| What: Breathwords – triple bill by Cape Ballet Africa When: March 25, 26, 27, 2025 Where: Artscape Opera House Tickets: R200โR495 Bookings: Webtickets. ย ย |
Thrilling news is that Cape Ballet Africa is presenting Breathwords in the Artscape Opera House. Breathwords is the companyโs new triple bill. The season at Artscape marks its first birthday as a company and its debut season in the Artscape Opera House. Three performances: March 25, 26, 27, 2025. The performance on March 25, will accompanied by theย Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The performances on March 26 and 27 will be performed with recorded music. Read on for more. Info as supplied:
Cape Ballet Africa celebrates first birthday and debut at Artscape Opera House with mesmerizing triple bill
Cape Ballet Africa celebrates its first birthday in March with a mesmerizing new triple bill, as well as marking its debut at the prestigious Artscape Opera House.
BREATHWORDS features two choreographies by international creators, presented alongside an expanded version of South African choreographer, Kirsten Isenbergโs Reverie, which captivated audiences at its premiere in the Companyโs inaugural season SALT.
BREATHWORDS will be performed at Artscape Opera House on March 25, accompanied by the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The performances on March 26 and 27 will be performed with recorded music.
Bookings can be made at Webtickets.
An ethereal masterpiece set to Rachmaninoffโs Piano Concerto No. 2, Isenberg has further developed Reverie to encompass all three movements of this iconic composition. Maggie Foyer for Dance Europe praised Reverie asโa ballet of gentle beauty.โReverie is fast becoming a signature work of the company, swathed in a palette of blush pink, delighting audiences with its dreamlike meditation on movement and music.
โWe are proud to announce that our first international commission for BREATHWORDS will be the world premiere of whispers from within, a ballet by globally acclaimed Dutch choreographer Wubkje Kuindersma,โ says Debbie Turner, founder and artistic director of Cape Ballet Africa.
โWubkje explores the beauty and power of human connection through her work, with elegance, emotion and artistry, celebrating the transformative power of dance and music. We are honoured to be staging her first production in Africa, the continent of her birth,โ says Turner.
Wubkje is a choreographer based in The Netherlands. The past years she served as Creative Associate at Dutch National Ballet (2021- 2024), where she choreographed for the junior and main company.
Known for her poetic and emotionally rich works, she has a background with ballet and contemporary dance, which allows her to create pieces that are both technically demanding and deeply expressive.
Kuindersma was among Dancemagazine USAโs Top 25 to watch list for 2019. Her duet Two and Only for Dutch National Ballet was internationally acclaimed and performed worldwide, with Marijn Rademaker being nominated for the Prix de Benois 2018 for his role in this work.
Kuindersma graduated at Codarts, and has danced with companies such as Nรผrnberg Ballet, Djazzex, Gulbenkian Ballet, McGregor’s Random Dance and Danish Dance Theatre. She has choreographed for Dutch National Ballet and its Junior Company, Korzo & NDT, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ballet Dortmund, West Australian Ballet, BalletX, Danish Dance Theatre, Skanes Dansteater, Ballet Kiel, Noverre – Stuttgart Ballet, National Youth Ballet of John Neumeier, Hessisches Staatsballet, Dutch National Ballet Academy, and many others.
Her work has been well received by audience and press and her many accolades include 4 nominations and 2 awards for her full length ballet for West Australian Ballet Echoes of Van Gogh at West Australian Performing Arts Awards in 2024.
โDance is a universal language wherever you are in the world, and I am thrilled to be here connecting with the beautiful, generous and engaged dancers at Cape Ballet Africa to create this new work,โ says Kuindersma. โ
โI am interested in exploring our inner whispers and to discover how those whispers connect us to others. I have set the work to Summer and Spring of Vivaldiโs Four Seasons recomposed by Max Richter, which for me resonates the whispers from within.โ
Debbie Turner adds โDance is life, dance is breath, and so from this, we celebrate with Breathwords. Movements are the dancerโs word, the artist moves from one dance sentence to the next, their breath informing that direction, preparing their body and mind to determine their engagement in that next stage of movement. Breathwords also therefore feels a fitting name for Cape Ballet Africaโs new triple bill, at the start of our second year and a new journey in our studios at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA).โ
โWe are beyond excited to soon be sharing with you the details of our second international commission for Breathwords โ watch this space for more!โ concludes Turner.
