SABallettheatre.co.za

On August 13th 2010, The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) returns to the Mandela Stage, at the Joburg Theatre with the sizzling and sultry ballet ‘Carmen’.

Much like the wining Spanish FIFA World Cup team with their supporters, SABT has been enjoying the tremendous wave of support from ballet- loving patrons from all sectors of the community. In November 2009, the SABT Board and Management announced that, although debt free, the Company was facing  financial challenges.  Patrons rallied to keep the art of classical ballet alive and a total of R5 million was raised (50% of which came from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

Corporate South Africa also contributed with Air Products Pty Ltd South Africa and the National Arts Council (NAC) coming on board.

As a result of this goodwill, The South African Ballet Theatre is once again able to present its world- class dancers in Veronica Paeper’s ‘Carmen-the Ballet’ which runs at the Joburg Theatre for a season of eighteen performances. The full – length ballet has not been seen on Johannesburg stage since 2003. This 2010 season has been slightly shortened and will run for two hours 15 minutes (including one twenty- minute and one fifteen-minute interval).First presented by SABT at the SA State Theatre in Pretoria in 2001, the saga of Carmen and Don José is a fiery love story based on an original by French writer Prosper Mérimée and later adapted as an opera – one of the most famous and well-loved in the world – by Georges Bizet. Using Bizet’s famous score, Paeper’s ballet explores the tempestuous relationship between the streetwise Carmen and the young officer Don José.

This season of ‘Carmen-the Ballet’ is sponsored by The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), and the National Arts Council (NAC).

Set in Spain, ‘Carmen-the Ballet’ captures all the fiery heat and passion of the country with a supporting cast including students from SABT’s Outreach programmes and the SABT Sinfonia under the baton of Tim Roberts.

Patrons can look forward to seeing the local talent of SABT’s resident stars, guest artists from Cape Town City Ballet as well as international guest artists Adam Thurlow and Dirk Weyershausen.

Performances are August 13 – 29 2010 click here for ticket info and specific performance times.

Adam Thurlow
Born in Melbourne, Adam Thurlow joined the Australian Ballet and was promoted to Soloist two years later. In 2002 he was offered a Soloist contract with the English National Ballet before joining the Paris Opera Ballet in 2003 as the first Australian dancer accepted into this world-renowned company. Mr. Thurlow has performed several lead roles with the Paris Opera including the Prince in Cinderella and Le Sacre Du Printemps.  In August 2006 he returned to the Australian Ballet before leaving to take on an international freelance career at the end of 2008.

Dirk Weyeshausen
Mr Weyeshausen, a German dancer is a graduate of the prestigious School of the Hamburg Ballet and is currently a Soloist with the Norwegian National Ballet. His roles have included the Prince in ‘Swan Lake’, Onegin in ‘Onegin’ and Apollo in Balanchine’s ‘Apollo’. Mr Weyershausen appears by kind permission of The Norwegian National Ballet & Opera.

SABT’s Open Day for Carmen will be held on Saturday 31 July and is already sold-out.

Tickets prices vary from R105 to R290 with discounts for SABT Friends, Block bookings and selected corporate companies. 

School Performances – Tues 17 & 24 August at 11am – all tickets just R50.00

Bookings through Computicket 083 915 8000 or Mr Moagi + 27 11 877 6898

Visit saballettheatre.co.za for further details.

For 2011, BLANK CANVAS is inviting applications with an emphasis on exploring duet work.

BLANK CANVAS is a professional dance residency programme at the Firkin Crane, Shandon Cork Ireland. The programme is open to professional dance artists already making their career in dance. The residency provides a platform for incubation time and space to research, develop and explore creative ideas without emphasis on a finished production. 

BLANK CANVAS is artistically driven within the supportive structures at the Firkin Crane by providing not just the necessary resources but also a deeply layered level of creative support.

BLANK CANVAS works in partnership with each artist to support the needs of their residency subject to resources available and would like to acknowledge the Arts Council of Ireland for its continuous support of the programme.

The selection process for BLANK CANVAS is panel based.

