The Cape Dance Company (CDC) presents Grace, a dynamic new season featuring exquisite neo-classical ballets

Created by South African and International choreographers such as Bradley Shelver, Adele Blank and Christopher L. Huggins, performances will take place in Johannesburg and Cape Town in December this year.

Dancers for this season include Megan Swart, former Senior Principal ballerina at Cape Town City Ballet; CDC Founding Member Louisa Talbot, with James Bradley, and Grant van Ster, Ipeleng Merafe, Angela Rebelo, Simone Muller, Mthuthuzeli November and Martin Harding amongst others.

Bradley Shelver defines his ballet Scenes as “the location of events that attract attention through a series of actions exhibited in their connection”. A modern, minimalist, architectural ballet in four parts written to the compositions of Gallasso, Bach, Beethoven & Riley, it was inspired by the process of creativity, the elements involved when displaying or manifesting art. The ballet subtly reveals the layers that emerge when creating emotional connections with the stage, framed by observers that demarcate the space - a scene within a scene, witnessed by both audience and performer. Costume design is by Dicky Longhurst.
 
In celebration of Adele Blank’s long association with the Cape Dance Company, a new ballet, Mnemenology, has been commissioned for CDC by Artistic Director Debbie Turner. Created to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue, the ballet profiles Blank’s trademark jazzy yet classically based choreographic style.  While the work is not a narrative one, it suggests the evocation and creation of memories – as she says, “Everything we do, every instant, becomes a memory.”
 
American choreographer Christopher L. Huggins’ powerful works, Enemy Behind The Gates and When Dawn Comes was first staged on the Cape Dance Company in 2010 & 2011 respectively and will complement the new programme presented this year. CDC’s repertoire becomes more diverse each year and this season promises yet again to have wide audience appeal.

Grace will be performed at the Dance Factory in Newtown in Johannesburg on 3 December at 7.30pm and 4 December at 5:00pm & 7.30pm with tickets from R60 to R100 via Computicket or the Dance Factory on 011-8331347. The Artscape Theatre performances are from the 7 to 14 December at 8.00pm and on Saturday 15 December at 3.00pm and 8.00pm with tickets from R120-00 to R140-00 via Computicket or 021-4217695.