Dogs are the highlight this week when dancers gather to put their feet and bodies to use in love for the animals.
A dance teacher and choreographer for 31 years, Brigitte Reeve-Taylor is the driving force behind Dancers Love Dogs, a show in aid of the sterilisation of dogs in several Western Cape townships.
“I’ve always had a love for animals, picking up dogs in dangerous areas,” she says.
“I belong to all those groups on Facebook and receive messages about dogs and the need for them to be taken care of.”
Kept on her toes by her travels as an international examiner and running her own dance school, Taylor was finally afforded the time to devote herself to her cause after selling her dance school at the beginning of the year.
It was on a hot day in February that Taylor’s turning point arrived while rescuing a dog on a highway. “It was such a traumatic event for me that I just decided there and then to do it.”
Her passion for dance and animals will now be combined to make a difference.
“Judging by all the messages on Facebook that have come in, there are too many dogs around.
The cost of sterilisation is R250, so dogs in a township can be sterilised and we can get to the root of the problem and stop the breeding.”
Through her appeals, several dance companies and studios in Cape Town will be participating in Dancers Love Dogs, generously performing without charge.
The venue has been offered by Artscape at a reduced rate.
Deon Lotz will MC the dynamic show, which will include performances by artists from the Ubuntu B-Boys, Cape Town City Ballet, Cape Junior Ballet, Interdance and the Hip Hop Collective, and from studios such as Karen Ayrton, Debbie McFadden and a performance by vocalist Zola Shuman.
Special guests include Dancing With Dogs Cape Town, a quartet of four women who perform with their dogs, all of which have been rescued and nurtured back to health by their trainers.
Taylor hopes to the do show over four nights next year with the help of musical acts.
“To me, putting on the show is easy. What isn’t easy is sharing my passion, because I think doggies get the short end of the stick.”
• Anyone wishing to make a donation may contact Brigitte directly on [email protected] or via Facebook.
• The show starts at 8.15pm and tickets cost R250 each via Computicket, or call 021 421 7695.