Deadline for Receipt of Applications: September 30th 2010

Visit FirkinCrane.ie for more information or to download an application form.

Nathan Chaney, 18, from the United States of America scooped two gold medals when he was awarded the first prizes in both the junior classical and contemporary divisions of the Cape Town International Ballet Competition (CTIBC) held at the Artscape Opera House on Saturday night. The glittering gala evening was attended by Premier Helen Zille, Alderman Belinda Walker, Mansoor Mohamed and dignitaries from the City of Cape Town, Foreign Embassy representatives, and dance lovers from throughout the country and abroad.

The international competition began on 13th July with three days of intense elimination rounds, culminating in Saturday night’s grand affair when entrants from SA, Cuba, Italy, Canada, the Republic of South Korea and Australia faced off for R375,000 in prize money. The capacity audience was abuzz with anticipation as the exceptionally talented competitors, aged between 15 and 27 years of age, performed superbly in classical and contemporary solos and pas de deux, showcasing incredible versatility, artistry and a breathtaking technical standard.

Premier Helen Zille, who earlier in the week had hosted the eight judges at a dinner at Leeuwenhof, graciously presented the medals together with Alderman Belinda Walker. The illustrious judging panel consisted of Eduard Greyling (SA), Mario Galizzi (Argentina), Hae Shik Kim (Republic of Korea), Ismael Albelo (Cuba), Septime Webre (USA), Xin Lili (China), Christopher Kindo (SA) and Lisa Pavane (Australia).

In the junior section, the winners are as follows: Nathan Chaney from the USA (18), winning the gold medal and ZAR80,000; Alys Shee from Canada (16) winning the silver medal and ZAR40,000; Jeon Yeo Jin from the Republic of Korea (16), winning the bronze medal and ZAR20,000, and Nathan Chaney (USA) winning the contemporary prize and ZAR30,000. In the senior section the winners are: Oscar Carmenates from Cuba (19) winning the gold medal and ZAR100,000; Hyo-Seon Park from the Republic of Korea (20) winning the silver medal and ZAR50,000; Aaron Smythe from Australia (19) winning the bronze medal and ZAR25,000 and Thoriso Magongwa from SA (27) winning the contemporary section and ZAR30,000. The special jury prize was awarded to Andile Ndlovu from SA (22) in acknowledgement of his excellent artistic delivery in both the classical and contemporary genres.

To bring the evening to a spectacular close, the entrants, including all those who had been eliminated during the course of the week, delivered an exuberant group performance choreographed by Lindy Raizenberg and set to the music of the Waka Waka, a fitting finale for South Africa’s very own ‘world cup’ of ballet and in keeping with the CTIBC’s support of SA’s Keep Flying campaign.

The Cape Town International Ballet Competition is headed up by Dirk Badenhorst and takes place every two years. It is acknowledged as one of the most high profile events on the country’s cultural calendar and the next event in 2012 is highly anticipated.

Brian Carey Chung

Looking for unique open dance classes in NYC this summer? Try studying with COLLECTIVE BODY | DANCELAB Director Brian Carey Chung at the following studios:

PERIDANCE CAPEZIO CENTER:
Contemporary Ballet with Brian Carey Chung, Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 10am.  Tuesday & Thursday at 4pm

GYROTONIC® MANHATTAN:
Certified Group Gyrotonic Classes with Brian Carey Chung Wednesdays 8am—9pm and 8pm—9pm; Private and semi-private available by appointment. 10-class group card for dancers $225. Single class $25.

