PHOTO ESSAY
A dancing delight at Artscape: Dreams of chivalry brought to the stage
Cape Town City Ballet presents the legendary Don Quixote at Artscape from 12 August to 2 September 2023. Don Quixote, based on the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes, is set in the Spanish seaport of Barcelona and is about the forbidden love of Kitri and Basilio.
Cape Town City Ballet’s production of Don Quixote is produced by internationally renowned choreographer Maina Gielgud and features international guests at certain performances.
International artists will include Antonio Casalinho and Margarita Fernandes, First Soloist & Soloist of the Bavarian State Ballet, as well as Vadim Muntagirov and Fumi Kaneko, both with the Royal Ballet Company.
Tickets range from R175-R745 and are available on Computicket.
Antonio Casalinho and Margarita Fernandes, two of the international guests, perform as the lead characters Basilio and Kitri. Casalinho is seen as a ballet prodigy. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
Fanelo Ndweni as one of the gypsies. The ballet features townspeople, toreadors and gypsies with interesting backgrounds and a mix of beautiful colours. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
Mikayla Isaacs from the Cape Town City Ballet. The three-act ballet tells of a dream and an adventure in a forbidden love story that has a happy ending. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
A ballet dancer is silhouetted against the backdrop backstage during the final dress rehearsal performance of ‘Don Quixote’. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
Interesting shadows in an aerial view of the ballet during the final dress rehearsal of ‘Don Quixote’. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
A blur of colours from dancers. The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Jonathan McPhee, will make an appearance at selected shows. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
A close-up of a dancer’s tutu during the final dress rehearsal performance of ‘Don Quixote’. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
The production promises to transport audiences through the escapades of Don Quixote and his friend Sancho. It is a romantic comedy featuring passionate young lovers, townspeople, toreadors, gypsies and so much more. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
Eduard Greyling, previous principal of Cape Town City Ballet, plays The Don in ‘Don Quixote’. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
A scene from the forest in the Kingdom of Dryads, part of Don’s dream. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
A ballet dancer warms up backstage before the final dress rehearsal of ‘Don Quixote’. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
Paige McElligott stretches in her dressing room before the show. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
Ella Mansford does her makeup in the Artscape’s dressing rooms before her performance. (Photo: Shelley Christians)
DM
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Sadly I was not able to see Maina Gielgud’s Don Quixote but knowing the quality of her work, I am sure it was up to her high standards and that the dancers gave of their best – as dancers always do. However the removal of Debbie Turner as the company CEO is a tragedy. The company was on track to becoming a company that reflected contemporary ballet in an African environment. Turner for many years prior to her position as CTCB CEO ran the Cape Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA) and nurtured the prodigious talent indigenous to South Africa. Mthuthuzeli November, the first South African choreographer to win an Olivier Award in London is a product of her careful mentoring. His ballet Ingoma was reviewed by a Daily Maverick reporter 10 December 2019. It has since been shown in Cape Town and November is now working on his first commission for the Royal Ballet in London.
Turner’s imaginative programming gave Cape Town audience, now younger, more diverse ethnically and expanding, a taste of top quality ballet and contemporary dance. SA ballet was moving from being a colonial offshoot to finding its own unique identity. It was a miracle in progress and needs desperate action to be saved.