Joburg Ballet’s Spring Season of Dance: SANDT Spring Gala
Joburg Ballet’s Spring Season of Dance opens in glittering style at the Joburg Theatre on Friday 3 October with the SANDT Spring Gala, a world-class evening of dance that unites the finest talent from South Africa and abroad.
The Gala, presented by The South African National Dance Trust (SANDT) in partnership with Joburg Ballet, offers guests the opportunity to dress up for a night at the theatre and to enjoy drinks and snacks before the performance.
Says SANDT Executive Director, Robyn Taylor: “We are thrilled to be presenting and partnering with Joburg Ballet on the prestigious Spring Gala. It’s exciting to be uniting locally and internationally, bringing world-class ballet to the stage, celebrating creativity and showcasing the magic of collaboration, all of which enriches our South African dance sector enormously.”
The star-studded one-performance-only SANDT Spring Gala features Royal Ballet principal dancers Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano, as well as marking a homecoming for South African dancer Lara Turk who has been with The Royal Ballet for 18 years. Alongside The Royal Ballet dancers will be Joburg Ballet and WGRUV Dance Company while the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eddie Clayton will be in the orchestra pit.
Headlining Programme 1 of the Spring Season of Dance are the South African premieres of works by three of the greatest choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries: the Diamonds Pas de Deux from George Balanchine’s masterpiece Jewels, a highlight from Christopher Wheeldon’s Within The Golden Hour, both danced by Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano, and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan performed by Royal Ballet First Artist, Lara Turk.
Says Turk: “It fills my heart with such joy to be given this opportunity to perform in my home country again; and dancing a heritage work by Ashton, a choreographer whose ballets have so enriched my career, as well as an extract from Veronica Paeper’s Carmen is such an honour!”
Works by four highly regarded South African choreographers, Veronica Paeper, Sean Bovim, Adele Blank and Dane Hurst will also be presented. Joburg Ballet will perform the legendary Paeper’s Concerto for Charlie to Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No 2, the Habanera from her Carmen, where Turk will join the Joburg Ballet dancers, an extract from Joburg Ballet’s Artistic Director Dane Hurst’s Resonance and Sean Bovim’s 2007 work, Tango Table.
WGRUV Dance Company will perform Hurst’s Reflections and Bovim’s New Air and will share the stage with Joburg Ballet in dance pioneer and Free Flight Dance Company founder, Adele Blank’s Suite on Bob.
On Saturday 4 October, the day following the Gala night, The Royal Ballet guest artists will present a masterclass followed by a discussion about Sir Frederick Ashton’s work and contribution to the dance world and a Q&A session. This educational opportunity is aimed at professional dancers, pre-professional dancers, senior dance students, dance educators and interested balletomanes. Further information can be found on the SANDT website at https://www.sandt.co.za/
Joburg Ballet CEO Elroy Fillis-Bell commented that Joburg Ballet is looking forward to presenting the three components of the Spring Season of Dance, adding that “the season is a reflection of a broad artistic vision of the future, a celebration of a distinctive South African identity and our commitment to cultivating the next generation of talent. This is a season that honours the legacy of choreographic giants while uplifting the voices that will define the future of dance.”
SANDT Spring Gala booking information:
Venue: Joburg Theatre
Date: Friday 3 October
Time: Drinks and snacks from 6pm; performance starts at 7pm
Tickets: R300, R400, R500, R600, R700
Booking: 0861 670 670 or https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1572229542
The SANDT Spring Gala is receiving funding from the National Lotteries Commission and the National Arts Council.
Spring Season of Dance Programme 2: Celestial Bodies - an evocative and visually stunning exploration of cosmic themes, energy and movement. Performances on Saturday 4 October at 2pm and 7pm and Sunday 5 October at 2pm. Booking: 0861 670 670 or https://www.webtickets.co.za/event.aspx?itemid=1574592164
Spring Season of Dance Programme 3: First Light - a powerful mixed programme of classical and contemporary works that blend tradition with bold new perspectives. Performances on Thursday 9 October at 11am, Friday 10 October at 7pm and on Saturday 11 October and Sunday 12 October at 2pm. Booking: 0861 670 670 or https://www.webtickets.co.za/event.aspx?itemid=1574593118