Dance New Amsterdam
Ballet Outside the Box with Brian Carey Chung: Tuesday, & Thursday at 10:30am

Hosted by ANGELA LANSBURY five-time Tony Award Winner
Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:00pm  New York CITY CENTER

The 2010 Rolex Dance Award will be given to Twyla Tharp when Rolex presents Career Transition For Dancers’ 25th ANNIVERSARY SILVER JUBILEE: A STAR-STUDDED RETROSPECTIVE on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:00 pm at New York City Center, 131 West 55 Street (btwn. 6th and 7th  Ave) NYC.  It will be followed by an Anniversary Supper with the Stars at the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton New York.   “We are pleased to present this year’s Rolex Dance Award to Twyla Tharp, one of the most prolific dancers and choreographers of our time. We salute her dedication to dance and unwavering support of Career Transition For Dancers.” said Allen Brill, President and CEO of Rolex Watch USA.  Twyla Tharp stated “I am honored to be the 2010 recipient of the Rolex Dance Award.  25 years of helping dancers accomplish new goals after their careers as performing artists is a great accomplishment for Career Transition For Dancers.”

Hosted by Angela Lansbury, the five-time Tony Award-winning actress, and legendary star of musicals, films and television icon; the spectacular evening will highlight magical moments from past glittering galas.  Joining the celebration are Tony Award Winners: Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera, Tommy Tune, and Karen Ziemba.  Featuring artists from some of America’s greatest dance companies along with show-stopping Broadway numbers and more stars, this once-in-a-lifetime event is not-to-be-missed! Honoring a quarter century of support, Career Transition For Dancers connects dancers to their future, and embraces the unique legacy of dance and dancers that enriches the human condition.  It is produced and directed by Ann Marie DeAngelo.     Artists and program subject to change without notice.

For more information on Career Transition For Dancers visit their official website at www.careertransition.org
Follow the Career Transition ForDancers Gala on Twitter for up to date information at http://Twitter.com/ctfdgala

The Caroline & Theodore Newhouse Center for Dancers is located at 165 West 46th Street Suite 701 (at Broadway – the Actors’ Equity Building) NYC 10036. 
CTFD’s phone number is (212) 764-0172 and the fax is (212) 764-0343
In Los Angeles: 5757 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 455, LA, CA 90036, tel. (323) 549-6660 and fax (323) 549-6810.
In Chicago: at Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607; tel. (312) 666-0234 and fax (312) 455-8240. 

The 25th Anniversary Chairs are Michele Herbert, Anka K. Palitz, Nicole Sexton and Allen Brill.  Gala Chairs are Victor Elmaleh, Michele Riggi, James D. Rigler and Susan Fawcett Sosin.  The Dinner Chair is Janice Becker; Auction Chairs are Ann Van Ness and Heléne Alexopoulos Warrick; West Coast Chair is Roberta Silbert; and the Journal Chair is Craig Dix.  Vice Chairs are Gayle Conran, Alexander J. Dubé, Mercedes Ellington, Niko Elmaleh, Christina Rose and Irene Shen.  Honorary Chairs are Cynthia Gregory, Bebe Neuwirth, Sono Osato, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera, Lisa Niemi Swayze and Tommy Tune. (in formation)

Patron tickets are $600, $750 and $1,200 each. Tables for 10 start at $7,500. Patron tickets and tables include premium performance seating, post-performance Anniversary Supper with the Stars, dancing and a live auction at the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton New York. Sponsorships and Jubilee Journal ads are also available. 

For gala tickets please call Marjorie Horne, McEvoy & Assocs. at (212) 228-7446 x33.
For group sales call (718) 499-9691.  Show only tickets are also available.

The South African Ballet Theatre will be hosting a Winter School

Dancers aged 6 – 18 are invited to attend this exciting Winter school and join the stars of SABT for a fun-filled week including daily ballet class, repertoire, contemporary, national, stage craft, Pilates and much much more!

Please note that there is limited space available.

Dates & Times: 21 June 2010 – 26 June 2010
Juniors 8.30am – 1.00pm
Seniors 8.30pm – 5.00pm

Venue: SABT Braamfontein Studios, Johannesburg

Visit SABalletTheatre.co.za for more info or to register

Tony Award Winners Tommy Tune, & Karen Ziemba join Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking & Chita Rivera!

