Cuban-born dancers, Claudia Monja and Juan Carlos Osma perform their debut leading roles as Kitri and Basilio. Photo by Lauge Sorensen

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 with a few surprises in the casting.

Ramiro Samón was quite literally the poster boy in the company’s advertising for their previous production of Don Quixote.

One sad farewell and some happy hellos

Regular Joburg Ballet fans will notice from the casting below that one of their favourite virtuoso dancers is missing from the line-up.

For all those watching his growth over the last few years, Ramiro Samón has been a strong and steady rising star, winning a gold medal at the 2014 South African International Ballet Competition and consistently wowing audiences with his tremendous strength – I mean those cabrioles of his were just ridiculous, see it in the video here!

There was an almost tangible sense about him that he would never settle for less than technical perfection. And perhaps because of that, he’s been offered a wonderful opportunity with a contract in Toulouse and Joburg Ballet has wished him a sad, but very warm farewell for his adventures ahead. Chukkas, Ramiro!

But of course, Joburg Ballet has no shortage of very strong male lead dancers. In fact, for the first time during their previous season of Swan Lake, they had more lead male dancers than lead role openings.

To add to this, the company has also invited two exciting guest artists to join the season. Returning to South Africa, popular guests, Aaron Smyth from Australia and Jonhal Fernández from the National Ballet of Ecuador will alternately perform in the lead roles partnered with Joburg Ballet’s own prima ballerina, Burnise Silvius, who will in turn also have one performance with Joburg Ballet’s Randol Figueredo.

Jonhal Fernández from the National Ballet of Ecuador will be performing as a guest artist with Joburg Ballet’s Burnise Silvius.

From injuries to special moment debuts

While Jonathan Rodrigues – another of Joburg Ballet’s popular lead males – has been recovering following an injury (and fans will be happy to know that he’s now almost 100% recovered), this has opened the opportunity for the tall Cuban dancer, Juan Carlos Osma, to mark his debut as the dashing Basilio. He will partner with fellow Cuban, Claudia Monja, who will headline the opening night in her first ever performance in the role of Kitri.

Principal dancers Shannon Glover and Michael Revie will also perform as the leading Spanish lovers. And among other roles in the production, Mercedes will be danced by Burnise Silvius, Claudia Monja, Nicole Ferreira-Dill and Kirstel Jensen, while the toreador Espada will be danced by Aaron Smyth, Juan Carlos Osma, Jonathan Rodrigues and Michael Revie.

Casting for Joburg Ballet’s Don Quixote 2015:

For the roles of Kitri, Basilio, Mercedes, Espada, Amour and Queen of the Dryads. Casting subject to change.

• Fri 28 Aug 19:30: Monja, Osma, Silvius, Smyth, Acuna, Ferreira-Dill
• Sat 29 Aug 15:00: Silvius, Smyth, Monja, Osma, Dewey, Ferreira-Dill
• Sun 30 Aug 15:00: Glover, Revie, Ferreira-Dill, Rodrigues, Acuna, Monja
• Tue 1 Sep 11:00: Silvius, Figueredo, Jensen, Revie, Gerber, Glover
• Sat 5 Sep 15:00: Monja, Osma, Glover, Revie, Gerber, Ferreira-Dill
• Sun 6 Sep 15:00: Silvius, Smyth, Phetla, Osma, Jensen, Glover
• Fri 11 Sep 19:30: Glover, Revie, Ferreira-Dill, Rodrigues, Dewey, Monja
• Sat 12 Sep 15:00: Silvius, Fernandez, Monja, Osma, Jensen, Monja
• Sun 13 Sep 15:00: Monja, Osma, Glover, Smyth, Acuna, Ferreira-Dill

To whet your appetite for this Spanish feast, here’s a sneak peek video compilation filmed by Lauge Sorensen at this week’s dress rehearsal:

Don Quixote at Joburg Theatre from Lauge Sorensen on Vimeo.

Booking details:

Dates: Friday 28 August – Sunday 13 September 2015.
Venue: Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Tickets: from R100 to R400 via JoburgTheatre.com or 0861 670 670

South African prima ballerina, Burnise Silvius, with Jonathan Rodrigues and dancers from Joburg Ballet in front of the company’s grand new sets designed by Andrew Botha. Photo by Lauge Sorensen

With an impressively large cast of over 80 dancers hailing from Cuba, China, Brazil, the United States and South Africa, Joburg Ballet is readying itself for what it claims is the “largest and grandest” production of Swan Lake South Africa has yet seen, taking place at Joburg Theatre from 17 April to 3 May 2015.

