South African Mzansi Ballet

inside the Mariinski Theatre

Ballet is my favorite of the performing arts! It has music (Ray Charles and Wynton Marsalis have accompanied the New York City Ballet on stage), theatre (John Lithgow and Patti Lupone have narrated too), art (Picasso and Chagall designed several sets for Balanchine's ballets), fashion (Chanel and Stella McCartney have designed costumes as well).

Besides the New York City Ballet (where we subscribed for 30+ years) and the American Ballet Theater (where we subscribed for 5), New York plays host to all of the American and indeed the world's greatest ballet companies and we saw them all on stage at Lincoln Center, the Joyce Theatre and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

But just as there is nothing like seeing the New York City Ballet on its home turf at Lincoln Center, there is no substitute for seeing any ballet company in its home venue with its inspirations and muses in the seats and in the surrounding city and country. They just seem to dance better! So whenever we travel we try to do just that. The Kirov at the Mariinski Theatre, the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Stuttgart, the Melbourne Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Teatro Colon Ballet, even the La Scala Ballet at Milan's Opera House.

So I was THRILLED to the tip of my toe shoes to see that Joburg has a resident ballet company, the South African Mzansi Ballet!!!

It is a new ballet company having been only established in July 2012, following the merger between The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) and Mzansi Productions but they have a relationship with the ballet diva Alicia Alonso and the Cuban National Ballet. They have adopted the Cuban method of ballet training in their dance school. Vince and I saw Alicia Alonso dance many years ago when she performed as a guest artist in New York. She has an amazing life story!

The SA Mzansi Ballet is in residence at the Johannesburg Theatre in September fresh from an international gala tour celebrating Alicia Alonso. Can't wait!