International Ballet Gala in Cape Town

It’s South Africa’s turn to welcome a galaxy of visiting ballet stars for the International Ballet Gala

From New York to Moscow, St Petersburg to Paris and London to Tokyo, the words “international ballet gala” send a current of excitement and a tremor of expectation through audiences in entertainment capitals across the globe.  

International Ballet promise performances at their most glittering and events that have audiences cheering international ballet stars, as they set the stage alight with dancing both sophisticated and powerful.

This will be the first time ballet will be seen on the stages of these popular venues that have hosted some of the country’s biggest and most spectacular events.  The International Ballet Gala will be no exception!

Some of the stars featured in the line-up will be winners from previous Cape Town International Ballet Competitions in 2008 and 2010, such as Alys Shee (Canada), Elza Leimane (Latvia), Hyo Jung Jun  (South Korea), Nathan Chaney (USA), Oscar Carmenates (Cuba), Raimond Martinov (Latvia), Sung Woo Han (South Korea) and Aaron Smythe (Australia).  

South African-based dancers include Michael Revie (Ireland), Kitty Phetla and Angela Malan. Andile Ndlovu - joint winner of the gold medal in the senior contemporary section in the 2008 CTIBC - returns to our stages from Washington DC, where he is a member of the Washington Ballet.

Audiences can look forward to pas de deux and showpieces from such legendary ballets as Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote and The Nutcracker, blazing with all the passion, intensity and show-stopping brilliance for which ballet is admired and applauded the world over.

Presented jointly by the Cape Town Internationa Ballet Competition (funded in part by the City of Cape Town) and Mzansi Productions (funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund), both directed by Dirk Badenhorst, the International Ballet Gala will showcase some of the most dazzling ballet talent to visit South Africa, generating an excitement sure to heat up SA’s wintery months.

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For all on stage productions happening throughout Cape Town and surrounds in 2011, be sure to check out our Events Section.

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