come to the ballet and for the father not to think, oh my gosh, I’m so bored I can actually cry. I wanted there to be humour for them as well.”

Much of the comedy was also a collaborative process, where Iain allowed the dancers to experiment. “We laughed till the tears were running in the rehearsals,” he said. However, Iain has a strategy even in humour and explained that “it’s a fine line being so funny but not actually telling the story.”

Cinderella’s stepsisters brought a serious dose of comedy to the show, while the stepmother made for an impressively intimidating character. Played here from left, Carlos Santos, Kitty Phetla, Luis de Castro with Burnise Silvius as Cinderella.

In the end, after months of thinking, dreaming and dancing, through inspiration and frustration, and despite time-munching meditating circles and last minute hiccups, Iain and his Joburg Ballet colleagues created a beautifully balanced ballet, as well as a jolly good show.

Coming attractions

“So what’s next?” I asked Iain, to which the answer became another hour-long talk, revealing the mind of an inspired creator, where every song and movie holds the potential for a brand new ballet idea or a creatively updated classic.

But while (always) dreaming up fantastic ideas for future ballets, he’s also preparing for next year’s seasons of the light-hearted Coppélia and then the highly challenging classic, La Bayadere. But also look out for a few fun twists to The Nutcracker coming up in the meantime too.

Wrapping up our talk, with only five minutes to spare before his next appointment, I asked about the long and all-consuming hours he puts into his work. “But for me,” Iain says, “it’s what I love doing, I’m passionate about it. I come to work every day being inspired.”

Here are a few more photos for you to enjoy (click on an image to open the gallery):

Colombian Álvaro Restrepo works with the dancers of SA Mzansi Ballet. Photo courtesy of SAMB.

Coming up on Monday 16 September at 09:30 at the South African Mzansi Ballet Studios, dancers, students and ballet lovers are invited to attend a free choreographic discussion and workshop with Colombian choreographers Marie France Delieuvin, Álvaro Restrepo and SAMB’s artistic director Iain MacDonald.

Following a half hour discussion on choreography, there will be a workshop facilitated by Álvaro Restrepo open to all dancers and students (at no charge) allowing for a deeper understanding into the workings of a choreographer, and a special opportunity to experience the Colombian choreographers’ methodology.

The co-founders and choreographers of Colombian company El Colegio del Cuerpo, Marie France Delieuvin and Álvaro Restrepo have returned to South Africa with seven dancers from their company, who will be performing in the upcoming Celebration 5 production in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Workshop details:

Venue: South African Mzansi Ballet Studios, Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein
Date: Monday, 16 September 2013
Times:  09:30 – Choreographic discussion
10:00 – 12:00 – Workshop open to all dancers and students facilitated by Álvaro Restrepo.
Discussion topic: The role and contribution of dance and choreography to social recovery processes.
Booking: Contact South African Mzansi Ballet on 011 877 6900 to book your seat.

Watch Álvaro Restrepo in action in this video as he performs and talks at the TEDxObserver event in London in March 2012. (The talk is in English.)

Autumn scene from The Four Seasons by the Shanghai Dance Academy

20 March marks the autumnal equinox for the southern hemisphere, and as the leaves start to show bold shades of gold here in Johannesburg, autumn certainly seems to be settling in for a visit.

While I’m sad to wave goodbye to summer, the golden season brings its own gentle, yet dramatic beauty. These qualities are portrayed with such perfect power in The Shanghai Dance Academy’s Autumn, part of their production of The Four Seasons Ballet.

The choreography is simply startling, in a delightfully good way. The set design is also remarkable. Watch this video and you’ll see what I mean.