7th SA INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION ATTRACTS RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES FROM 28 COUNTRIES IN ONLINE EVENT, A WORLD FIRST
The biennial South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC), presented virtually in light of challenges faced by COVID19, has attracted its largest competitor enrolment since inception in 2008, with 155 competitors representing 28 countries, including South Africa, Peru, Kenya, Australia, Eswatini, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Nigeria, Switzerland, Holland, Cuba, China, New Zealand, South Korea, UK, USA, Germany, Malaysia, Italy, Czech Republic, Brazil, Argentina, Latvia, Belgium, Colombia, Venezuela, and Bulgaria.
"Going online has given us a phenomenal opportunity to reach dancers in every corner of the globe with internet access and to have this many dancers participating is a thrill," said SAIBC Founder and CEO Dirk Badenhorst, the visionary behind the initiative that has received funding support from the Western Cape Government and the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and from Dr Marlene le Roux, the CEO of the Artscape Theatre Centre that has hosted Capetonian dancers for the filming of their entry videos.
As has been announced, this year's SAIBC will be presented via an app - ArtOfLife - available as a free download on the Google Play Store and accessible on all devices. ArtOfLife is a comprehensive Theatre and Entertainment app that will ultimately load participating theatres around the world on one platform and the SAIBC is one of the events that will run through it.
Aside from the competition being presented through the app - a global first - the SAIBC will also host a series of free daily panel discussions attended by members of the Jury and some of the ballet world's most respected experts, company and school artistic directors and heads of dance development projects across Africa. This is the first time an international ballet competition has been a conduit for crucial conversations around ballet in Africa and the world. The SAIBC is honoured to have such prolific group of panellist offer their time and personal insights into key issues facing ballet today. (Opinions expressed do not reflect those of the SAIBC and its affiliates).
The panel discussion information is as follows:
13 July - a general discussion about the competition, chaired by Mr Ted Brandsen, Artistic Director of the Dutch National Ballet, with the full jury in attendance and allowing competitors to engage with the jurors and ask questions.
14 July - Ballet School Teachers and Directors, chaired by Runqiao Du, the Artistic Director of the Kirov Academy of Ballet Washington, joined by Roberta Martins of the Zurich Dance Academy, Christoph Böhm from the Berlin State Ballet School, Annarella Sanchez, Head of the Annarella Institute of Ballet & Dance in Portugal, Martha Iris, Deputy Director from National Ballet School in Havana and Christian Tâtchev, Director of the Queensland Ballet Academy. Panellists will address a number of issues from how to prepare students for competitions, to the choice of variation, the role of parents and guardians, the importance (or not) of costuming, dealing with training challenges during Lockdown, how the online teaching experience has been for teachers and students, and how to balance attention in the classroom.
15 July- Ballet in Africa, chaired by South African Thoriso Magongwa who is currently with the National Theatre of Brno in the Czech Republic. He will be joined by Esther Oladipupo, President and founder of Ballet Teachers in Nigeria, Velile Dube of Kids in Motion in Eswatini; Cooper Rust, the Artistic Director of the Dance Centre in Kenya and Debbie Turner, CEO of Cape Town City Ballet. Magongwa will introduce a fresh narrative, taking a look at the future of ballet in Africa and South Africa, development and training of dancers and transformation in ballet in South Africa, Africa and the world.
16 July- Ballet Diplomacy chaired by Charlene Carey of Ballet Without Borders, with former United States Senator and Ambassador Maxwell Baucus, former US Marine Roman Baca who is a Fulbright Fellow, dancer, choreographer and Iraq war veteran, and Sophie Rebecca, the first openly transgender person to train at the Royal Academy of Dance. Their conversation will revolve around how the arts is integral in international relations and diplomacy; how it can alleviate post traumatic stress disorder and bring healing to those who have endured the horrors of war, and how the art form can facilitate the acceptance of transgenderism within the arts industry and in the ballet world.
17 July- Ballet Company Directors chaired by Ted Brandsen, with Madame Feng Ying, the Director from the National Ballet of China in Beijing, Julio Bocca, international ballet coach; Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of the English National Ballet, Prof Geung Soo Kim, the President of the Ballet Society in South Korea and Aurelian Scannella, Artistic Director of the West Australian Ballet. They will discuss a number of topics pertaining to the professional sector and will also share what directors would like to see from dancers entering competitions and how these types of events can aid in the search for new talent.
Dancers will compete in three categories that will be judged by different members of the Jury Panel. Adjudicating the Scholars (age 12-15) will be Martha Iris, Charlene Carey, Professor Kim, Christoph Böhm and Annarella Sanchez. Ted Brandsen, Madame Feng Ying, Runqiao Du, Roberta Martins and Thoriso Magongwa will score the Juniors (age 16-20), and the full panel will judge for the Seniors (age 21-28). The awards – monetary prizes as well as bursaries, scholarships and intensives will be announced after the final competition round on 18 July: ZAR10,000 for the best classical entrant (male and female) in each category and ZAR5,000 for the best contemporary entrant (male and female) in each category. Every day, viewers will be able to vote for their favourite dancer for the Audience Choice Award that carries a prize of US$100. There will be no elimination rounds this year. Another exciting component that has not been offered before is the Jury feedback that will be shared with subscribers and contestants straight after the classical and contemporary solos. Competitors will each perform a classical repertoire and a contemporary solo and Mr. Badenhorst has also allowed dancers to enter just with a contemporary variation, to accommodate those who have endured a particularly difficult time training during Lockdown.
The competition kicks off on Monday 13 July at 14h00 CAT and closes on 18th July with the final round, prize giving and a spectacular Gala starring dancers from across the world.
A week's subscription (all access) which includes the daily ballet classes, daily panel discussions, the competition and the Gala will cost US$99 or ZAR900. A one- day subscription to the same will cost US$20 or ZAR200. Ballet classes cost US$10 or ZAR100 per class. Free to view panel discussions will be hosted as ZOOM webinars and live streamed to the SAIBC Facebook page - web.facebook.com/groups/saibc - where attendees can make comments and ask questions will be fielded for the panelists consideration. A replay will be posted on the same page once the panel discussion is over. The live aspects of the competition will be the daily ballet classes and panel discussions. Everything else will be pre-recorded.
All subscriptions can be purchased through the ArtOfLife app (written as one word), that is available for free download on the Google Play Store via https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.artoflife .
Follow the SAIBC on Facebook and on @SABalletComp on Instagram for updates. www.saibc.com for further info.
Allison Foat | @allisonfoat | DIVA PR