Sunday 22 November 2009 is a special day for ballet in Cape Town as Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB) celebrates 75 years on ballet. This is South Africaโs premier ballet company and where better to commemorate this milestone but at the newly refurbished Artscape.
The evening will be commemorated with a once off gala performance from both past and present stars of the ballet. With a most fitting title the Happy Birthday Ballet will take the audience through the CTCBโs history. From the early beginnings at the UCT Ballet Company, through the days of CAPAB Ballet right until the Cape Town City Ballet as it is today.
Appearing alongside the CTCB company are past stars, some of whom are travelling from as far afield as Switzerland and St. Petersburg. Some of the familiar faces audiences can expect to see are Elizabeth Triegaardt, Eduard Greyling, Catinka van Vlaanderen, Carol Kinsey, Annette Middleton, Tracy Li, Janet Lindup, Allison Foat, Philip Boyd, Owen Murray, Clare Shepherd-Wilson, Veronica Paeper and many more …
On 20 and 21 November the CTCB company will be presenting 3 performances of Balletscapes which features a new ballet from Robin van Wyk called African Landscapes as well as works from other CTCB choreographers. Also to be enjoyed by the audience in these performances are excerpts from popular ballets by the late David Poole, Veronica Paeper, Andre Prokovsky and others as well as the Grand Pas from Paquita. Cape Town really is in for a treat that weekend.
I have such fond memories of going to see ballets such as Giselle, Copelia, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet while growing up. It was always a privilege to be taken to the Artscape (then Nico Malan) by my mom to watch these beautiful dancers take to the stage and create a new world for me to disappear into for a few hours.
And with the CTCB being the only professional ballet company in Cape Town it is vital that we support them so that they can carry on bringing little dancers dreams to life.
Photo Credits:
Photographs ยฉ Cape Town City Ballet
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