The Nutcracker set in the Kalahari Desert? You’ll have to see it to believe it. Photo by Susanne Holbaek

It’s the Nutcracker, but re-told in an African way and re-styled with a local-is-lekker flair. While still set to the beautiful effervescent music of Tchaikovsky, Joburg Ballet’s all new The Nutcracker Re-Imagined switches the usual snowy northern Christmas scenes for such sunny African settings as the Kalahari, complete with gumboots and Namaqua daisies.

Running as part of a double season alongside the company’s first staging of La Bayadère, The Nutcracker Re-Imagined is on at the Joburg Theatre from 12 to 27 September 2014 with staging by Adèle Blank, sets by Andrew Botha and even circus tricks designed specifically for Joburg Ballet by SircuSynergy.

Ballet dancers can jump, but can they stomp? Joburg Ballet’s gum boot dancers show us how. Photo by Susanne Holbaek

Same traditional storyline with some fresh new characters

While it may not be ballet tradition for The Nutcracker, a sangoma is very traditional and a completely appropriate South African replacement for the mysterious, magical and more familiar Dr Drosselmeyer character. Kitty Phetla and Sanmarie Kreuzhuber will perform as the Sangoma at alternating performances during the 5-performance season.

Clara, the young girl who receives a nutcracker doll and whose dream-world journey weaves the story of The Nutcracker Re-Imagined, will be shared by senior soloist Angela Revie, senior corps dancer Jessica Overton and Olivia Parfitt, who recently joined Joburg Ballet directly from two years at the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto.

The characters of the Moon and the Sun, who in this production perform the Grand Pas De Deux, will be danced by Cubans Dayana Hardy Acuna and Randol Figueredo, alternating with principal dancer Shannon Glover and senior soloist Jonathan Rodrigues.

For a little sneak peak preview, see this video from Morning Live’s outside broadcast (which was filmed quite literally outside Joburg Ballet’s studios) where the company launched their double spring season of La Bayadère and The Nutcracker Re-Imagined.

Booking details:

Date: Final show: Saturday 27 September at 7:30pm.
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.)

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

Click on a picture to open the gallery.

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…