Classical ballet’s great comedy,Coppélia, returns to the Joburg Theatre after a lengthy absence to raise the curtain on Joburg Ballet’s 2014 seasons.Coppélia opens at the Joburg Theatre on Friday 7 March followed by ten further performances through to Sunday 23 March. In keeping with Joburg Ballet’s aim to expand ballet’s footprint to a wider audience, the Johannesburg season ofCoppélia will be followed by four performances presented by PACOFS at the Sand du Plessis, Bloemfontein.
Romance, jealousy, intrigue and a huge dollop of comedy makeCoppélia one of the best loved ballets in the world, the story of an old toymaker who believes he’s breathed life into his most beautiful mechanical doll. His joy may be short-lived but all ends happily in this most endearing and heart-warming of the great ballet classics.
Adding a dash of the different to the month of March will be two performances of Celebration 6 which continues Joburg Ballet’s tradition of mixing the familiar classics with ballet that is new and now, sometimes edgy, always exhilarating. Celebration 6 takes to the Joburg Theatre stage on Saturday 15 March and Saturday 22 March, both at 7.30pm.
Joburg Ballet receives generous funding from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund in support of the company’s Development Programme.
But even before the ballet season opens on 4 March, the Joburg Ballet has already been hard at work in 2014, hosting for the second consecutive year a visit by MBA students from Harvard Business School’s Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development. The visit gave Joburg Ballet access to global business best practice with the focus on maximising marketing strategies and broadening revenue possibilities.
Looking ahead in 2014, some selected highlights of the Joburg Ballet calendar include:
14 Feb Valentine’s Day performance at Hyde Park Corner
15 Feb Open Day: Coppélia / Celebration 6; Joburg Theatre, book on 011-877 6898
8 Mar Friends of the Ballet: Pre-performance talk forCoppélia / Joburg Theatre
13 Mar Caxton Awards / Joburg Theatre (Private Event)
3-24 Mar Coppélia / Celebration 6; Joburg Theatre; 11 and 2 performances respectively
Book at Joburg Theatre, 0861 670 670, www.joburgtheatre.com
25-29 Mar Coppélia; Presented by PACOFS; Sand du Plessis Theatre, Bloemfontein
12-17 May Joburg Ballet performs in Knysna in Aid of Hospice
24-29 Jun Joburg Ballet performs in Gaborone, Botswana
30 Jun-5 Jul Joburg Ballet Winter School, Johannesburg
23 Aug Open Day: La Bayadère /The Nutcracker; Joburg Theatre, book on 011-877 6898
13 Sep Friends of the Ballet: Pre-performance talk forLa Bayadère / Joburg Theatre
8–28 La Bayadére /The Nutcracker season: Joburg Theatre