Keith MacKintosh teaching Mariette Opperman and Claire Spector at Cape Town City Ballet’s dance studio.

Joining international ballet stars such as Darcey Bussell, the artistic executive of Cape Town City Ballet, Keith MacKintosh, has been invited to participate in the prestigious International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague, where he will conduct a daily 90 minute ballet class from 22 to 27 July 2013.

MacKintosh was invited by prima ballerina Daria Klimentova, who is the founder and director of the Prague master class series.

Klimentova is particularly well-known to British audiences, having danced at Scottish Ballet and then, since 1996, as a principal and senior principal at English National Ballet.

Cape Town audiences however, will remember Klimentova from her time spent at CAPAB in the early 90’s, and of course as a guest performer in Cape Town City Ballet’s most recent production of The Nutcracker in December 2012.

Have a look at Daria Klimentova’s brand new book available on Amazon: Daria Klimentova: Agony and Ecstasy: My Life in Dance

Apparently it was during this visit, while working with MacKintosh, that she was so impressed by his daily classes that the invitation to teach at her high profile summer school came shortly afterwards.

International master classes attract top ballet stars

This year’s Prague teaching faculty includes Darcey Bussell, former prima ballerina of The Royal Ballet and one of the most filmed and documented ballet stars of our time; Vadim Muntagirov from the English National Ballet; Jan-Erik Wikstrom from the Royal Swedish Ballet; and several other principal dancers and ballet masters including Daria Klimentova.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have been invited and look forward to being part of such a prestigious faculty,” said Keith MacKintosh. 

“Most of the faculty members are currently star dancers at major ballet companies in Europe. So it’s quite an honour as I am a retired dancer as such!”

The Prague International Masterclass sessions are now in their 11th year, held at the studios of Prague’s National Theatre Ballet Company from 22 July to 3 August 2013. You can find out more about these ballet master classes and the masters that teach them here.

Bringing more ballet talent to South Africa

Keith MacKintosh has often been invited as a guest teacher with dance companies in Europe, which is useful considering his other role and responsibility for engaging international guest dancers for Cape Town City Ballet productions.

In what was described as a major scoop, he recently contracted two leading principal dancers from The Royal Ballet. Roberta Marquez and Nehemiah Kish will perform at select performances in the company’s upcoming production of The Sleeping Beauty at Artscape from 10 to 18 August 2013. See the full details and casting here.

We wonder what other big ballet names we’ll be seeing in Cape Town following this teaching/ scouting trip in Europe?

On Twitter? Follow the dancers and contacts here: Daria Klimentova, Vadim Muntagirov, Darcey Bussell, Nehemiah Kish, Cape Town City Ballet, and BodyMindBallet.

Roberta Marquez as Princess Aurora. Photo by Bill Cooper courtesy of CTCB

Cape Town City Ballet has announced that two international stars from The Royal Ballet – Roberta Marquez and Nehemiah Kish – will perform in their upcoming production of The Sleeping Beauty at Artscape from 10 to 18 August 2013.

Roberta Marquez and Nehemiah Kish, both principal dancers for The Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, will grace the stage in the roles of Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund for two performances, which makes for a special scoop for Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB).

Kish was born in the USA, but has travelled the world as a guest artist in numerous ballets and special performances, including partnering Darcy Bussell at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony. He joined The Royal Ballet in 2010 and danced principal roles such as James in La Sylphide, Romeo (Romeo & Juliet), Prince (Cinderella, The Nutcracker) and Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake).

The award-winning Marquez, originally from Brazil, has been a principal with The Royal Ballet since 2004 and has starred in roles such as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), the title role in Cinderella, Swanhilda (Coppélia) and of course Princess Aurora from The Sleeping Beauty.

Nehemia Kish of The Royal Ballet will perform as Prince Florimund in Cape Town. Photo by Bill Cooper courtesy of CTCB.

The most iconic kiss of all time

It’s the classic romantic happily-ever-after story of the beautiful princess, an evil spell by the wicked fairy, and a kiss from her handsome prince that sets her free.

Set to the enchanting tunes of Tchaikovsky, the CTCB says they are creating an opulent production of this classic ballet with beautiful sets and costumes, and certain performances are accompanied by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) too.

Casting of lead roles:

With Kish and Marquez dancing the lead prince and princess roles in two performances, the remaining four performances will alternate between Cape Town City Ballet’s principal dancers, Laura Bosenberg and Thomas Thorne, and with Burnise Silvius, principal dancer from South African Mzanzi Ballet, partnered by CTCB’s Trevor Schoonraad.

The Lilac Fairy will be performed by Angela Hansford, Kim Vieira and Claire Spector, while the role of the wicked fairy Carabosse will be shared by Johnny Bovang and Mervyn Williams.

• Saturday, 10 August at 19:30 (recorded music): Laura Bosenberg & Thomas Thorne
• Wednesday, 14 August at 19:30 (with CPO): Roberta Marquez & Nehemiah Kish
• Friday, 16 August at 19:30 (recorded music): Burnise Sylvius & Trevor Schoonraad
• Saturday, 17 August at 14:00 (with CPO): Laura Bosenberg & Thomas Thorne
• Saturday, 17 August at 19:30 (with CPO): Roberta Marquez & Nehemiah Kish
• Sunday, 18 August at 15:00 (with CPO): Burnise Sylvius & Trevor Schoonraad

But before you click off to book (details below), first watch the lovely Roberta Marquez in this entertaining and animated Ribbon pas de deux (with Steven McRae) from The Royal Ballet’s La fille mal gardée.

Booking details:

Dates: 10 to 18 August 2013
Venue: Artscape Opera House, Cape Town
Tickets: From R100 to R300 from Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 7695.