It’s a big claim that’s bound to raise the eyebrows of the competition (St Petersburg Ballet Theatre are performing Swan Lake in Johannesburg and Cape Town in May). But with Joburg Ballet’s knack for always finding innovative ways to surprise and delight, we’re rather keen to see what they’ve got hidden in those wings.

For a start, the ballet company has announced a very peculiar, but creatively enticing decision regarding their casting for the opening night. Each act will see a different leading couple perform the roles of Odette/Odile and the Prince, giving the audience an absolutely unique opportunity to enjoy the performances of the international guests as well as Joburg Ballet’s own principal dancers in sequence in one night.

While this might mess with classical purists’ sense of calm and continuity, the exposure to more dancers with their individual interpretations and style is bound to be an interesting take on a Swan Lake opening night.

Commenting on this decision, Joburg Ballet CEO Dirk Badenhorst said, “We decided to make the opening night of Swan Lake a gala event, partly to celebrate having all of our friends from around the world here dancing with us and partly to showcase everything this collaborative run will offer to the high profile audience – which includes government ministers, ambassadors and other dignitaries from South Africa, China, Cuba and the US – on the first night.”

Cuban prima ballerina Viengsay Valdes with partner José Losada performing a black swan variation at the International Ballet Gala in Johannesburg 2013. Photo by Sarah Weyman

Dancing stars from across the globe

So who are these leading dancers sharing the stage?

From Cuba, you’ll see prima ballerina Viengsay Valdés from the National Ballet of Cuba partnering with US ballet star Brooklyn Mack from The Washington Ballet, who is always a popular crowd-raising guest on the South African stage.

Miss Valdés is also a returning visitor to South Africa and gave an electric performance of the black swan during the International Ballet Gala of 2013. She’s known for her remarkable sense of balance and performed six pirouette turns leading into fouettes! See for yourself in the video below.

From China, the Liaoning Ballet’s prima ballerina, Yu Chuanya, will perform with her partner Ma Ming. And South Africa’s own prima ballerina, Joburg Ballet’s beautiful Burnise Silvius dances with the dapper Brazilian Jonathan Rodrigues. It’s the United Nations on one stage in one night.

Missed opening night? Here’s the casting for the rest of the production for you to take your pick (casting subject to change).

Casting for Joburg Ballet’s Swan Lake 2015

April 2015:

• Friday 17, 19:30: Gala Performance with Joburg Ballet stars and visiting guest stars
• Saturday 18, 15:00: Burnise Silvius (Odette-Odile), Jonathan Rodrigues (Prince)
• Saturday 18, 19:30: Nicole Ferreira-Dill (Odette), Claudia Monja (Odile), Juan Carlos Osma (Prince)
• Sunday 19, 15:00: Dancers from the Liaoning Ballet of China
• Tuesday 21, 11:00: Claudia Monja (Odette-Odile), Juan Carlos Osma (Prince) – Edutainment Performance
• Friday 24, 19:30: Viengsay Valdés (Odette-Odile), Brooklyn Mack (Prince)
• Saturday 25, 15:00: Burnise Silvius (Odette-Odile), Jonathan Rodrigues (Prince)
• Saturday 25, 19:30: Dancers from the Liaoning Ballet of China
• Sunday 26, 11:00: Kirstel Jensen (Odette-Odile), Michael Revie (Prince) – Edutainment Performance
• Sunday 26, 15:00: Viengsay Valdés (Odette-Odile), Brooklyn Mack (Prince)
• Tuesday 28, 11:00: Nicole Ferreira-Dill (Odette-Odile), Juan Carlos Osma (Prince) – Edutainment Performance

May 2015:

• Friday 1, 19:30: Burnise Silvius (Odette-Odile), Jonathan Rodrigues (Prince)
• Saturday 2, 15:00: Kirstel Jensen (Odette-Odile), Michael Revie (Prince)
• Saturday 2, 19:30: Shannon Glover (Odette-Odile), Ramiro Samón (Prince)
• Sunday 3, 15:00: Burnise Silvius (Odette-Odile), Brooklyn Mack (Prince)

Now brace yourself for this, partly because of the poor video quality, but don’t worry, the other ‘partly’ has to do with such astounding dancing that you can easily forgive the amateur footage…

Booking details:

Dates: Friday 17 April – Sunday 3 May 2015.
Venue: Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Tickets: from R100 to R400 via JoburgTheatre.com or 0861 670 670

Claudia Monja and Prima Ballerina Burnise Silvius dancing in Joburg Ballet’s Swan Lake. Photo by Lauge Sorensen

Following an invitation to join the China-South Africa Year ceremonies in Beijing, Shanghai and Liaoning Province, Joburg Ballet are flying off to the People’s Republic of China this November, touring a showcase of some of their popular classical and contemporary dance works. But not before first performing their touring programme for audiences at home on 8 and 9 November 2014 from 3pm to 5pm at the Joburg Ballet Studios in Braamfontein.

