7 January 2008
South Africa's top ballet and contemporary dancers are flexing their muscles and fluffing out their tutus as competitors jet in from around the world for the inaugural South African International Ballet Competition, kicking off at the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town on 15 January.
The event has attracted dancers from the US, Cuba, China, Latvia, Korea, Argentina, Taiwan and Japan, all of whom will compete for more than R400 000 during a week of intense elimination rounds culminating in the finals and gala performances.
First Lady Zanele Mbeki has shown her support for the competition by hosting a gala dinner for the judges and VIP guests at her Genadendal Residence in Cape Town on the eve of the competition.
Casting their critical eyes over the competitors will be a panel of high-profile judges from South Africa and abroad, namely:
- Cape Town-based Denise Schultze, co-director of Pact Ballet and a guest teacher and producer with ballet companies locally and overseas.
- Phyllis Spira, asistant artistic director of Cape Town's Dance for All youth company.
- Laveen Naidu, executive director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
- Charla Genn, an international guest teacher with companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Les Ballets de Trockaderos.
- Virginia Johnson, editor of Pointe Magazine.
- Septime Webre, artistic director of the Washington Ballet.
- Simon Dow, choreographer, master teacher and coach.
- Hae Shik Kim, artistic director of the Seoul International Dance Competition.
- Mario Galizzi, a former principal dancer and choreographer from Argentina.
He said the event, like similar competitions in Varna, Bulgaria and the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, would enable local and international directors to seek out emerging talent for their own companies, as well as grow new audiences "and draw amateur and professional dance companies together to learn from each other through the platform of competitive engagement."
Workshops are being planned for young dancers from the growing number of dance projects in Cape Town.
The competition is divided into two sections, junior/amateur (15-18 years) and senior/professional (19-28 years). There will be cash prizes in all divisions, donated by the Guernsey-based Michel Tesson Performing Arts Trust.
The elimination rounds take place from 15 to 17 January, with the finals being held on 18 January and the gala performance on 19 January.
The winners will be announced at the gala, where there will be guest appearances by contemporary dancer Mamela Nyamza and Theo Ndindwa, who together with the newly formed iKapa Dance Theatre will present a specially commissioned indigenous choreography.
Tickets for the elimination rounds cost from R50 to R80 for a day ticket; for the finals from R66 to R223, and for the gala performance from R191 to R403. Bookings can be made through Computicket or Artscape Dial-A-Seat on 021 421 7695.
For more information, visit the competition website.
SAinfo reporter
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