ROLEX Presents
Career Transition For Dancers’
25th ANNIVERSARY SILVER JUBILEE

A STAR-STUDDED RETROSPECTIVE
Hosted by ANGELA LANSBURY five-time Tony Award Winner
Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:00pm  New York CITY CENTER

Rolex presents Career Transition For Dancers’ 25th ANNIVERSARY SILVER JUBILEE: A STAR-STUDDED RETROSPECTIVE on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:00 pm at New York City Center, 131 West 55 Street (btwn. 6th and 7th  Ave) NYC.  It will be followed by an Anniversary Supper with the Stars at the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton New York.  Joining the celebration are some additional Tony Award Winners: Tommy Tune, Karen Ziemba along with the previously announced Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking and Chita Rivera.

 Hosted by Angela Lansbury, the five-time Tony Award-winning actress, and legendary star of musicals, films and television icon; the spectacular evening will highlight magical moments from past glittering galas.  Featuring artists from some of America’s greatest dance companies along with show-stopping Broadway numbers and more stars, this once-in-a-lifetime event is not-to-be-missed! Honoring a quarter century of support, Career Transition For Dancers connects dancers to their future, and embraces the unique legacy of dance and dancers that enriches the human condition.  It is produced and directed by Ann Marie DeAngelo.

Career Transition For Dancers (CTFD), with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, has helped over 4,600 professional dancers in 47 states identify their unique talents in preparation for establishing new careers when dance is no longer an option. Since its founding in 1985, the organization has provided more than 46,000 hours (equivalent to over $4 million) of one-on-one career counseling and program services – at no cost – and has awarded millions of dollars in scholarships for education, entrepreneurial grants, and certification programs. CTFD also provides dancers with specialized services that include transition seminars and workshops, peer support groups, resource centers, a toll-free national career counseling hotline, a website, and a National Career Network.      www.careertransition.org

The Caroline & Theodore Newhouse Center for Dancers is located at 165 West 46th Street Suite 701 (at Broadway – the Actors’ Equity Building) NYC 10036.  CTFD’s phone number is (212) 764-0172 and the fax is (212) 764-0343.  In Los Angeles: 5757 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 455, LA, CA 90036, tel. (323) 549-6660 and fax (323) 549-6810. In Chicago: at Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607; tel. (312) 666-0234 and fax (312) 455-8240.

The 25th Anniversary Chairs are Michele Herbert, Anka K. Palitz, Nicole Sexton and Allen Brill.  Gala Chairs are Victor Elmaleh, Michele Riggi, James D. Rigler and Susan Fawcett Sosin.  The Dinner Chair is Janice Becker; Auction Chairs are Ann Van Ness and Heléne Alexopoulos Warrick; West Coast Chair is Roberta Silbert; and the Journal Chair is Craig Dix.  Vice Chairs are Gayle Conran, Alexander J. Dubé, Mercedes Ellington, Niko Elmaleh, Christina Rose and Irene Shen.  Honorary Chairs are Cynthia Gregory, Bebe Neuwirth, Sono Osato, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera, Lisa Niemi Swayze and Tommy Tune. (in formation)

Patron tickets are $600, $750 and $1,200 each. Tables for 10 start at $7,500. Patron tickets and tables include premium performance seating, post-performance Anniversary Supper with the Stars, dancing and a live auction at the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton New York. Sponsorships and Jubilee Journal ads are also available.  For gala tickets please call Marjorie Horne, McEvoy & Assocs. at (212) 228-7446 x33. For group sales call (718) 499-9691.  Show only tickets are also available.

For more information on Career Transition For Dancers please visit their official website at CareerTransition.org

COSTUMES ENCOURAGED
 
Ever seen a dance performance and wanted to just get up and start moving yourself? Then our Wrap Party, celebrating 75 years of dance at the 92nd Street Y is for you! With cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, featured performances and a DJ who knows what your feet want to hear, we’re presenting the perfect combination of party and performance.

