Ramiro Samón in his gold medal winning variation from Satanella at the 2014 South African International Ballet Competition in Cape Town in February. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

Bringing the top prize back to Johannesburg, senior gold medal winner from the recent South African International Ballet Competition, Ramiro Samón, rejoins the Joburg Ballet cast along with fellow Cuban and silver medallist, Javier Monier, as the company prepares for its production of Coppélia, opening at Joburg Theatre on 7 March 2014.

Both competition medallists will perform in the lead male role (as Franz) in classical ballet’s much-loved comedy, interchanging with Joburg Ballet’s other principal men such as Michael Revie, Jonathan Rodrigues, Carlos Santos and Randol Figueredo.

Joburg Ballet’s leading ladies to perform the role of Swanhilda will include prima ballerina Burnise Silvius and principals Shannon Glover, Angela Revie and Lindé Wessels. See the casting details and dates below.

Coppélia tells the story of an old toymaker who mistakenly believes he’s breathed life into his most beautiful mechanical doll, naturally with comical repercussions. The full cast of 40 dancers delivers all the romance, jealousy, intrigue and of course comedy that makes this ballet one of the much loved classics in the ballet world.

Javier Monier receives his silver medal in the senior classical division at the 2014 South African International Ballet Competition. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

Casting for Coppélia:

Casting for the roles of Swanhilda, Franz and Dr Coppelius are subject to change.

• Friday 7 March, 19:30: Burnise Silvius, Michael Revie, Jacob Mosehla.
• Saturday 8 March, 15:00: Shannon Glover, Ramiro Samón, Luis de Castro.
• Saturday 8 March, 19:30: Angela Revie, Javier Monier, Luis de Castro.
• Sunday 9 March, 11:00: Burnise Silvius, Michael Revie, Chase Bosch.
• Sunday 9 March, 15:00: Shannon Glover, Jonathan Rodrigues, James Fraser.
• Tuesday 11 March, 11:00: Lindé Wessels, Carlos Santos, Jacob Mosehla.
• Friday 14 March, 19:30: Angela Revie, Randol Figueredo, Luis de Castro.
• Saturday 15 March, 15:00: Burnise Silvius, Michael Revie, Chase Bosch.
• Sunday 16 March, 15:00: Shannon Glover, Jonathan Rodrigues, James Fraser.
• Tuesday 18 March, 11:00: Lindé Wessels, Carlos Santos, Chase Bosch.
• Friday 21 March, 19:30: Shannon Glover, Ramiro Samón, Jacob Mosehla.
• Saturday 22 March, 15:00: Burnise Silvius, Randol Figueredo, Luis de Castro.
• Sunday 23 March, 15:00: Angela Revie, Javier Monier, Jacob Mosehla.

Booking details:

Dates: 7 – 23 March 2014
Venue: The Mandela at Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg
Tickets: From R100 to R450 via wwwJoburgTheatre.com

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):

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

If you missed it, read the full story here: Highlights from the International Ballet Gala Part 1, and what they didn’t tell you about Alicia Alonso.

With an impressive combination of international and local ballet talent, the ballet gala had three programmes across their five performances, giving audiences an enticing look into ballet repertoire not often seen in South Africa, such as Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes and Agrippina Vaganova’s Diana and Actaeon.

Gala photo gallery

Whether you saw one programme, all three, or none, here’s a frame by frame recap of some of the memorable moments.

Click on a photo to open the gallery…

Sadaise Arencibia and Arian Molina in a scene from Swan Lake. Photo courtesy of The National Ballet of Cuba

Covering east, west, north and south, the International Ballet Gala taking place in Johannesburg from 28 to 30 June brings us ballet stars from around the globe, including gold medallists and acclaimed dancers from far-flung regions such as Russia, South Korea, the USA and of course Cuba.

Alicia Alonso in 1955.

I say “of course” because this ballet production is Dirk Badenhorst’s way of saluting Madame Alicia Alonso, considered to be Cuba’s prima ballerina assoluta – an honorary title rather than an active rank considering that she is now in her nineties. Madame Alonso still directs the National Ballet of Cuba that she founded in 1948 and found an admirer in South African ballet entrepreneur Dirk Badenhorst ever since he began his close association with Cuban ballet in 2008.

Take a peek at who’s coming:

Dancers appearing in the galas are:

• Mariinsky Ballet, St Petersburg: Kimin Kim
• National Ballet of Cuba: Anette Delgado, Dani Hernández, Sadaise Arencibia, Arián Molina, Viengsay Valdes, José Losada
• Dutch National Ballet: Wen Ting Guan
• Dresden Ballet & Hungarian National Ballet: István Simon
• Columbia Classical Ballet, USA: Tamako Miyazaki
• The Washington Ballet: Maki Inuki, Brooklyn Mack
• English National Ballet: Aaron Smyth
• South African Mzansi Ballet: Burnise Silvius, Michael Revie, Shannon Glover, Jonathan Rodrigues, Luis de Castro, Randol Figueredo, Javier Monier, Ramiro Samón
• South Korea: Ga Yeon Jung

Brooklyn Mack from The Washington Ballet danced as Basilio in SA Mzansi Ballet’s 2013 production of Don Quixote.
Photo courtesy of South African Mzansi Ballet

What to expect:

The two gala programmes in the 5-performance only season include showpieces from Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, La Bayadére, Le Corsaire, Giselle, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet and more.

Of special interest to South African audiences will be the first ever performances in this country of the Balcony Pas de Deux from John Cranko’s version of Romeo and Juliet.  One of the great choreographers of the 20th century, SA-born John Cranko led the Stuttgart Ballet to international fame before his tragically early death at the age of 46 in 1973.

Get your tickets:

Dates: Friday 28 June at 8pm
Saturday 29 June at 3pm and 8pm
Sunday 30 June at 2pm and 6pm
Venue: The Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg
Tickets: From R90 to R400 from Computicket

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…