Joburg Ballet describe themselves as “a world class African ballet company”, and with dancers currently performing in Denmark, Ireland, Cuba and now soon China, the company is certainly amplifying its world class reach.

You’ll be able to see Joburg Ballet’s popular showpieces in their own beautiful, light-filled dance studio, with all the behind-the-scenes action too as there’ll be no “wings” and black curtains to hide the back-stage action.

To add to the intimate studio experience, ticket holders are invited to watch the company take their warm-up class from 1pm to 2:15pm followed by delicious tea and treats before the China Tour Showcase at 3pm.

The afternoon programme will be headlined by dancer and choreographer Kitty Phetla’s contemporary version of Carmina Burana, plus extracts from the neo-classical work entitled Kopona, and pieces of pure classical sparkle from the world’s greatest ballets including the pas de deux from Don Quixote.

Event details:

Dates: Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November 2014
Programme:
1pm to 2:15pm: Watch warm-up class (optional)
2:20 to 3pm: Tea and treats
3pm to 5pm: China Tour Showcase performance
Venue: Joburg Ballet Studio 2, Joburg Theatre Complex, Hoofd Street, Braamfontein
Parking: The National School of the Arts, 17 Hoofd Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg (opposite the studios).
Tickets: R150 per person, tea included. Bookings through Edgar Moagi on 011 877 6898 or edgar@joburgballet.com

Classical ballet in grand style, Joburg Ballet’s La Bayadère is on at Joburg Theatre from 12 to 28 September 2014. Photo courtesy Joburg Ballet.

Known as one of the greatest 19th century ballets, La Bayadère (or ‘the temple dancer’ in English) is set in the royal India of the past where the exotic story of love, betrayal, vengeance and justice unfolds. Marking a first for Joburg Ballet, La Bayadère premieres at the Joburg Theatre from 12 September through to 28 September 2014.

Large cast assembled from South Africa and Cuba

Enter the ethereal plane of the Kingdom of the Shades. Photo by Lauge Sorensen

To stage such a big ballet as La Bayadère requires opulent stage sets and a large cast of dancers, particularly for choreographer Marius Petipa’s iconic Kingdom of the Shades scenes where columns of shades (spirits) descend with their synchronous arabesque sequence.

To achieve the grand scale, the company has assembled a large cast including Joburg Ballet’s own principal dancers, soloists and corps de ballet, a guest artist from the National Ballet of Cuba, dancers from the Joburg Ballet Academy, Joburg Ballet Cuban School, additional freelance dancers and extras, as well as two veteran ballet personalities for the mime roles.

In celebrating 5 years of the South Africa-Cuba ballet partnership begun by CEO Dirk Badenhorst in 2009, Joburg Ballet has cast National Ballet of Cuba guest artist Luis David Valle Ponce in the lead male role for certain performances (see full casting below).

Valle Ponce will share the role of the warrior Solor with Ramiro Samón, Juan Carlos Osma and Jonathan Rodrigues. As for the temple dancer Nikiya, the bayadère will be danced by Joburg Ballet’s prima ballerina Burnise Silvius as well as Shannon Glover, Nicole Ferreira-Dill and Lindé Wessels. The rival love interest of Princess Gamzatti will be performed by Claudia Monja, Angela Revie, Sanmarie Kreuzhuber-Hagler and Dayana Hardy Acuna.

Shannon Glover and Luis David Valle Ponce as Nikiya and her warrior love Solor. Photo by Lauge Sorensen

One of the ballet’s spectacular male showpieces, the Bronze Idol, will be shared by Luis David Valle Ponce, Javier Monier, Jonathan Rodrigues, Ramiro Samón and Randol Figueredo, while the two major mime roles – the Rajah and the High Brahmin – will be portrayed by the highly experienced Manuel Noram and Nigel Hannah.

Admitting to the huge undertaking that is La Bayadère, artistic director Iain MacDonald says he’s proud of the dedication and passion of the team, adding that “a classic like La Bayadère is a supreme challenge for any ballet company and our audiences can look forward to a major new addition to our repertoire, beautifully danced by the whole company.”

