June 7, 2004
By Chandrea Gerber
COMMITTED to expanding the horizons of both audiences and potential ballet dancers, the South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) has offered the township's ballet students the opportunity to display what they have learnt in a prelude to the production of 'Giselle', which they will stage at the Alexandra Stadium on Thursday 10 June.
South Africa's biggest ballet company's latest initiative is the product of an experimental project inaugurated in Mamelodi in 1995 by Dirk Badenhorst, CEO of the SABT - and a healthy grant from the Vodacom Foundation which enables over 120 children to attend hourly classes twice a week for free.
The children are taught ballet, Spanish and contemporary dance
The aim of the outreach programme is to guide pupils in potential careers in dance, and take them to the professional stage. "They are encouraged to fuse and develop a new proudly South African dance identity by incorporating the ballet they are taught, the traditional African dance learnt at school and the other dance forms they are exposed to," said an SABT spokesperson.
The children are taught ballet, Spanish and contemporary dance, in order to gain familiarity with all genres of dance. They are also taught spatial and language skills and, accrediting it to their "ability and eagerness to learn", the SABT says all present students can now speak English.
Besides endorsing the SABT's faith in the future of ballet in South Africa and giving students the opportunity to show what they have learnt, the Alexandra stage show also gives SABT the opportunity to scout for career talent in line with its outreach programme, said Fiona Budd, general manager and senior soloist of the SABT.
The show starts at 9.30am with community song and dance, followed by half an hour of outreach programme excerpts at 11am. Before 'Giselle', which starts at 12.15pm, the SABT will perform excerpts from 'Kopano', which mixes Mozart and Makeba, and Ed Wubbe's 'Schlager',
SABT's outreach programme
The show takes place on Thursday 10 June at the Alexandra Stadium next to the Alex Sankopano Centre. Admission is free thanks to sponsorship from the National Lottery Distribution trust fund.
For more information, contact Jacob Mosehla on 011 877 6898, or email admin@saballettheatre.co.za. For more information on the SABT go to http://www.saballettheatre.co.za
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