The Joburg Ballet

We finally went to see the South African Mzansi Ballet or the Joburg Ballet as it is now called. Instead of seeing their brand new production of Cinderella, we opted instead for a program called Celebration 5.

Celebration 5 features seven (not 5) short ballets and excerpts from a couple of full-length ballets. Most were pretty modern ballets and there was also a pas de deux  from Le Corsaire with choreography after Marius Petipa and one called Flower Festival at Genzano Pas de Deux with choreography by the equally legendary Auguste Bournonville.

Most of the short ballets were choreographed by Joburg Ballet's own resident choreographers. A couple were by guest choreographer Alvaro Restrepo who is the Director and co-founder of Colombia's El Colegio del Cuerpo whose members also  performed with the company.

Most of the pieces were very enjoyable and were danced very well. We got to see a range of dancing styles and abilities danced in very classic and more modern ballet styles. The first thing you notice is that there is no pit orchestra. Come to think of it, there is no pit. We were spoiled in New York! The recorded music was actually pretty good though. One ballet had a DJ on stage who was also part of the scenery. That was very, very good. The second thing you notice is the dancers are much more athletic and acrobatic than the dancers we are used to at home. And ripped!

I have to say as the evening progressed we were thinking "this is ok, we could do this a couple of times a year. Maybe we should get tickets to The Nutcracker for Christmas." Then the curtain went up on the last ballet, God-by-the Sea.  "Concepcion and Choreography"  by Alvaro Restrepo. Concepcion? Uh oh. That did not bode well.  Somebody takes himself way too seriously. (PS he describes himself in the program as Colombian Dancer, Choreographer and Pedagogue. That should have been my first clue!)

That really bit!

As it turned out, it was worse than we thought. The music was disharmonious - and not in a good Stravinsky way - chants and cantigas and just noise. And the program included an except from a Pablo Neruda poem about death as a way to describe the ballet. Strike three.

I tried to figure out what was going on up on the stage but I soon gave up. I can't really comment about the actual choreography or how the dancers performed because I sort of curled up into a ball and fell asleep in self-defense. Apparently one of the female dancers gets completely naked on stage and Vince said even that could not save it! As Leonard Pinth-Garnell used to say on SNL's Bad Ballet, "That really bit!"

photographs for sale in the lobby

But on a good note, the Joburg Theater Complex is really nice! There are a number of theaters in the Complex showcasing most of the performing arts. Very nice and modern. There is free and secure parking underneath the complex and there is a restaurant with a full bar on the ground floor. These things are very important in the CBD. You do not have to worry about parking and if you get there too early, you do not have to roam the streets looking for a bar or a restaurant to have a pre-theater cocktail.

And speaking of getting there early, do not be late! This was the first time we have ever seen anything start on time since we got to South Africa. That curtain went up promptly at 7:30.

The Joburg Ballet is still a young company. Maybe they haven't found their voice yet. Maybe God-by-the-Sea was just an aberration. After all, the NYCB had its klinkers in my estimation. Can you say Bugaku?

We may still go to see the Nutcracker at Christmas.

A Weekend with the Rhinos

The Johannesburg Zoo turned World Rhino Day on September 22 into an entire World Rhino Month for all of September.

We took the opportunity on Saturday to have breakfast with the Zoo's Rhino Keeper, Alice Masombuka and to hear first-hand about Alice's experiences being a rhino keeper at a Zoo. She is actually a pachyderm keeper and is also is responsible for the elephants and hippos at the Zoo.

Alice showed us an award-winning film about the famous Phila, a now seven year old black rhino who two years ago was shot nine times by poachers and still managed to miraculously survive! First she was darted from a helicopter with a tranquilizer to slow her down and then tracked and shot with two bullets by poachers on the ground. She managed to escape her attackers even though one of the bullets had shattered her foot.

Phila was rescued and brought to a nearby game preserve where she was prophylactically de-horned, treated and placed in a protected boma to recuperate and hopefully gain her strength back. A couple of months later she was shot an additional seven times at close range in the boma probably by the very same poachers. The theory is that the poachers did this as a senseless act of revenge because they were angry that she had escaped their grasp.

After being treated again for her grievous wounds, Phila lived at the more protected Johannesburg Zoo. Miraculously last year, she was released back into the wild in a secret location. She is doing amazingly well and now even has a male companion. She has not bred yet but everyone is hopeful she will be pregnant soon and will live a normal rhino life in peace.


We took a tour of the Zoo's pachyderm village and Alice introduced us to the two white rhinos who currently live at the Zoo, Peter and Zimbi. Not only were we taken inside the Rhino Enclosure to meet Peter and Zimbi, we were even allowed to pet them!

That's it! I signed up immediately to volunteer at the zoo to help Alice care for her rhino charges. Can't wait!

