Cape Town - The annual Baxter Dance Festival returns for its 14th instalment with 32 works by 54 choreographers performed over 10 days.
Opening this year’s festival is Rolex Mentor and Protégé Laureate (2004) Junaid Jemal Sendi and Addisu Demissie Kifle from the Destino Dance Company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The opening night programme will also include a short film about the process of creating: A Holding Space.
As the largest and most established dance event of its kind in the Western Cape, the Baxter Dance Festival, with a dynamic and diverse programme, is a must-see for all dance enthusiasts.
Since its inception in 2004 the festival has showcased over 4 000 dancers from more than 400 studios. While funding is limited, the festival continues to grow each year, making it the ideal festival to experience the diversity and enormous dance talent in the province.
The event is the ideal environment to experience and see dance as it focuses on the endorsement and development of the art form in the Western Cape.
“Each year, the growing number of applications reminds me of the need to support, encourage and advocate dance in the Western Cape and surrounding areas,” said Nicolette Moses, artistic director of the festival.
“There is a strong local dance community in the city, province and beyond, and the Baxter Dance Festival, being the only platform of this kind, is therefore an integral part of promoting this art form.” Moses, who is also associate producer and planning manager at the Baxter Theatre Centre, said it was important that not only the dance community showed support for such events but that the public and private sectors joined in too.
The Baxter Dance Festival opens on October 4 and runs until October 13. The full programme can be viewed on http://www.baxter.co.za/shows/baxter-dance-festival-2018/
@TheCapeArgus