Tiny feet, big potential Children line up for rehearsals at the Joburg Ballet schoolPHOTOs: Rosetta Msimango
NEWS
Young girls from previously disadvantaged communities of Alexandra, Soweto and Braamfontein have been introduced to the art of classical ballet by Joburg Ballet’s satellite schools.
The dance company operates a ballet school and academy for pre-professional students.
City Press visited one of its rehearsals at the Joburg Ballet studios for this year’s showcase, a dance adaptation of The Prince of Egypt musical, created for the school by coordinator and teacher Jo-Anne Wyngaard.
Getting ready (From left) Students during dress rehearsals for the Prince of Egypt showcase on Saturday; teacher Carmen Patterson assists the kids to fit their shoes; and ballet shoes have come a long way in terms of colour matching
Snug The dancers have the opportunity to grow with the school to become professionalsPHOTO:
Reaching for the stars Students are seen practising their dance routines. The ballet school exposes children to the joys and benefits of dancing, and aims to nurture their talents until they turn professional
1, 2, 3 turns The ballet school exposes the children to the joys and benefits of dancing.PHOTO:
Expression Learners during dress rehearsals for the showcase on October 8.PHOTO:
pirouettes and POséS Joburg Ballet’s annualshowcase returns after Covid-19 disruption
pirouettes The showcase includes 50 young students. PHOTO:
She said they were excited for the show on October 8, since they have not held a showcase for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wyngaard said:
I love that Joburg Ballet has given these kids a chance,” she says of the opportunity to showcase on the Nelson Mandela theatre stage of the Joburg Theatre.
The group of 50 which will be performing is made up of children from the age of six, from across Gauteng. They are outstanding dancers from the dance company’s community-based developments that have been running since 2012 to give children from historically disadvantaged areas good basic ballet training.
Wyngaard is particularly proud of the resilience of the children.
She says:
Despite the individual challenges that the children face at home, they give great effort to the performance. We need to give credit to the kids because they adapt easily to the lessons.
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