Cape Town - A two-minute video of a Joburg ballerina performing a rain dance en pointe in the empty Theewaterskloof Dam has been capturing attention on social media.
Award-winning soloist Kitty Phetla said Joburg Ballet and its partners had put the piece together as part of its ongoing Bite Size Ballet campaign which highlights topical issues.
The production and the creative team felt the Cape Town drought was severe enough that more awareness was needed. A rain dance inspired by Queen Modjadji of the Balobedu people was choreographed by Phetla to conjure up rain for the city and the Western Cape.
The video was shot on November 27 and it took about seven hours to complete. Phetla said she had danced continuously for four hours. She said standing in the middle of the empty dam had been surreal.
Being from Joburg and experiencing a drought last year, she was able to understand the desperation of the people of Cape Town.
“It was very sad. I danced inside an empty dam. I was so deep in the dam that I could see that some of the soil was still moist.”
The video has been viewed and shared on social media, but she said they did not do the videos for validation or a reaction, but rather to create awareness.
“I’ve done two of these Bite Size Ballets so far, but this one was by far the most intense, as water is life.”
Joburg Ballet issued a media release stating that, while they hoped the dance would bring rain, “the dance is also an important reminder of the value of water to life on earth and the necessity to conserve it at all costs”.
“If you are travelling to the Western Cape this festive season, please make water conservation a priority,” it stated.