Rooftop ballet — How Joburg Ballet is challenging elitist perceptions

Imagine this: a rooftop overlooking the Johannesburg skyline, a beautiful, orange-tinted sunset and snippets of ballet performances performed on a repurposed basketball court. This was the scene at Joburg Ballet’s Ballet in Braam, part of the company’s 25th anniversary celebrations, with the aim of bringing ballet to unconventional spaces in the city.

Ballet in Braam was held from 27–28 March on the rooftop of Play Braam on the vibrant Juta Street. The sold-out performance on Saturday, 28 March, showcased a selection of works ranging from classics such as Gisele to contemporary original choreography. Also included was a snippet from Celestial Bodies, a dance choreographed by Naples-born Mario Gaglione that took inspiration from scientific discoveries.

The performance was the brainchild of the company’s artistic director, Dane Hurst. Hurst told Daily Maverick that he’d realised that many Johannesburg residents were not aware that the company existed. The performance was intended to make ballet more accessible by bringing ballet to inner-city audiences.

“I thought we need to bring ballet out of the theatre and into new spaces and take it to the people, take it to where people are, because it’s a wonderful art form. It brings together so many different people from all walks of life, different creatives, musicians, composers, designers, fashion designers, costume makers, technicians, dancers,” he said.

The result was a “seven-course tasting menu” showcasing a diversity of ballet performances and styles – from classical ballet to African-infused choreography. One standout performance was Camagwini choreographed by Tumelo Lekana, who combined pointe and rhythmic traditional Xhosa dancing.

This creative marriage is deeply personal for Lekana.

“Having to fuse the African and the European, it’s something that I’ve been passionate about […] since I’ve started choreographing in the company, because the first time I choreographed, they asked me to do something and I thought, we are a ballet company in Africa and we are missing that African part of it,” he said.

Bringing ballet into unconventional spaces

Joburg Ballet was formed in 2001 following the closure of the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal (Pact) Ballet. Since then, the company has evolved into one of Africa’s biggest dance companies, attracting performers from Paraguay, Italy, Japan, among other,s and has established a dance school with more than 100 students.

Now the ballet company is finding new ways to adapt to a changing environment marked by funding constraints and to challenge the perception that ballet is only for the elite. Part of this includes conducting interactive sessions where audience members are able to pose questions to the dancers.

“By us bringing ballet into a different space, it’s showing that it's not an art form that is just for the elite, or for a particular class of people,” Hurst said.

The company plans to take over more spaces across the city. Up next is a unique performance at the Candice Berman Gallery, where four choreographers from Joburg Ballet – Lekana, Chloe Blair, Gabriella Ghiaroni and Gabrielle Fairhead – will perform new pieces in response to exhibitions by Restone Maambo, Hannalie Taute and Shana Ellappa.

The exhibition will feature four distinct performances across four spaces, and is scheduled for Thursday, 2 April, as part of Johannesburg’s monthly First Thursdays programme. DM

The Joburg Ballet x Candice Berman Gallery performance will take place at the Candice Berman Gallery in Rosebank on 2 April 2026 and is free to attend, although RSVPing through the 223 App is required.