Festival of finest dance

Celebrating 15 years of magnificent movement and dance, the Baxter Dance Festival is back with an exciting new programme, packed with more than 50 works in varying styles, until 5 October.

At just R300 for a season ticket, audience members will be spoilt for choice with a range of offerings from contemporary to hip hop, classical ballet, flamenco, African, classical Indian and Latin American dance – and even belly dancing.

A new four-tier line-up has been introduced to launch the Highfliers category, a platform for established and seasoned dance-makers and companies to encourage creativity, exploration and the development of new works.

The festival kicks off with the Main Programme tonight, 27 September at 20:00, followed by the Off Main tomorrow, Saturday, 28 September, at 17:00. The Highfliers will present eight works on Monday, 30 September at 20:00.

The rest of the Main Programme follows from Tuesday, 1 October to Friday, 4 October, with the Fringe, on Saturday, 5 October at 13:00, closing the 2019 event.

Highly acclaimed

Ignatius van Heerden’s solo performance of the highly acclaimed Nijinsky’s War and the collaborative work Unravelled, by Sasha Fourie Myburgh, Marlin Zoutman, Lee Sophia Piedt, Rae Classen, Natasha Rhoda and Yaseen Manual, open the Main Programme.

Nijinsky’s War, choreographed and performed by Van Heerden and directed by Gopala Davies, is a solo adaptation of The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky from 1953. Winner of a 2017 Standard Bank Ovation Award and the South African Theatre Magazine’s Best Cutting-Edge Production award, the piece weaves together media and dance as it delves into Nijinsky’s life and his struggle with mental illness.

In Unravelled, the six artistic collaborators explore the constant search by humans to fulfil the emptiness and void, seeking the elusive ideal world.

The Off Main programme tomorrow is a rich and diverse smorgasbord of dance talent and works by 12 dynamic choreographers.

“The new addition to the festival, Highfliers, will showcase works by established artists with successful careers locally and abroad.”

The new addition to the festival, Highfliers, will showcase works by established artists with successful careers locally and abroad. The line-up includes Forever without end, choreographed by Celeste Botha and performed by 34/18 Youth Dance Company; Contraband, choreographed by Michelle Reid and performed by the Cape Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA); Say Something, Do Something, choreographed by Janine Booysens and performed by the Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies; Distance Call, choreographed by Bruno Wani and performed by Dance for All South Africa Bridging Programme; Ingxolo yabafazi (Stories of women), choreographed by Sbonakaliso Ndaba and performed by Indoni Dance Arts and Leadership Academy; Oblivion, choreographed by Craig Pedro and performed by the Cape Town City Ballet; Dead Girls Dancing, choreographed by Ebrahim Medell and Abeedah Medell and performed by the Eoan Group Theatre Company; and It’s ok, you’re ok, choreographed by Marlin Zoutman and performed by the New World Dance Theatre.

The Main Programme continues on 1 and 2 October with Maktub by Yaseen Manuel; Perspective by Yellow Frame Films, choreographed by Shirley-Anne Bezuidenhout; Blame it on the algorithm, by Darkroom Contemporary; and Image, by Dance Theatre Africa, choreographed by Tercia Amsterdam.

On 3 and 4 October, the line-up features Crossroad by Fo8; Sun of a Daughter by New World Dance Company, choreographed by Marlin Zoutman; and Aweh Maria by Garage.

The Fringe offers over 20 dance pieces by choreographers and studios from the Western Cape.