SA Ballet Theatre presents CARMEN With Live Orchestral accompaniment The South African Ballet Theatre is once again able to present its world-class dancers in Veronica Paeper’s ‘Carmen-the Ballet’ which runs at the Mandela at Joburg Theatre for a season of 18 performances. The full-length ballet has not been seen on Johannesburg stage since 2003. This 2010 season has been slightly shortened and will run for two hours 15 minutes (including one 20-minute and one 15-minute interval). First presented by SABT at the SA State Theatre in Pretoria in 2001, the saga of Carmen and Don José is a fiery love story based on an original by French writer Prosper Mérimée and later adapted as an opera – one of the most famous and well-loved in the world – by Georges Bizet. Using Bizet’s famous score, Paeper’s ballet explores the tempestuous relationship between the streetwise Carmen and the young officer Don José. Set in Spain – the home-country of the winning World Cup Team - ‘Carmen-the Ballet’ captures all the fiery heat and passion of the country with a supporting cast including students from SABT’s Outreach programmes and the SABT Sinfonia under the baton of Tim Roberts. Patrons can look forward to seeing the local talent of SABT’s resident stars, guest artists from Cape Town City Ballet as well as international guest artists Adam Thurlow and Dirk Weyershausen.  Born in Melbourne, Adam Thurlow joined the Australian Ballet and was promoted to Soloist two years later. In 2002 he was offered a Soloist contract with the English National Ballet before joining the Paris Opera Ballet in 2003 as the first Australian dancer accepted into this world-renowned company. Thurlow has performed several lead roles with the Paris Opera including the Prince in Cinderella and Le Sacre Du Printemps. In August 2006 he returned to the Australian Ballet before leaving to take on an international freelance career at the end of 2008. Weyeshausen, a German dancer, is a graduate of the prestigious School of the Hamburg Ballet and is currently a Soloist with the Norwegian National Ballet. His roles have included the Prince in ‘Swan Lake’, Onegin in ‘Onegin’ and Apollo in Balanchine’s ‘Apollo’. Weyershausen appears by kind permission of The Norwegian National Ballet and Opera. Please watch the press for casting details; these will be announced two weeks prior to the opening of the season. SABT’s Open Day for Carmen will be held on Saturday 31 July and is already sold-out. Where: The Mandela at Joburg Theatre Performance times: Tuesday 24 August at 11am (Schools Performance) Wednesday 25 August at 7.30pm Thursday 26 August at 7.30pm Friday 27 August at 8pm Saturday 28 August at 3pm Saturday 28 August at 8pm Sunday 29 August at 3pm (Final Performance) Tickets prices vary from R105 to R290 with discounts for SABT Friends, Block bookings and selected corporate companies.Schools Performances – Tuesday 17 and 24 August at 11am - all tickets just R50 Bookings through Computicket 083 915 8000 or Mr Moagi 011 877 6898 or visit www.saballettheatre.co.za for further details. |
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