October 21, 2004
By Tabisa Mntengwana
TWO choreographers have come up with new dishes for the palate of ballet lovers - two original African-flavoured dance presentations by Ballet Theatre Afrikan are being served up at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.
The double bill - Christopher Kindo's Sollopa and Martin Schonberg's Four Seasons - has been given added spice by the Johannesburg Music Initiative Orchestra, under the baton of Graham Scott.
Ballet Theatre Afrikan's programme is being performed in the Nelson Mandela Theatre of the Johannesburg Civic Theatre from 20 to 24 October.
Under Kindo's creative vision the story of Apollo has been transformed into a South African story. Set in a mythical land, Sollopa tells a tale of sorcery; of the search for love; and of the clash between the dark and the light.
A key element of the dance is the role of the sangoma, who casts a spell over a young woman and three suitors. The spell involves the girl being seduced by the suitors. She turns into a tree and each year when the leaves fall, the turn into tears of passion and ecstasy.
"Sollopa is very different from the dance pieces Kindo has done before. It is more classical and he has fused classical and contemporary ballet in a very different but exciting way," says dancer Thoriso Magongwa.
The dance has been choreographed to the beautiful Night Prayers by the Kronos Quartet, with costumes and sets by Andrew Botha and lighting by Stanley Knight.
"The music is very difficult and strange but Kindo makes it easy for us to count the beats and learn the music. He is a very good teacher," adds Magongwa.
The second work on the bill, by Schonberg, who is the artistic director of the Ballet Theatre Afrikan, also has an African feel.
Four Seasons, from Anne-Sophie Mutter's interpretation of Vivaldi's work, focuses on the human condition: the four ages of man and the influence on the human condition of the ever-changing seasons.
"The weather in Africa is very different from other countries. We have these exquisite lightning and flash storms in summer and don't experience very cold winters. That makes us experience life differently and that is one of the main reasons why we have an African theme this season," says Schonberg.
The ballet - a fusion of classical with contemporary - captures the ebb and the flow of the seasons through the grouping and regrouping of the 12 dancers and is enhanced by the visual décor of Marius Boshoff.
Violinist Irene Tsoniff plays with the Johannesburg Music Initiative Orchestra. Says Scott: "We have made the music very different - vibrant and raw at the same time. We are not trying to be pretty with the music so that it can complement the dance. The music is also fast and slow at times, bright and colourful and also dramatic but it is as the composer wrote it."
"This season will exploit the virtuosity, strength and diversity of Ballet Theatre Afrikan, unveiling an exciting new look," according to a press release.
The new works feature principal dancers Yolandi Olckers, Kitty Phetla, Kagiso Mabe, and Thoriso Magongwa, with company members Margarita Naydenova and Carmen Harris and aspirants Kim Peters and Andile Ndlovu.
This season also sees the Ballet Theatre Afrikan working with guest artists Humbreto Ruiz Montero, from Mexico, and Todd Fox, from the US. Montero is a member of the Ballet of Monterrey and the Chamber Ballet of the State of Morelos, while Fox is the co-founder of management agency, Elite Dance Artists Management and has worked with ballet companies from Yugoslavia to Venezuela and Los Angeles.
Tickets are available at Computicket at R115 for adults, and R75.50 for scholars, students and pensioners. Tickets are R50 for dance studios, block bookings and schools performances. A 10 percent discount will be given for all block bookings and tickets will be half price for the preview.
To book, call Computicket on 011 340 8000 or 083 915 8000 or log on to www.computicket.com. Bookings for schools, studios and block bookings can be done via the Johannesburg Civic Theatre's VIP Ticketing on 011 877 6854.
For more information call Paula Kelly at Ballet Theatre Afrikan on 011 880 3099 or ballettheatreafrikan@artslink.co.za.
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