Alice gave us her insight on the state of the anti-poaching movement in South Africa and the different strategies they are employing to combat this scourge. We all gladly signed a petition urging the South African government and the international community to do more to save the rhinos.

with Alice

I should have spent the night because the next morning I was right back at the Zoo at 9:30 to participate in their Rhino March! I put my Kariega rhino tee shirt back on and my rhino "tears" earrings and necklace from Kisma & Co., grabbed a placard and joined the others who were marching to bring more awareness to the plight of the rhino.

The Rhino March was organized in cooperation with Rhino SA, another worthwhile animal conservation group in South Africa. Check out their website and write a letter to President Zuma. Tell him you want him to save the rhino before it is too late!

No, No, No to poaching!

Diner en Blanc!

Wow, Le Diner en Blanc Johannesburg was tres, tres magnifique! Has to be one of the best parties we have ever been to and it was breathtakingly gorgeous.

Wade Howard @ Ocean Driven Media took this picture

In most cities around the world where the dinners are held, the rule is that the guests must take mass transportation to the venue. But since Joburg's mass transportation is somewhat limited, the organizers instead also organized a number of meeting spots and buses to get everyone to the secret location.

We chose the nearby Sandton Gautrain station as our meeting point. FYI, hundreds of people all dressed in white standing on a busy street corner during rush hour attract oodles of attention!


We didn't know where the bus was taking us until we turned into the parking lot and saw a massive white-ballooned entry gate. Voila ...

step and repeat at the entrance

The secret location is revealed!

The South African National Museum of Military History with its iconic memorial arch, like a mini Arc de Triomphe. The Museum's parade grounds were a perfect place to host a few thousand for dinner!

First order of business, set the table, light the candles,

... plate the food and pour the wine.

Next order of business, dine! Bon Appetit and Cheers!

We designed an all-white menu in keeping with the theme!

including the dinner and dessert wines!

And speaking of dessert, the all-white pavlovas consisted of homemade meringues, white chocolate chips,whipped cream, white grapes and macadamia nuts. Yum! And we ate them out of an Orlando Pirates and a Kaizer Chiefs pint glass as a nod to Johannesburg.










We sat at the Milan table. Everyone really got into the spirit!




 

There are a number of rituals and traditions which take place throughout dinner before the real party starts. First we twirled our white cloth napkins in the air to "occupy the site" and officially start the festivities.








We wrote wishes on slips of paper and attached them to white helium balloons which we released into the heavens.

Not very eco-friendly I am afraid, but it sure did look pretty flying by the arch with its majestic angel statue.

The Anglo-Boer War Memorial arch was aglow.

Then we lit huge sparklers and waved them in the air. Absolutely magical!

White lights were a big part of people's elaborate table decorations.

 ... and outfits!

some people were very creative with their lighting locations!

















There were live performances by a number of musicians throughout dinner, but when the real party started, DJ Ultra-Mel kept everyone on the their feet with a great dance mix.


(Ultra-Mel is Melanie Motto-Ros nemolie123@yahoo.com
 072 607 6045)

It was a party under the arch!!!












Already planning my outfit for next year ...

It will always be America's Cup

Unbelievable America's Cup regatta!

I would have surely been there if I still lived in the US of A! (My son lives in the East Bay and San Francisco had become like a second home to me.)

But I just couldn't swing it this year. Timing just wasn't right. :(  At least I got to "see" it on Facebook and on YouTube.

I had already seen one America's Cup regatta in person. Only once. In Newport in the early 80's.

And while Newport is a beautiful setting and the home of American yacht racing, to see it in San Francisco Bay right from the shore would have been awesome!

Auckland

Sadly we lost to Australia the year I saw the regatta in Newport. After a long run of defending it. The cup has gone back and forth between the USA and only a couple of other countries since then.

(Vince and I saw the cup in New Zealand once in 2003. I remember thinking it looked very out of place there!)

But this year Team Oracle successfully defended the cup. The most amazing comeback in America's Cup history and maybe even in the history of sports. In beautiful San Francisco Bay. I'll bet it was over-the-top-exciting to see the final eight races in person.

Well at least I can visit the silver cup at the Golden Gate Yacht Club next time I am in San Francisco. That's a small consolation.







But no matter who wins and no matter where the cup resides  ...










 

It will always be America's Cup!





  

San Francisco

Congratulations Oracle! Congratulations America!

The Bottom of Africa

whales

whale tail

sea birds

sunset

tide pools

driving to the white dunes of De Hoop

white dunes

white cottages and whales

needles of Agulhas

Beach Combing Treasure

Did some more beach combing along the Whale Coast over the weekend to add to my collection of treasures from the sea. It helps me cope with my lack of beach access between trips to the two oceans.












Drying in the sun:

sea glass

sponges

shells

a sea urchin

cool rocks and a huge skate (shark?) case