Preview: Cape Town City Ballet at Maynardville Open-Air Festival 2023 with Summersnow, glorious double bill

Preview: Cape Town City Ballet on stage at Maynardville Open-Air Festival 2023 with glorious double bill, Summersnow which features Mikhail Fokine’s Les Sylphides and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs

It is very exciting to see Cape Town City Ballet, back on stage, Maynardville Open-Air Festival. CTCB is presenting a beautiful double bill – Mikhail Fokine’s Les Sylphides and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs. I am fortunate to have seen both pieces, staged by the company and am thrilled to see them again in this iconic open-air theatre in Cape Town. Here are the links to my reviews of Les Sylphides and Les Patineurs. In my review of Les Sylphides in May 2021 (it was part of a double bill and yeah, this was in pandemic lockdown times), I raved: “An exquisite rendering of this classic ballet.” Link: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/dance-review-les-sylphides-and-ingoma-cape-town-city-ballet-may-to-june-2021/ In my review of Les Patineurs (staged as part of a triple bill, August 2022), I enthused: “The precision, grace, and artistry is breathtaking.” CTCB kept dancing, through the pandemic and created superlative ballets. It is a gift that we can experience Les Sylphides and Les Patineurs in 2023, presented as a double bill, in the magical setting of Maynardville Open-Air Festival. Bravo to the producer, VR Theatrical and its partners for reviving the festival and for making it a success, with a vibey atmosphere, food (food trucks and pre-order of picnics- no outside picnics, please). The festival is well organised. See box, above for info – weather line etc. It is treat to be there. Read on for more. Info as supplied:

SUMMERSNOW AT MAYNARDVILLE OPEN-AIR FESTIVAL 2023

Cape Town City Ballet is delighted to be back on the whimsical and wooded splendour of the Maynardville Open-Air Festival stage.

SUMMERSNOW embraces the certainty of the seasons….. the stark contrast of summer to winter. The enchanting double bill features the pastoral fantasy of Mikhail Fokine’s LES SYLPHIDES and Sir Frederick Ashton’s charming twilight skating scene, LES PATINEURS.

SUMMERSNOW will be performed from March 1-5, 2-2023 at 8.15pm, nightly.

LES SYLPHIDES is the quintessential romantic reverie, where sylphs of imaginary spirits dance in the moonlight with the “poet” to the sublime music of Frederic Chopin.

LES PATINEURS (The Skaters) features a party of ice skaters on a frozen pond joyfully depicting Ashton’s virtuosic choreography of charming divertissements in a beautiful trellised setting. Delightful in its humour and lyrical adagio of the lead couple, as the “spills and thrills” of the Blue Boy and friends show masterfully the multiple pirouettes and leaps. As the snow starts to fall the skaters glide away.  

Review comments for Cape Town City Ballet’s production of LES PATINEURS include:  ‘a sublime romp on ice’ (Beverley Brommert) and ‘genius in action….mesmerising….[Les Patineurs] is very charming and clever (Siobhan Cassidy, calloffthesearch.com).

“Be transported to a place of magic and wonder under the stars at the wonderful Maynardville Amphitheatre,” says Debbie Turner, CEO of Cape Town City Ballet. “SUMMERSNOW is a ballet lover’s quintessential treat of two stellar works that whisk you into the world of pirouettes, technical prowess and exuberant, energizing dance!”

Jaco van Rensburg, co-owner of Maynardville Open-Air Theatre Festival’s new producers VR Theatrical says, “We are thrilled that the Cape Town City Ballet is back on stage with us at Maynardville. Our Festival is an expression of the magic that is Cape Town and the unique setting of Maynardville and the ballet really takes that magic to a new level. It’s a beautiful way to end the season.”

In partnership with the Open Air Collective, Maynardville is now offering patrons a picnic option when booking their tickets (add it on at the end) as well as a host of food trucks, bar and coffee station. Picnics are no longer permitted in the theatre area.

Cape Town City Ballet is grateful for the support of all sponsors including the City of Cape Town, Western Cape Government, The Christian Ludolph Marais Trust, Food Lovers Market, Erica Manning for the Cape Town City Ballet Endowment Trust and the Friends of Cape Town City Ballet.  

Cape Town City Ballet

Established in 1934 as the University of Cape Town Ballet Company, Cape Town City Ballet has a strong heritage and roots. The organisation is moving into the next era of dance with the objectives of delighting anew its loyal supporters as well as inspiring new audiences to engage with and develop a love of ballet, striving to achieve this by delivering unique dance performances aligned with the global dance landscape with diversity and inclusivity at the forefront of creativity, integrity and the pursuit of excellence. 

Since the Company’s inception, it has been renowned for providing opportunities for training and employment to all, despite the ruling laws of previous times. It remains committed to developing the dancers of the future. The CTCB’s various development and education programmes have reached more than 320 000 young people. Its audience development and training initiatives include the Apprentice Programme and partnerships for training programme with various dance schools. 

With the onset of Covid-19 and accompanying restrictions, nine dancers each created a dance piece for  a short dance film in collaboration with Norval Foundation and inspired by and celebrating the work  of William Kentridge from his Why Should I Hesitate: Sculpture exhibition.

During the 2020 lockdown, Cape Town Opera and kykNET in collaboration with Cape Town City Ballet, Camerata Tinta Barocca and Wyrd Films, presented Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.  The work was choreographed by London-based South African Mthuthuzeli November, and premiered on kykNET in October 2020.

As part of their 2021 Autumn Season at Artscape, CTCB proudly presented the South African premiere of Mthuthuzeli November’s Olivier Award winning Ingoma, which was commissioned in 2019 by Cassa Pancho for Ballet Black and which premiered at the Barbican in London.

In 2022, Cape Town City Ballet was once again able to present a full programme line-up, performing to capacity houses and welcoming international guest artists and  collaborators. In March, the Company staged Maina Gielgud’s Giselle.For the Winter Season, South African ballet legend Veronica Paeper directed five casts in her iconic Romeo & Juliet, including international guest artists Vadim Muntagirov and Fumi Kaneko, both Principals of The Royal Ballet, and Brandon Lawrence, Principal of Birmingham Royal Ballet, with guest conductor Jonathan Lo. The Company also presented a new triple bill, Ikigai, featuring Jiří Kylián’s Falling Angels, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs and Kenneth Tindall’s Polarity. International guest artist Tzu-Chao Chou of Birmingham Royal Ballet danced the role of The Blue Boy in Les Patineurs at select performances.

CTCB aims to serve the dance community as a whole and provides opportunities for teachers and young dancers in training from around the City to participate and gain experience in professional productions and attend various rehearsals.  In 2019, students and young dancers took part in A Christmas Carol, Sleeping Beauty and Enemy Behind the Gates. In 2020 students had the opportunity to observe rehearsals of Maina Gielgud’s Swan Lake, before the sudden lockdown and subsequent cancellation of all seasons. In December 2021, after almost two years, the company was once again able to offer performance opportunities to young dancers for the restaging of the extremely popular and uplifting A Christmas Carol at the Artscape Theatre. Nationwide auditions were held for the December 2022 production of The Nutcracker, with 120 children gaining the opportunity to perform on the Artscape Opera House stage with the Company.

✳ Sponsored content. Image supplied. Related coverage on TheCapeRobyn: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/preview-shakespeare-ballet-opera-and-music-at-2023-maynardville-open-air-theatre-festival/