The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe : Leisure Correspondent
“Interacting with the professional dancers and producer make this the highlight of the year — a rare opportunity for young dancers. It is one of the most exciting stage shows in Harare this year and we look forward to a good turnout. The audiences will certainly enjoy what promises to be one of the best dance shows in a number of years.”
| THE Dance Trust of Zimbabwe in partnership with Cape Town City Ballet will this week hold the intriguing Ballet Bouquet at Harare’s Reps Theatre for the first time. |
Ballet Bouquet is the main season of classical ballet for the DTZ in 2016, the theatre production being the final stage of a four-month collaboration with CTCB.
The event runs from July 28 to 31.
DTZ administrator Eve Stranix said it had all the ingredients to make it one of the best in the capital to date.
“Interacting with the professional dancers and producer make this the highlight of the year — a rare opportunity for young dancers. It is one of the most exciting stage shows in Harare this year and we look forward to a good turnout. The audiences will certainly enjoy what promises to be one of the best dance shows in a number of years,” said Stranix.
The show will feature renowned dancer and artistic director Robin van Wyk from CTCB, who will partner over 100 local dancers on the popular ballet “The Nutcracker”, as well as a series of excerpts from a range of other presentations during the bouquet.
“It is exceptionally pleasing to have the services of Robin van Wyk who choreographed the show and four accomplished Cape Town dancers, namely Conrad Nussers, Rosamund Ford, Daniel Szybowski and Angela Hansfordon stage with our performers.
“‘The Nutcracker’ adaptation was selected to be appropriate for Ballet Bouquet because of the many different roles which would suit our young dancers and provide adequate opportunity to feature the professional dancers. The lively story is set to beautiful music with gorgeous costumes and lots of action to keep audiences entertained,” she added.
Local dancers and teachers also got to engage with Robin van Wyk in a cultural exchange programme as they prepared for this week’s show.
And the group, according to DTZ spokesperson Lynda Stranix Chibanda, learnt various ways to improve the art in the sessions.
“The teachers learned much from Robin van Wyk about adapting the well-known story ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ for younger dancers. The pupils learned about commitment to the group and they were also coached on their ballet technique, performance skills, learning self-discipline and team work, conducting themselves with respect for each other and their teachers,” said Chibanda.
She also spoke on the future of ballet dancing in the country: “There is a future for ballet in Zimbabwe although DTZ is very much aware of the need to grow a new audience base to sustain the local dance industry. Ballet is constantly evolving. But the technical skills learned through ballet form the base for all other dance styles, from contemporary to hip hop.”
The show will probably become an annual event on the local entertainment calendar.
“We would love this show to be an annual event. We have received tremendous support from the National Arts Council and immigration department to secure permits to bring in these South African dancers. The ballet studios and parents have been generous with their time and now it’s up to the Harare community to support us with full houses,” added Chibanda.
“The Nutcracker” is based on the story “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice” by ETA Hoffman, which tells the tale of a German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against the seven-headed Mouse King.
When Marius Petipa got the idea to choreograph the story into a ballet, it was based on a revision by Frenchman Alexandre Dumas, the author of “The Three Musketeers”.
