As the name suggests, the school is affiliated to Joburg Ballet and yes, they teach the Cuban method of ballet, which is the same method that taught Royal Ballet star Carlos Acosta to dance like this… Yoh!

The Joburg Ballet Cuban School is developing into a centre of excellence for aspiring dancers. The ballet company’s professional dancers and teachers work with the pupils, teaching valuable skills and knowledge in classical ballet as well as offering them exposure to other careers in the performing arts such as lighting design, arts management and costume design.

Allowing access to the same type of training that Cubans receive in Havana, the Joburg Ballet Cuban School works to secure a continuing path of improvement as Cuban teachers (and dancers) visit and share their knowledge here in South Africa. This all with the aim that maybe one day these young Joburg kids can do insanely impressive pirouettes like Viengsay Valdés seen in this Black Swan video clip.

Audition details:

• Boys aged from 6 years to 10 years and girls aged from 6 years to 9 years are invited to audition for a place in this prestigious school.
• Please note that space is limited.
• No previous ballet training or experience is required.
• There is no charge for the audition.

Joburg Ballet Cuban School pupils pose after a lesson with Dr Ramona de Saa and Elena Cangas from Havana.

Audition date: 28 January 2014 at 4pm.

Venue: Joburg Ballet studios, Hoofd Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

Application enquiries: Contact Fiona Brown on 011 877 6910 or fiona@joburgballet.com for application forms and further information.

Closing date for applications: 27 January 2014

Did you know?

The ballet world owes a debt of gratitude to Mr Fidel Castro for encouraging ballet legend Madame Alicia Alonso to form the National Ballet School of Cuba, which developed the unique ballet training method now known as the ‘Cuban Method’.

The same method that brought us fouettes like these (yes, we just can’t help ourselves, here’s the National Ballet of Cuba’s Viengsay Valdés again, this time in Diana and Actaeon)…