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.)

Joburg Ballet invites young dancers to audition for their upcoming productions. Photo by Bill Zurich (from Coppélia)

Joburg Ballet will be holding auditions on Saturday 24 May 2014 and boys and girls aged 6 to 12 are invited to audition for The Nutcracker and boys for La Bayadere. Both productions take place in September 2014.

Dance schools are encouraged to audition as a group. Here are the details:

Date: Saturday 24 May 2014
Times: From 9am to 10am for children aged 6 to 9 years old; 10:15am to 11:15am for children aged 10 to 12 years old.
Venue: Joburg Ballet Studios, Joburg Theatre, Hoofd Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
To register: contact Edgar Moagi on 011 877 6898 or edgar@joburgballet.com

If you are unable to attend an audition, you are invited to send a DVD of yourself dancing to:
Joburg Ballet, PO Box 291990, Melville 2109, South Africa.

Chukkas, dancers!

See Joburg Ballet’s principal dancers, Michael Revie and prima ballerina Burnise Silvius in Coppélia in March 2014. Photo by Suzy Bernstein.

It’s an endearing, heart-warming comedy, considered one of the great classical ballets much-loved the world over, and now Coppélia returns to the Joburg Theatre from 7 to 23 March 2014 to raise the curtain on Joburg Ballet’s opening season of 2014, and spring-load a busy year of travels and performances.

With the aim of expanding the ballet company’s reach in 2014, Joburg Ballet have announced their plans to travel with their tutus to Bloemfontein and Knysna, as well as to Gaborone in Botswana – with potentially more travel opportunities yet to be revealed. As for Coppélia, following the season-opener in Johannesburg, there will be four performances presented by PACOFS (Performing Arts Centre of the Free State) at the Sand du Plessis Theatre in Bloemfontein from 25 to 29 March 2014.

It’s not all classical though, and the month of March also brings us a mix of contemporary ballet with Celebration 6. If their previous Celebration 5 was anything to go by, look out for some gaspingly-good dance pieces, possibly spiced with some edgy ones too. Celebration 6 takes place at the Joburg Theatre for just two performances on Saturday 15 March and Saturday 22 March, both at 7:30pm.

Later in the year, launching their second major season, Joburg Ballet will perform La Bayadère as well as The Nutcracker. In the meantime though, here’s a look at some of the scheduled highlights (so far) for 2014:

• 14 February 2014 – Valentine’s Day performance at Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg.
• 15 February 2014 – Open Day: Coppélia / Celebration 6, Joburg Theatre, book on 011-877 6898.
• 8 March 2014 – Friends of the Ballet: Pre-performance talk for Coppélia, Joburg Theatre.
• 7-23 March 2014 – Coppélia / Celebration 6 season, Joburg Theatre.
• 25-29 March 2014 – Coppélia, Sand du Plessis Theatre, Bloemfontein.
• 12-17 May 2014 – Joburg Ballet performs in Knysna in Aid of Hospice.
• 24-29 Jun e 2014 – Joburg Ballet performs in Gaborone, Botswana.
• 30 June-5 July 2014 – Joburg Ballet Winter School, Johannesburg.
• 23 August 2014 – Open Day: La Bayadère / The Nutcracker, Joburg Theatre, book on 011-877 6898.
• 13 September 2014 – Friends of the Ballet: Pre-performance talk for La Bayadère, Joburg Theatre.
• 8–28 September 2014 – La Bayadére / The Nutcracker season, Joburg Theatre.

Michael Revie in Coppélia by Joburg Ballet. Photo by Suzy Bernstein.

Booking Details for Coppélia, Johannesburg:

Dates: 7 – 23 March 2014Venue: The Mandela at Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg
Tickets: From R100 through JoburgTheatre.com.

Booking Details for Coppélia, Bloemfontein:

Dates: 25 – 29 March 2014
Venue: Sand du Plessis Theatre, Bloemfontein
Tickets: From R120 through PACOFS.