Here’s how it works: Cocktails and light food start 8 pm (bar is open till 1:30 am). At 9 pm, we offer the world premiere of Divas, by ANDREA MILLER/GALLIM DANCE. Then DJ MATTY MATT starts playing get-up-and-go dance music and historic Buttenwieser Hall becomes a discotheque, complete with disco ball. At 9:45 NICHOLAS LEICHTER DANCE shows a solo from their recent Joe’s Pub hit, The Whiz. Dance music and your best stuff follow, then at 10:30, BILL YOUNG offers a steamy duet. After more dance music (see a pattern here?) there’s an 11:15 pm quartet (Better Days) from RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE, and then, at midnight, DIXIE FUN LEE counts us down to our next 75 Years. How best to start the next 75? With more dancing and music, of course, till 2 am.

As if that weren’t enough, we have roaming performers who’ll offer brief, impromptu performances throughout the evening – ERIC JACKSON BRADLEY, SARA JOEL, STORME SUNDBERG, BUTOH BETTY and HOTBOT & ORGASMA, the stripping robots. And the evening’s hosts are MISS FORTUNE and LOLA FALLONYA. If you have to ask… well, you’d better just come and see.

Tuesday, May 25 at 8 pm
$15 General Admission. $10 Artist Admission with recent performance postcard or program.
$25 VIP Admission – 2 free drinks and a HotBot electric boogaloo just for you!

 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center
1395 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10128
 
For ticket information please visit: www.92Y.org or phone 212.415.5500
 
Visit the 92nd Street Y official website at  www.92Y.org

TheBalletBag.com

The Ballet Bag (http://www.theballetbag.com), an online resource for all things ballet, is celebrating its one-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, the website is running an online competition, ballet-mad libs, where visitors have the chance to win a limited edition, signed ballet silkscreen inspired by indie rock poster art.

The closing date for entries is May 22nd, 2010

To enter, go to http://www.theballetbag.com/2010/04/09/lets-play-ballet-mad-libs/ and fill in the humourous questionnaire, designed to celebrate ballet from both sides of the curtain.

Or to register your interest in purchasing a poster, email theballetbag@gmail.com. 

The closing date for entries is May 22nd, 2010
 
Set up by Emilia Spitz and Linda Uruchurtu in April 2009, The Ballet Bag was conceived to challenge audience preconceptions about ballet, which the site’s founders believe is often viewed as a stuffy, old fashioned and inaccessible. Linda, a Physics PhD from Cambridge and a tech whiz and Emilia, an ex city-lawyer and ‘culture vulture’, closely follow pop culture, fashion and technology and are enthusiastic about watching ballet.
 
“The idea for The Ballet Bag came because even though there were many excellent specialist websites covering ballet, very few of them were targeted at younger ballet audiences and even fewer leveraged off pop culture to show ballet in a different context. We wanted to bring ballet to a wider audience without ‘dumbing it down’ in the process,” commented Linda.
 
Emilia and Linda thought cross-referencing ballet with other art forms could give it a younger voice, help dispel myths of inaccessibility and “give ballet a new spin”. They often use indie rock song titles in their articles and do performance review roundups juxtaposing ballets to movies, music and even fashion design. The pair sees The Ballet Bag evolving into a ballet webzine, combining original content and selected ballet articles of interest from around the web.

Emilia added: “A few years ago I was browsing a UK fashion magazine and there was an article about Chroma, a ballet by choreographer Wayne McGregor set to the music of the White Stripes. Up until then I had always appreciated ballet as a purely classic art form and suddenly reading about Chroma and later seeing it live opened up a whole new world of ballet for me.”

In its first year the website has been involved in collaborations for the Royal Opera House official blog, published interviews with principal dancers of the Royal Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Royal Danish Ballet and is in the top 10 most influential ballet ‘follows ‘on Twitter (as listed on wefollow.com) with over 1,500 followers.

“The Ballet Bag, a blog new to me but one that is clearly on the side of beauty, transcendence, rapture, civilization, and a fun night out.”
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair contributing editor, August 2009

The Ballet Bag official website http://theballetbag.com
Follow The Ballet Bag on Twitter http://Twitter.com/theballetbag
The Ballet Bag on Facebook http://Facebook.com/theballetbag

The Board and Management of The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) are pleased to announce that, following their November 2009 announcement on their funding challenges, and the subsequent ten staff retrenchments that took place in December 2009, significant and exciting progress has been made.

