September 13, 2004
By Anish Abraham
HUNDREDS of delighted, noisy and impatient school children crammed the carpeted foyer of the Nelson Mandela Theatre in anticipation of an event most had never experienced before.
The children were at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre to watch, for free, a performance of the ballet Swan Lake - part of the Arts Alive initiative.
Swan Lake, a South African Ballet Theatre production, is showing at the Civic Theatre until 26 September.
Many of the youngsters, bussed in from Soweto, Alexandra and Katlehong, had never seen such lavish surroundings.
They were given short lectures on the orchestra and the lighting crew before settling down to watch the dress rehearsal of the ballet.
The aim of the event was to expose children from various backgrounds to unfamiliar forms of arts.
A teacher from Fordsburg Primary School, Mustaq Patel, remarked that most of their children had never been to a theatre before. "We brought just over 100 children, all Grade 7s, and three teachers," said another Fordsburg Primary School teacher, Vincent Basson.
Nomahlubi Simamane of Arts Alive said they had identified aspiring artists from a number of schools and wanted to expose them to ballet, rapidly growing art form among black youngsters.
Some of the primary schools that attended included Fordsburg, Dr. Knack, Marlboro Gardens Combined School, Orchards, Glenhazel, Ekukhanyisweni and Zonkizizwe.
The children's excitement made it difficult for their teachers to keep the noise levels down so the theatre's house manager, Justine Lipson, could tell them about the theatre's history.
Lipson, said: "This is the first time that we have had children brought in to watch a ballet production."
CEO of the South African Ballet Theatre, Dirk Badenhorst, was excited that Arts Alive had sponsored such an event as it gave children the opportunity to see what a ballet production was all about.
The children from Alexandra were equally as ecstatic as all of them were studying ballet as part of the South African Ballet Theatre's Alexandra Outreach Programme over the past three years.
Former dancer and now instructor for the outreach programme, Victor Mohapi, said it was important for the children to "see how it is done by professionals".
Some members of the arts community, like Khushku Viljoen, an instructor at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre's Community Centre, volunteered their services for the day.
The excited din was extinguished as the curtains went up. Gasps greeted the sight of the huge stage, with its props and mesmerising lighting.
The rehearsal of the first two of three acts lasted almost an hour, with some of the children becoming restless towards the end. One or two children dozed off.
The whole production was two hours and 45 minutes long, which included two breaks, after the first and second acts.
Most children showed their appreciation by clapping enthusiastically after each scene - and occasionally even in mid-performance.
Grade 7 pupil Lihle Ngubane from Zonkizizwe Primary School in Katlehong was entranced by the experience: "I think it was great. I would also like to do ballet and be like them one day."
Zonkizizwe Primary School teacher, Lita Notha, described the morning as "amazing". "The kids were so curious. They have never seen such things in the townships, maybe only on TV."
At the end of the morning each child was given a packed meal that was part of the sponsorship.
Swan Lake is currently showing at the Nelson Mandela Theatre at the Civic Theatre. Tickets are available from Computicket starting at R77, excluding booking fee. For more information, contact the Civic Theatre 011 877 6800.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
