Cape Town’s Waterfront Theatre School (WTS) is presenting an exciting dance show, Festive Season – Holiday on The Dance Floor from September 5-14, 2024. The show features all the dance genres and styles taught at the college. Delia Sainsbury, the MD of the College gives insights into the show and also into what the college offers in terms of its courses which are tailored according to the individual requirements of each student:
TCR: Can you give us insight into the structure of Festive Fever? How many numbers are being featured in the show?
Delia Sainsbury: We have 27 dance numbers in the show which is structured around world festival days. It is a celebration commemorating some mainstream and some quirky holidays around the globe The list includes International Dance Day, Cherry Blossom Day, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), Jazz Day, Bee Day, Heritage Day, Valentine’s Day, Youth Day and A “Mean Girls” version Christmas Day. Each of our dance teachers have creatively choreographed the various festive days.
TCR: Which dance genres are you showcasing in the production and these are the genres taught at WTS?
DS: We are showcasing Classical Ballet, Modern Theatre Dance – aka Commercial Dance Theatre, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap and Street Dance. Yes, our students are trained in each one of the genres at WTS to ensure they are competitive in the industry.
TCR: It sounds like this show has amazing costumes?
DS: We have amazing array of costumes spanning six categorized costume stores. I know where to find every brooch and every pair of stockings! We are using about 500 costumes for Festive Fever. We have stock in our wardrobes which we upcycle and we are making about five sets of new costumes.
TCR: Who is directing the show?
DS: Genna Galloway is producing and directing. There will be audio visual footage by Genna and Jo Galloway – with lots of colour and fun. We have nine of our brilliant dance teachers choreographing this year. The dance teachers are:
James Bradley: Contemporary & Modern
Simone Marshall Kleinenberg: Tap
Shona Brabant: Modern, Jazz, Ballet, Street and Contemporary
Roxanne Hughes: Contemporary, Easy Coast Swing, Jazz and Commercial Heels
Raylene Ferreira: Street dance, Jazz and Modern
Ursula Lubbe: Musical Theatre, Modern, Contemporary & Tap
Genna Galloway: Musical Theatre
Nicola Lubbe: Classical Ballet
Sunè Esch: Commercial Latin & Jazz
TCR: Festive Season sounds like an early prelude to summer? It is in September – springtime – with weather hopefully warmer and a wonderful way for audiences to get into festive season mode?
DS: It certainly is. After a long wet Cape Town winter, we are ready for a breath of spring air.
TCR: Are all the dance students taking part in Festive Fever – 1st to 4th year?
DS: We hold auditions ever year for our annual dance show. All dance majors, from 1st to 4th year are allowed to participate. They are then selected by the choreographers for their individual numbers. There are 49 dancers in the show.
TCR: Festive Fever is very much a showcase and celebration of what the college offers in terms of dance. Can we talk about how the college is structured in terms of dance and theatre? How many faculties do you have?
DS: WTS offers Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre, along with facilitating access to International Teaching Qualifications in all genres. Each genre is sub divided into modules. Dance includes all the genres we are showcasing in Festive Fever. Drama modules include theatre, film, TV and television presentation. Students start off by majoring in dance, musical theatre or drama, but we find that by 3rd or 4th year, students have diversified and consolidated allowing them to be skilled in all genres. For example, we have had people who have started off in the theatre stream and then get accepted into dance companies.
TCR: Your film and TV offerings are fairly new at the college?
DS: Yes, we started the acting for film and TV during the pandemic when live theatre effectively shut down. The industry gravitated to the screen. Streaming platforms such as Netflix and Showmax were generating more content. We felt it was important to upskill our students to give them training that could take them from stage to screen. No one knew if and when live performance would be revived. Fortunately, theatre is booming and the screen remains an important medium. The pandemic did us a favour by pushing WTS into new creative territory.
TCR: Your ballet department is very strong with students appearing in professional dance shows – while still students. Can you talk about that – the ballet department?
DS: At WTS Classical Ballet is at the root of all our dance training, and we demand a very high level of technique. Any dancer entering the school who is not ballet trained would be offered training at a foundation level in order improve their proficiency. Apart from getting our dancers into commercial shows, we have been fortunate enough to supplement professional classical productions with our students. Although we are not a classical ballet institution, we do support dancers who wish to join classical ballet companies as a career.
TCR: The WTS is an educational facility which is also experiential?
DS: Yes, the college is an educational facility as opposed to only being experiential, where students would generally learn mainly by taking part in productions. Although we do offer six performing opportunities a year as part of our curriculum, including our annual musical at Artscape. We facilitate access to exams in all genres through The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and The Trinity College UK. Our college includes a strong academic component. For example, in terms of drama academics, students study history of theatre from Greek to modern day. They also take courses in choreography, anatomy, physiology, psychology and kinesiology and practical experience in stage management, wardrobe, lighting and sound. There is an equal emphasis on the academic – along with the practical, to ensure a well-rounded education both in performance and teaching. That is why we have rebranded our “triple threat” as “Perform, Teach, Create.”
TCR: When are auditions being held for the 2025 intake at the college?
DS: Auditions are held monthly from August until November each year. We offer in-person and on-line audition options. We finalise our annual intake by mid-December.
All audition details are available on our website at www.waterfronttheatreschool.co.za
TCR: Are all your courses four years? If you have already trained through another institution, does that count and you get credit so you can skip the first years – for dance and drama streams?
DS: Each potential student is assessed on an individual basis. Timetables are personalised, based on their previous training and degree of experience. For example, if a dancer is already at an advanced level, it will condense their course.
TCR: Do you have post-graduate student courses? For instance, if one has a qualification from UCT and one wants to develop musical theatre skills or TV and film acting, can one cenroll?
DS: WTS does not offer specific post graduate courses however, if an artist wants to expand their training and become proficient in a genre that they have not previously studied, we can accommodate them.
✳ The Waterfront Theatre School in Cape Town, offers a wide range of tuition in numerous dance genres, with access to internationally accredited exams.