Although R 2 million had been received by January 2010 this was insufficient for SABT’s needs and SABT would have had to have implemented a further round of retrenchments in April but, following the receipt of several large sponsorships, the SABT is delighted to announce that further retrenchments have been averted and the SABT is now proactively forging ahead with a new and exciting vision for the company.

The National Arts Council (NAC) have approved funding towards  SABT’s next season of Carmen-the Ballet which opens at the Joburg Theatre on August 13th 2010 and runs until 29 August.

SABT was recently informed of the successful outcome to an appeal lodged with the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and is delighted to announce that the first tranche of funding has been received for various SABT projects including the upgrade of transport for student dancers attending SABT’s Outreach programmes in Alexandra and Soweto.

A South African corporate has come on board with a significant sponsorship which will see them taking naming rights to the SABT Alexandra Outreach plus adding their support to a SABT season – details will be announced shortly.

On 17 February 2010 Mr Cedric Ntumba was appointed as SABT Chairman, and Mr James Campbell was appointed as Vice-Chairman.  Mr Cedric Ntumba is delighted to announce on behalf of the SABT Board that, following a company restructuring process, Ms Fiona Budd has been appointed as Managing Director of The SABT and Mr Iain MacDonald has been appointed as Artistic Director of The SABT, with effect from 1 May 2010.  Says Mr Ntumba, “The Board is proud to have such dedicated individuals at the helm of SABT and we wish them the very best in their respective new roles”.

The SABT Board is also delighted to  welcome their two newest Board Members – Ms Susie Mabie and Ms Kethabile Moya. Ms Mabie has been active in the creative and arts industries for many years, working with non- governmental organisations, government departments and the corporate sector in the arts. She is a Senior Manager at Transnet Foundation where she oversees the company’s social investment in the arts. Ms Moya holds an LLB degree, has worked with government and NGO organisations and is currently the General Manager of Legal Services and Board Secretariat with the Railway Safety Regulator.

SABT welcomes Mr Teboho Nkoane as their new Stakeholder Relationships Manager (with effect from 1 May) and Ms Ishshah Basheh will be joining the SABT in early June 2010, taking up the position of Commercial Manager.

SABT is also happy to announce that the following dancers have been promoted with effect from 1 May 2010:

Ms Shannon Glover from Soloist to Senior Soloist
Mr Hyun Kyung Cho from Senior Corps de Ballet to Senior Soloist
Mr Humberto Montero from Soloist to Senior Soloist
Mr Guy Wheatstone and Mr Chase Bosch were both promoted from Senior Corps de Ballet to Soloist

Says Mr Cedric Ntumba, ““The SABT, along with many organisations, has been through challenging times recently due to global and economic circumstances,  but, with our newly- formulated structure and focus on all levels, plus overwhelming public support, are confident that we are entering a new era for The SABT and are fully committed to ensuring the ongoing viability and future of ballet in South Africa, both as a creative and vibrant arts industry and as a business venture.”

SABT has a busy few months ahead before their August season of ‘Carmen – the Ballet’ at the Joburg Theatre.  The second set of the Le Canard SABT Gala Dinners are taking place at Le Canard Restaurant in Sandton from 19 – 20 May, SABT will be holding a pre-World Cup Open Day at their studios on Saturday 29 May from 10am – 1pm and limited places are still available for SABT’s Winter School (June 21th – 26th 2010) where dancers aged six to eighteen years old are invited to spend a week with the Company working closely with stars such as Angela Malan and Anya Carstens as they participate in pointe work classes, pas de deux, National dance classes, Pilates lessons, stagecraft lessons and even some World Cup-themed classes.

The South African Ballet Theatre would like to extend their huge thanks and appreciation to all who have given such generous and unstinting support to the SABT during the past few months – including the media, the CEO and staff of the Joburg Theatre, existing and new partners and the ballet and general public.  SABT looks forward to many exciting new partnerships and projects in the coming months.

For more information click here visit the official South African Ballet Theatre website.