Principal dancers from America’s largest ballet companies, the New York City Ballet (NYCB), and American Ballet Theatre (ABT) will be dancing in a short season from Thursday November 15 to Sunday November 18 at the Artscape Theatre.
Ashley Bouder and Joaquin de Luz will perform Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux as well as pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and Don Quixote.
Daniel Ulbricht of NYCB will perform the pas de deux from Flames of Paris with Betsy McBride of ABT.
Kevin Durwael, who is the director of the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, has choreographed a pas de deux, Affection, to a Chopin Nocturne in memory of Mignon Furman.
A piece called Joy, also choreographed by Durwael, will be performed by a group of dancers.
Dancers from Joburg Ballet will be performing a neo-classical ballet.
This is the first time that Joburg Ballet will be seen in Cape Town.
The gala evening is on Saturday November 17.
Gilbert Mayer, who was the principle dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet, and who has coached many famous dancers, including Nureyev and Baryshnikov, will also pay tribute to Mignon Furman.
Furman, a choreographer, teacher and educationalist, was the director of the UCT Ballet School, and founder of the American Academy of Ballet, one of the largest and most prestigious summer schools in New York.
She also choreographed the Performance Awards, a programme which is taught in the USA and in other countries.
Determined to continue her vision for ballet, Simon Kaplan, Furman’s husband and Laurence Kaplan, her son, founded the Mignon Furman Ballet, which invited the guest dancers to Cape Town.
Performances are in the Artscape Opera House on Thursday November 15, Friday November 16, and Saturday November 17, at 7.30pm Matinees are on Saturday November 17 at 2pm, and Sunday November 18, at 3pm.
Tickets range from R250 to R550. Book through Computicket or Artscape-Dial-A-Seat on 021 421 7695. There is a 10% discount for pensioners, students and block bookings of 10 or more.
