Watch Geneva Ballet perform at Artscape and then rehearse with the dancers and learn their moves in one of three workshops. Photo by Gregory Batardon

For aspiring dancers interested in choreography, contemporary ballet, or for the chance to learn directly from touring professional dancers, you’ll get it all with the dance workshops that the Geneva Ballet company of Switzerland will be hosting in Cape Town on 7, 9 and 10 July 2014.

As part of the company’s first visit to the city, Geneva Ballet will be offering the workshops alongside their double-bill performances of Lux and Glory, on at the Artscape Theatre from 8 to 10 July 2014. You can read (and watch) more about these two pieces here.

The two-hour workshops, which are aimed at professional, pre-professional and advanced level dancers, will give dancers a unique opportunity to learn excerpts of the choreographies that the company is currently performing. These repertory workshops will be presented free of charge at Cape Town City Ballet’s studios in Rondebosch.

Each workshop will be taught by experienced Geneva Ballet dancers, and will consist of warm-up exercises to lead the participants through contemporary movement forms, followed by teaching and building dance phrases from Glory, a work choreographed by Andonis Foniadakis.

South African born dancer, Angela Rebelo, who has been touring with the company since 2013, will be one of the teachers. The others are Vladimir Ippolitov of Russia, Armando Gonzalez from the USA, Nathanaël Marie of France and Saranawee Tanatanit of Thailand.

In this short video clip, watch these and other Geneva Ballet dancers rehearse some of the cool moves that you could be learning:

Workshop registration details:

Dates, times and teachers:

• Monday 7 July 2014: 13:30 – 15:30, Vladimir Ippolitov & Armando Gonzalez.
• Wednesday 9 July 2014: 11:30 – 13:30, Nathanaël Marie & Sarawanee Tanatanit.
• Thursday 10 July 2014: 11:30 – 13:30, Vladimir Ippolitov & Angela Rebelo.

Venue: Cape Town City Ballet studios, UCT Middle Campus, Rondebosch, Cape Town

Requirements: Dancers are welcome to register for more than one workshop, but will be responsible for their own transport and are advised to arrive 30 minutes before the workshop’s starting time.

The workshops are free of charge and open to professional and pre-professional advanced-level dancers.

To register: Individual dancers, schools or dance companies are invited to submit their names, contact details, as well as the names of the participants to info@zeldaproductions.co.za.

For more information: Contact Kathleen Kortes Lynch of Zelda Productions on 076 714 5969.

Geneva Ballet presents two works, Lux and Glory, for the first time in Cape Town. Photo by Gregory Batardon

For the first time in Cape Town and for three performances only, the Geneva Ballet will present what they call “two exceptional and contrasted works”, Lux and Glory on 8, 9 and 10 July 2014 at Artscape Theatre.

Under the direction of Philippe Cohen, this acclaimed Swiss company is considered one of the most original and inventive dance companies in Europe, with a repertoire that ranges from classical ballet to neoclassical and contemporary, including fresh new collaborations and artistic interpretations of classical ballet.

Geneva Ballet will perform alongside Cape Town City Ballet’s July season of Ballet Beautiful, which runs from 4 to 12 July 2014 at Artscape Theatre.

Created by Swiss choreographer Ken Ossola, and danced to the transcendent beauty of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Lux uses sculpted shadow play to enhance the delicate nature of the body.

Glory, which premièred on 4 February 2012 in Geneva, is the third piece that choreographer Andonis Foniadakis was commissioned to create for Geneva Ballet. Glory is set to 16 excerpts from George Frideric Handel’s greatest music and the company describes it as “a work of great aesthetic value, a symbiotic intertwining of fluidity and tension, expansive expression and introverted reserve”.

For a glorious glimpse of what to expect, watch excerpts from Glory with this great little video compilation by choreographer Andonis Foniadakis…

Booking details:

Dates: 8, 9 and 10 July at 19:30.
Venue: Artscape Theatre, Cape Town
Tickets: From R200 to R280, and R150 for students via Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 7695.