The programme features a thrilling lineup of Romeo and Juliet alongside an invigorating new triple bill Ikigai inspired by the Japanese concept of purpose, happiness and peace.
Select performances will star international guest artists, to be announced, and be accompanied by Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
Following her acclaimed recent productions of Carmen and A Christmas Carol – The Story of Scrooge, Veronica Paeper returns to stage Romeo and Juliet for CTCB. Performed to Sergei Prokofiev’s dramatic score, William Shakespeare’s quintessential boy-meets-girl tale follows the life course of the ill-fated, star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet.
Set in the beautiful Italian city of Verona, the ballet explores the tapestry of life, from the bud of youth, the blooming of adulthood, hidden forbidden love, a suffocating family feud, visceral hatred and inevitable tragic destiny.
The creative team is completed with Décor and Costume Design by Peter Cazalet and Lighting Design by Wilhelm Disbergen.
Ikigai is an invigorating triple bill inspired by the Japanese philosophy of life purpose, life happiness and life peace. Suitably depicted in those ideas are ballets by three generations of award-winning choreographers: Jiří Kylián’s Falling Angels, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs and Kenneth Tindall’s Polarity, in collaboration with the artists of CTCB. Ikigai will be presented from 17 to 28 August.
Les Patineurs is staged on CTCB by Isabel McMeekan, who has performed around the world with The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet. She is currently participating in the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s shadowing scheme set up to train the Ashton repetiteurs of the future.
Décor and Costume Design is by William Chappell with Lighting Design by Wilhelm Disbergen.
Kenneth Tindall’s Polarity is inspired by the suggestion that opposites are interconnected and everything is duel, a Yin and a Yang where harmony and balance emerges and where the outcome can only be peace. Tindall, who is Resident Choreographer and Director of Digital for Northern Ballet, created Polarity for Cape Town City Ballet in 2019 and excitingly returns to stage this new, extended version.
Costume Design is by Kenneth Tindall and Lighting Design by Wilhelm Disbergen.
Romeo and Juliet will be presented at Artscape from 4 to 28 August and Ikigai will be presented at Artscape from 17 to 28 August.
Bookings can be made here. Ticket prices for Romeo and Juliet range from R175-R750 and R175-R475 for Ikigai. Pensioners and block bookings are eligible for discounts.
