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

The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre bring a festival of ballets to South Africa in May 2015, including Giselle, Don Quixote (seen here) and Swan Lake.

Having already toured to 36 cities in France since the start of the year, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre open their South African tour on Wednesday 6 May at Montecasino in Johannesburg performing Giselle, followed by Don Quixote and Swan Lake before they head to Cape Town to perform Swan Lake at Artscape from 19 May 2015.

But at least in Johannesburg, the Russian company has a tough act to follow after Joburg Ballet’s very recent and spectacular production of Swan Lake, complete with grand new sets, clever new storytelling twists, and a collaborative international cast of 80 dancers including three prima ballerinas sharing the stage.

For ballet fans though, there’s no such thing as Swan Lake fatigue, and every company offers their own unique experience. In this case, the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre have a few things going for them.

For one, ballet lovers in Joburg are in for a decadent triple-bill treat, with the cast of 55 dancers performing the three ballet favourites of Giselle, Don Quixote and Swan Lake in true traditional, classical Russian style.

Due to scheduling constraints for the Cape Town tour, the company will be performing the much-loved Swan Lake only, but it’s the first time the company will be in the mother city after eight years, which is in itself a welcome treat. All performances are accompanied by a live orchestra too, with either the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra or the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

The company’s trump card

But the ace up the company’s sleeve is most certainly their prima ballerina, Irina Kolesnikova, who recently returned to the stage after the birth of her daughter. Known for her magnetic stage presence, rock-solid technique and fiery fouetté turns, she transports the audience deep into the magic and mystery of her ballet characters.

Watch this entertaining video clip as the Top Billing crew go behind the scenes for more insights into the company, its lead ballerina and their upcoming SA tour…

Booking Details – Johannesburg:

Dates for Giselle: 6 – 8 May 2015
Dates for Don Quixote: 9 – 10 May 2015
Dates for Swan Lake: 12 – 16 May 2015
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino
Tickets: from R290 to R690 via Computicket

Booking Details – Cape Town:

Dates for Swan Lake: 19 – 25 May 2015
Venue: Artscape Opera House
Tickets: from R285 to R630 via Computicket

Click on a picture to open the gallery.

Sanmarie Kreuzhuber displayed a beautiful strength as Kitri.
Photo courtesy of South African Mzansi Ballet

Call me greedy, but I just wasn’t satisfied with one performance of Don Quixote, so I had to go back for seconds.

It’s a good thing too, because even though both performances (by the South African Mzansi Ballet at the Joburg Theatre) had that sizzling Spanish spice throughout, it was revealing to see how different dancers can take the same basic ingredients and create a whole new experience.

Of course, everyone has a different palette and while some like it sweet, others like it spicy.  Actually, I quite like both and got both with Sanmarie Kreuzhuber and Shannon Glover, who each performed as Kitri on the two nights I attended (Kitri being the lead female role).

Sanmarie was a delight to watch with her strong technique, and she brought a touch of endearing sweetness to her character. In contrast, Shannon delivered a fantastic fieriness with her version of a sassy and flirty Kitri.

One for the men

Brooklyn Mack from The Washington Ballet performed Basilio as a guest artist.
Photo courtesy of South African Mzansi Ballet

As for the lead male role of Basilio, Brooklyn Mack (all the way from The Washington Ballet) partnered Sanmarie with dazzling strength and control, flashing a cheeky “yeah I got this” kind of grin after effortlessly completing a one-arm lift. And Michael Revie sure knows how to serve up some enormous jumps a la virtuoso!

Talking of jumps, the SA Mzansi Ballet took grand allegro and made it mucho grande, which is probably very bad grammar in Spanish, but you get the idea right? I mean big, really beeeg. And high, something that Luis de Castro knows all about.

Ay Caramba, that boy has jaw-dropping elevation! And I mean no disrespect by ‘boy’, but that was his character – ‘Creado’ the mischievous street boy – although he may as well have been the Pied Piper the way the audience followed him across the stage.

But while Luis grabs your attention with his too-many-to-count turns and jumps, others magnetised me with their perfectly polished poise. Never mind pirouettes, Australian Aaron Smyth had me just with his walk. He danced Espada (the macho lead toreador) with tremendous stage presence and what seemed to be an impeccable sense of timing.

For that matter the other Espada, Jonathan Rodrigues, had a similar quality to his dancing and I would’ve loved to see him dance as Basilio too.

Fumbles, falls and foibles?

Well yes, we saw some fumbles and a mis-step or three. Also, while the music for Don Quixote is lovely and lively, the actual recording seemed to be clipped unnaturally short at the ends. This lack of a smooth fade-out occasionally jolted us into a what-now? kind of awkward silence.

Ah, but then Aaron would confidently walk across the stage and suddenly all was well again in Sunny Spain. Any moments of unease were swiftly soothed by the charm of the cast in their blaze of bright and bold costumes.

Overall, the entire performance was a delicious feast for the senses, brimming with humour and brilliance.

And did I mention the beeeg jumps?

Encore

For the curious, here’s a clip of Aaron performing a variation from Don Quixote during the finals of the Prix de Lausanne competition back in 2010. Now you’ll see what I mean about that walk…

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.