For many festinos, going to the ballet is a highlight of the National Arts Festival. This year was no different: the Johannesburg Youth Ballet performed Hansel and Gretel to sold-out audiences last week at the Monument's Guy Butler theatre.
For many festinos, going to the ballet is a highlight of the National Arts Festival. This year was no different: the Johannesburg Youth Ballet performed Hansel and Gretel to sold-out audiences last week at the Monument's Guy Butler theatre.
Although the oldest non-professional dance company in Gauteng, Hansel and Gretel was the youth ballet's debut show on the Main Fest programme.
Appropriately, there was no lack of spectacle and fanfare.
Imaginative, intricately detailed sets and light projections were combined to create a beautiful, eerie effect.
The forest was truly frightening, and the inside of the witch's gingerbread house was masterfully and realistically executed.
The young dancers aged between 11 years and their early 20s gave wonderful performances.
Working alongside guest dancer Nigel Hannah as the father, Megan Meyer (Gretel) and Thula Cruikshank (Hansel) took to their roles with enthusiasm and charm.
The best performance of the night came from Yusuf Thomas as the Sandman.
Dressed in glittering black, he entranced the siblings with a skilful gymnastic ballet performance, slithering and darting across the stage.
Another enchanting performance was by a group of dancers whose outfits and sequence mimicked a forest fire, crackling and burning through the trees.
Kayla Schultze gave an elegant, graceful performance as the White Swan, and Roswyn Finlay brought a comical, devilish aspect to the stage, doubling as the wicked stepmother and the witch.
The ballet ended on a high note with a group of casually dressed dancers performing a finale of sorts complete with acrobatic feats, cartwheels and three-person pyramids.
Although there were some truly skilled performances, I would have enjoyed seeing a professional production alongside this one on the floorboards at Fest this year.
Although the young dancers showed incredible talent and handled themselves with skill and poise, there's no substitute for a traditional ballet with years of experience behind it. An orchestra wouldn't hurt either.