Casting for La Bayadère:

Casting details (subject to change) are as follows for the roles of Nikiya, Solor, Gamzatti and the Bronze Idol:

• Friday 12 September at 7:30pm: Silvius, Samón, Monja, Valle Ponce
• Saturday 13 September at 3pm: Glover, Valle Ponce, A. Revie, Monier
• Saturday 13 September at 7:30pm: Ferreira-Dill, Osma, Monja, Rodrigues
• Sunday 14 September at 11am: Wessels, Rodrigues, Kreuzhuber-Hagler, Samón
• Sunday 14 September at 3pm: Glover, Valle Ponce, A. Revie, Figueredo
• Tuesday 16 September at 11am: Glover, Valle Ponce, A. Revie, Samón
• Sunday 21 September at 11am: Ferreira-Dill, Osma, Monja, Rodrigues
• Sunday 21 September at 3pm: Silvius, Samón, Acuna, Figueredo
• Wednesday 24 September at 7:30pm: Wessels, Rodrigues, Kreuzhuber-Hagler, Samón
• Friday 26 September at 7:30pm: Silvius, Samón, Monja, Rodrigues
• Saturday 27 September at 3pm: Ferreira-Dill, Osma, Kreuzhuber-Hagler, Valle Ponce
• Sunday 28 September at 3pm: Silvius, Samón, Acuna, Monier

Booking details:

Dates: Fri 12 Sep 7:30pm (½ Price Night); Sat 13 Sep 3pm & 7:30pm; Sun 14 Sep 11am & 3pm; Tue 16 Sep 11am (School Performance); Sun 21 Sep 11am & 3pm; Wed 24 Sep 7:30pm; Fri 26 Sep 7:30pm; Sat 27 Sep 3pm; Sun 28 Sep 3pm.
Venue: Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Tickets: from R100 to R400 via JoburgTheatre.com or 0861 670 670

Special booking offer – Ballet Combo: 20% off all performances except ½ Price Nights if booking for both La Bayadère and The Nutcracker Re-Imagined at the same time. (When booking online, add the code joburg ballet into the coupon field and click on the green plus button to activate the discount to your purchase.)

Claudia Monja dances with the Nutcracker Prince and the Rat King in Joburg Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Photo by Bill Zurich.

We’re told that year after year, from the 1980s until the turn of the century, the hugely popular Christmas classic The Nutcracker was always a firm feature on Pretoria’s festive season calendar. That all changed after the closure of The State Theatre Ballet in 2000, and even the subsequent South African Ballet Theatre moved from Pretoria to Johannesburg soon after.

But now years later, the magic will be sparked anew when the newly renamed Joburg Ballet (previously SA Mzansi Ballet) brings their production of The Nutcracker to Pretoria’s SA State Theatre for the first time from 22 to 30 November 2013, with nine performances featuring the full ballet company.

See Joburg Ballet’s Angela Maree and Javier Monier when they perform in Pretoria in November 2013. Photo by Bill Zurich.

Joburg Ballet’s Nutcracker is based on the much-loved traditional classical version, which first premiered in Russia all the way back in December 1892. The current production has been further developed by artistic director Iain MacDonald, with the help of ballet mistresses Angela Malan and Lauren Dixon-Seager.

Set to Tchaikovsky’s magical melodies, The Nutcracker tells the story of a young girl called Clara who receives a nutcracker soldier as a Christmas gift. She dreams her nutcracker turns into a handsome prince who then leads her to strange and enchanted places, like the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets. The audience gets swept away too and meets a delightful assortment of Sugar Plum Fairies, Nutcracker Princes, Christmas Tree Fairies, Chinese, Russian and Spanish dancers, waltzing stars, dancing snowflakes and more.

Good cheer and family fun…

While you remind yourself of the simply marvelous music, have a good laugh at these three South African ballerinas giving the funniest rendition of The Nutcracker ever, caught on camera as they wait in the wings during a 2008 performance by the South African Ballet Theatre.

Booking details:

Dates and Times:
22 & 29 November 2013 at 7:30pm
23, 24 & 30 November 2013 at 3pm
23, 27, 28 & 30 November 2013 at 11am
Venue: The Opera at the South African State Theatre, Pretoria
Tickets: from R50 to R340 via Computicket.

Special deals and discounts:

• 10% for block bookings of 10 or more;
• 15% for pensioners;
• 20% for Friends of the Ballet;
• 50% for children aged 4 to 7;
• 50% off all Opening Night seats (22 November);
• R50 for school shows on 27 and 28 November at 11am.

