If it feels too good to be true, it probably is, the saying goes. Too good to be true = couldn’t be better or could it?
It was certainly dreamy enough watching a wonderfully varied programme of top-quality dance at the SAIBC International Ballet Gala at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town recently, with professional dancers from as far afield as Mongolia, Armenia, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt and Mexico.
Patriots need not worry: this international smorgasbord also showcased brilliant South African dancers Angela Malan, Andile Ndlovu and Thami Njoko.
All this took place at a theatre in downtown Cape Town on a warm, wind-free day. So what disrupted the total self-satisfaction and bliss, you might wonder?
The discovery that one of the next stops on this tour takes place with the bushveld as its backdrop. Ballet in the Bush at the Legend Golf and Safari Resort in Limpopo on Saturday is a fantasy so perfect that I can’t quite get my head around it.
It would be remiss not to mention the other performances of this programme at the Mosaiek Teatro in Fairland, Joburg, today.
But back to my own night of near-perfect bliss at the Artscape.
The combination of riveting pas de deux and solos from Giselle, Swan Lake, Paquita and Le Corsaire and neo classical works meant the programme lived up to the promise of being #BalletLikeWeLikeIt, pretty much whomever the “we” was.
The jaw-dropping power and grace of the classic dances, together with the mind-bending surrealistic thrill inspired by the shape-shifting neo classical numbers results in a programme that talks to mind, body and soul, young and old, traditional and modern.
The world premiere of a new piece by South African choreographer Adele Blank was the sort of dance that is brand new, yet incredibly familiar. It is whatever you want it to be. Feeling is everything, thinking nothing.
Presented by Dirk Badenhorst, the chief executive and founder of the biennial South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC), the programme was presented
in association with Artscape and supported by South African Tourism. Ballet in the Bush, dance tourism
they seem to be on to something.
Performers included: Maria Rudenko, Artemiy Pyzhov, Monier Javier Jouve, Anujin Otgontugs, Hassan Eltabie, Mariam Karapetyan, Jonhal Fernandez, Lissi Baez, Dzianis Klimuk, as well as Malan, Ndlovu and Njoko.
To book, call Dirk Badenhorst at 0833240940, and for Ballet in the Bush at Legends e-mail [email protected] or call 0124436700.
African News Agency