Daniel Szybkowski and Angela Hansford in Robin van Wyk’s new pas de deux ‘The Fragile Balance’. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

As their 80th anniversary celebrations continue, Cape Town City Ballet are rehearsing for their July ballet season, which includes a mix of classical, neo-classical and contemporary works in a programme called Ballet Beautiful – on at the Artscape Theatre from 4 to 12 July 2014.

The programme looks set to show off the company’s versatility with a challenging classical piece from the beautiful Paquita, to the two new and contemporary ballets by young South African choreographers, Kirsten Isenberg and Yarisha Singh, as well as a new pas de deux by CTCB’s Artistic Director, Robin van Wyk.

Laura Bosenberg and Thomas Thorne in ‘Of Gods and Men’. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing

Classical technique and beauty

The incomparable combination of music by Ludwig Minkus and choreography by Marius Petipa makes Paquita – particularly Paquita’s Grand Pas Classique – one of the essential classical works in the repertoire of ballet companies around the world. In Ballet Beautiful, Cape Town City Ballet will perform the much-loved divertissements from the final act.

Contemporary expression and versatility

As for the brand new ballet pieces, Cape Town City Ballet commissioned Isenberg and Singh, both UCT School of Dance graduates, to create new works for the company as part of their policy to foster and support local creative talent.

Kirsten Isenberg’s piece, called Of Gods and Men, is a neo-classical work “depicting the mythological struggle between gods and man, illustrating how their strengths and weaknesses ultimately result in their equality”. In Yarisha Singh’s contemporary style ballet, Serendipity, the piece follows less of a storyline but affords the audience more opportunity to make their own associations and discoveries.

Mark Goldberg & Frieda Mennen in Serendipity. Photo by Pat Bromilow-Downing.

CTCB’s own Robin van Wyk will reveal his newly-choreographed pas de deux called The Fragile Balance, inspired by the poem of the same name by Arokuara (read the poem here) and set to the music of Max Bruch’s famous violin concerto (scroll down for the video of a fabulous live performance – of the music, not the pas de deux).

As an extra treat, one of Cape Town City Ballet’s outreach partners, ZAMA Dance School, will perform Uvuyo (Celebrate) by the renowned South African choreographer Adele Blank as the curtain-raiser performance.

Booking Details:

Dates: Friday 4 July 2014 at 19:30;
Saturday 5 July 2014 at 14:00 and 19:30;
Sunday 6 July 2014 at 15:00;
Friday 11 July 2014 at 19:30;
Saturday 12 July 2014 at 14:00 and 19:30.
Venue: Artscape Theatre, Cape Town
Tickets: from R150 to R175 via Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 7695.

Are you curious about that “famous” violin concerto? I was too and couldn’t help myself with a little YouTube search. This is what I found: enjoy this video of Joshua Bell performing the first movement from Max Bruch’s violin concerto no. 1 in G minor…

Get behind the scenes and take a look around the life of a professional dancer during Cape Town City Ballet’s Open Day on 29 March 2014. Photo by Jeanine Bresler

Cape Town City Ballet’s annual Open Day takes place this Saturday 29 March 2014 with a full day of activities offering a peek behind the curtains and into the real workings of a professional ballet company.

The event, hosted at the UCT School of Dance in Rosebank, is presented by the Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB) in association with the UCT School of Dance and the Cape Junior Ballet. Tickets for the action-packed day will go on sale at the door at 09:30 on Saturday.

The Open Day will include fun activities for little ones, eye-opening opportunities for young, aspiring dancers, along with open rehearsals and a variety of dance performances to be enjoyed by ballet lovers across all ages.

Learn insights into how dancers prepare for the next big show at CTCB’s Open Day. Photo by Jeanine Bresler.

Visitors can arrive at any time, but the schedule looks something like this:

Watch the professional dancers in their Company Class which begins promptly at 10:00; or visit the Cape Junior Ballet dancers in their Pre-Professional Classical Ballet Class, including repertoire and coaching.

At 11:15, one the CTCB’s outreach partners, ZAMA Dance School, will present a special lecture demonstration on working with young dancers in Gugulethu and perform a tap dance piece called Blurred Lines. The UCT School of Dance will offer a look into the life of a student dancer, with a Contemporary Dance Class, a Spanish Dance Class, as well as an African Dance Class.

Special fundraising performances including a variety of short ballets and pas de deux scenes will take place at 12:30 and 13:30. Tickets for these performances will sell for R50 from the Friends of CTCB table.

During the day, there will also be a company rehearsal for CTCB’s forthcoming production of Swan Lake, which is an exclusive opportunity to see how one of the world’s most beloved ballets takes shape behind the scenes.

There will also be an introduction to stage make-up, face-painting for the playful ones as well as a fun and relaxed beginner’s class called “Introduction to Ballet”, open to all ages where everyone can participate dressed as they are. And to further inspire big ballet dreams, many of the company’s beautiful ballet costumes will be on display.

Refreshments will be available throughout the day, giving visitors even more opportunities to rub shoulders with their favourite dancers in a relaxed atmosphere.

Tutu wonderful! Kids from the Zama Dance School from Gugulethu take part in the fun at CTCB’s Open Day. Photo by Andrew Warth.

Tickets to Cape Town City Ballet’s Open Day:

Date: 29 March 2014, from 09:30 am.
Venue: UCT School of Dance in Rosebank, Cape Town.
Tickets: Admission of R30 for adults and R20 for children under 13 is available at the door only and includes attendance of all activities except the fundraising performances. For these performances, at 12:30 and 13:30, tickets at R50 will be available at the Friends of CTCB table.

Proceeds from the Open Day support CTCB’s Outreach & Development Programmes.