Fairy-tale dreams with Shannon Glover and Jonathan Rodrigues in SAMB’s all-new Cinderella. Photo by Bill Zurich.

Johannesburg audiences will have a choice of four ballerinas alternating in the title role of South African Mzansi Ballet’s all-new production of Cinderella, which opens on Friday 13 September 2013 at the Joburg Theatre.

SAMB’s principal dancers, Burnise Silvius and Michael Revie. Photo by Bill Zurich.

Won, two, three, four…

Across this 11-performance season, the local SAMB stars – Burnise Silvius, Shannon Glover and Lindé Wessels – will share Cinderella’s magical coach with international guest dancer, Jin Ho Won from South Korea. (Read more about Won here: Gold medalist guest ballerina arrives in SA.)

The source of the magic in the story, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, will be danced by Nicole Ferreira, Lindé Wessels, Sanmarie Kreuzhuber, Claudia Monja and Kitty Phetla; while the dashing Prince Charming will be danced by Jonathan Rodrigues, Michael Revie and Ramiro Samón.

Providing the comic flamboyance to the story, Cinderella’s two Ugly Sisters will be pranced, ahem, I mean danced by men, with Luis de Castro, Chase Bosch, Javier Monier, Carlos Santos, Keke Chele and Randol Figueredo getting their drag on in alternating performances.

And adding the high jinks (and high jumps) will be the Jesters danced by Javier Monier, Randol Figueredo, Luis de Castro and Chase Bosch.

Casting Summary

Here’s the quick casting guide for Cinderella and her Prince:

• 

  See visiting star, South Korean Jin Ho Won as Cinderella. Photo courtesy of SAMB.

  Friday 13 September at 19:30: Burnise Silvius & Jonathan Rodrigues

• Saturday 14 September at 15:00: Jin Ho Won & Michael Revie
• Saturday 14 September at 19:30: Lindé Wessels & Jonathan Rodrigues
• Sunday 15 September at 11:00: Shannon Glover & Ramiro Samón
• Sunday 15 September at 15:00: Jin Ho Won & Michael Revie
• Tuesday 17 September at 11:00: Lindé Wessels & Jonathan Rodrigues (School Performance)
• Saturday 21 September at 15:00: Shannon Glover & Ramiro Samón
• Sunday 22 September at 15:00: Burnise Silvius & Jonathan Rodrigues
• Friday 27 September at 19:30: Jin Ho Won & Michael Revie
• Saturday 28 September at 15:00: Shannon Glover & Ramiro Samón
• Sunday 29 September at 15:00: Burnise Silvius & Michael Revie

Cinderella booking details:

Dates: 13 to 29 September 2013
Venue: Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg
Tickets: From R189 to R336 from www.joburgtheatre.com

Click on a picture to open the gallery.

Cuban dancer, Claudia Monja, performing as Mercedes.
Photo courtesy of South African Mzansi Ballet

Feisty and funny – two adjectives the average person would not necessarily associate with classical ballet, but Don Quixote is certainly no average ballet classic.

And the South African Mzansi Ballet plan to show Johannesburg audiences just how they put these adjectives into motion when they bring us their production of Don Quixote at the Joburg Theatre from 8 to 24 March 2013.

What with macho Spanish toreadors, sassy girls, big jumps and bold dancing, it’s known to be a fast-paced and vibrant ballet, which tells the story of the triumph of young love over parental match-making.

International guest performers

Depending on the performance you attend, you may see US star Michaela DePrince, who featured in the movie First Position and first impressed Jo’burg audiences in 2012 for SAMB’s Le Corsaire.

Other returning guests are Australian Aaron Smyth, who recently danced with The Royal Ballet, and Brooklyn Mack from The Washington Ballet.

Cuban Collaboration

Thanks to a cultural exchange programme with the Cuban Ballet, also returning are five Cuban dancers who seem to be absolute naturals with virtuosity, which is of course a defining trait for the Don Quixote ballet.

The line-up features Michaela DePrince, Shannon Glover, Sanmarie Kreuzhuber, Angela Maree and Burnise Silvius as Kitri; and Luis de Castro, Randol Figueredo, Brooklyn Mack, Javier Monier, Michael Revie, Jonathan Rodrigues and Aaron Smyth as Basilio.

Booking details:

Dates: 8 to 24 March 2013
Venue: The Mandela at Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg
Tickets: From R100 to R336 from the Joburg Theatre here.