(Above and below: "Reflections" by Dane Hurst)
The Playhouse Company, in association with
the South African National Dance Trust, presents It’s Beautiful at The
Ballet at The Playhouse on December 22 and 23, 2022.
“It is with great pleasure that we bring our audiences It’s Beautiful at The Ballet, a wonderful bouquet of dance, gathered together from the great performance art that is Ballet”, says Ms Lynda Bukhosini, Playhouse Company Chief Executive and Artistic Director. “Ballet is one of the most taxing of all genres for the performer. For audiences, though, the experience is one of sheer exhilaration and beauty.”
Fresh from a triumphant season in Cape Town in October, where it met with standing ovations, It’s Beautiful at The Ballet is set to take the Durban stage by storm. This exciting collaboration of dance will be performed at The Playhouse to live accompaniment by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Eddie Clayton. The production features a selection of pieces by leading SA choreographers, Veronica Paeper, Sean Bovim, Adele Blank and Dane Hurst, curated as a mixed programme of wow factor ballet entertainment.
The Choreographers
Veronica Paeper has been dancer, resident
choreographer, and artistic director of CAPAB Ballet, which she was
instrumental in transforming into the Cape Town City Ballet Company. Now
retired, the multi-award-winner reproduces her ballets, and still feels she has
a few more she should create.
Sean Bovim danced with CAPAB Ballet and
moved on to directing his own company, Bovim Ballet. He choreographed Queen
at the Ballet to tremendous acclaim as well as SwingTime and Private
Presley. He has received awards for his ballets which are ‘athletic,
challenging and always evolving’.
Adele Blank was a dancer with PACT when she discovered ‘modern dance’ and the Graham Technique. She has choreographed for many companies including her own, Free Flight Company. She has been recognized with several awards and is renowned for her work with young dancers.
Dane Hurst has travelled extensively, won prestigious awards, and starred and choreographed in numerous films. An MA Choreography graduate from Kent University Central School of Ballet, he regularly choreographs abroad, and recently became artistic director of Jazzart, the Cape Town contemporary dance troupe.
Ballet has inspired many quotes from
dancers, choreographers, writers, and humourists. So many quotations deserve to
be shared. It’s Beautiful at The Ballet is a celebration of the ideas
that have been expressed about this artform. Some are inspiring. Some are down
to earth, some are revealing, and some are amusing. They each have something to
say to the audience.
George Balanchine, one of the greatest of all choreographers, said: “Ballet is like a rose. It is beautiful and you admire it, but you don’t ask what it means”. The great American ballerina, Suzanne Farrell, Balanchine’s muse, said: “You can’t put ballet into words. That is why we dance”.
Said Robyn Taylor (SANDT trustee): “This is no ordinary programme of disconnected short works. Actor Ashley Dowds threads them together by prefacing each with quirky dance-related quotes, such as Twyla Tharp’s ‘Dancing is like a bank robbery; it takes split second timing’.”
It’s Beautiful at The Ballet comprises an inspiring and joyful programme of short pieces which promise sheer entertainment. The duration of the production is as follows: Act 1 runs approximately 43 minutes, Act 2 is approximately 36 minutes, with a 20-minute interval between the acts.
Three performances only: December 22 at 14h00 and 18h00 as well as December 23 at 15h00. Pre-booking advised. Tickets R100 - R150. Available now at Webtickets.
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