โIt’s always thrilling to watch a performance from totally committed dancers, and SALT, Cape Ballet Africa’s inaugural performance, was this but so much moreโฆa company classically trained and truly Africanโ Maggie Foyer, Dance Europe
BREATHWORDS offers an unforgettable ballet experience. Donโt miss this enchanting debut that redefines the boundaries of ballet.
BREATHWORDS will be performed at Artscape Opera House:
Mar 25, 2025 19:30 – performed with Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra
Mar 26, 2025 19:30 – performed with recorded music
Mar 27, 2025 19:30 – performed with recorded music
Tickets cost from R200 โ R495
Bookings can be made at Webtickets
Cape Ballet Africa is proud to be associated with Food Loverโs Market with their commitment to innovation and their values toโฆ.have faith, lead with love, be the miracleโ.
Cape Ballet Africa is also grateful for the support of The Fine Fund, THEATRE DANCE ASSOCIATION (TDA), BASA, Ballet World, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and CDIC (Cape Dance Injury Centre) and Southern Sun Hotels for hosting.
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About Wubkje Kuindersma โ Choreographer โ see https://www.wubkje.com/
Kirsten Isenberg โ Choreographer
Kirsten Isenberg studied at the University of Cape Town where she attained a Bachelor of Music in Dance, majoring in Choreography, Classical and Contemporary Dance. She went on to dance for Cape Town City Ballet as well as Bovim Ballet and later was part of the international touring company for Phantom of the Opera.
As a classical, neo-classical and contemporary dance choreographer, Kirsten has created works for various companies and schools such as the Cape Junior Ballet, Cape Academy of Performing Arts, Cape Dance Company, New World Dance Theatre and Cape Town City Ballet. She was also appointed as the first South African commissioned choreographer for the Royal Academy of Dance’s Genรฉe International Ballet Competition in 2011.
Kirsten has previously worked with Cape Town City Ballet as Senior Repetitรฉur, rehearsing, coaching and staging works by choreographers such as Veronica Paeper, Maina Gielgud and Jiri Kyliรกn. She has also served as choreographer and movement director for Cape Town Opera on their productions of Viardotโs Cendrillon, Verdiโs La Traviata and most recently Donizettiโs Lucia di Lammermoor.
Kirsten serves on the Board of Directors for Cape Junior Ballet Company and was recently appointed Resident Choreographer for Cape Ballet Africa.
Cape Ballet Africa
Cape Ballet Africa celebrates cultural values imbued through dance, instilling the discipline of classical ballet while blending in the exciting heritage of South African culture. The Company identity strongly aligns with the global dance landscape while building a proudly African organisation.
Cape Ballet Africa seeks to reimagine how ballet can look in Africa, using the interplay of identity and culture, the diversity in all elements of the artform; the people and the repertory.
Cape Ballet Africa produces performances that are bold and strongly rooted in the classical ballet technique, with exceptional quality front-and-centre as an inherent part of the artistic identity. It is founded in discipline and self-expression, individuality in teamwork, with a distinctive elegance, refinement and audacious grace.
Established by highly respected dance figure Debbie Turner, Cape Ballet Africa will, through performance excellence and ongoing professional development of artists, inspire new generations to appreciate an artform that demands much of the human spirit, gives much back to the human spirit and fosters a broad appreciation and following within the African diaspora. Innovation and collaboration are core focuses within the operation of the Company, with unique voices already a hallmark of its daily functioning, both within the cast and the creative minds.
Education and upskilling of young apprentice professional artists working with more experienced artists will also be a focus for the new company.
Cape Ballet Africa is honoured to include Dr Connie September, Diane Van Schoor and Thoriso Magongwa as the companyโs Patrons.
โ Featured image: Joshua Williams in Cape Ballet Africa’s BREATHWORDS.ย Pic: Oscar O’Ryan. Supplied.
