Ballerina – Sarafina Magazine

A Conversation with Adele Blank

Adele Blank is a choreographer, dance instructor and Director of Free Flight Dance Company, which she formed in 1987. She has trained, performed, choreographed and taught extensively in classical ballet and contemporary dance both locally and abroad. Since the beginning of the millennium, Adele’s artistic reach has extended far beyond the realm of dance. She has been responsible for numerous local and international TV adverts, movies, operas, fundraisers and a host of industrial theatre productions. Whilst coaching and teaching, she has created for many companies and is very involved in community and outreach programmes. Adele is a recipient of the Arts & Culture Trust Lifetime Achievement Award for Dance. We sat down to chat with her about devoting her life to dance and directing her latest project, Blue Violin, which will be performed at Artscape for a limited run. Continue reading →

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Advice, Arts, Artscape, Ballerina, Ballet, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Director, Interview, Joburg, Johannesburg, music, Musical, Now Playing, Organisation, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Television, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Adele Blank, Advice, Artscape, Ballet, Blue Violin, Cape Town, Cecchetti, Choreographer, Contemporary Dance, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Director, Free Flight Dance, Interview, Lifetime Achievement, Modern Dance, Musicals, Photography, So You Think You Can Dance, South Africa, Stage, Theater, Theatre, TV, Women 2 Comments

A Conversation with Mariëtte Opperman

Mariëtte Opperman began dancing at the age of seven. She trained under Paula Olivier and later did an intensive vocational study with Martin Schönberg. She started her professional career in 2008 at the South African Ballet Theatre. She joined Cape Town City Ballet in 2010, where she is currently a senior soloist. Mariëtte also performed professionally in Stockholm, Sweden for a year. Her most memorable roles to date include the Black Swan in Swan Lake, Diane in Diane and Acteon, Kitri in Don Quixote, Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, Firebird in Firebird, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Giselle in Giselle. She is currently gearing up to take on the titular role in Veronica Paeper’s production of Cinderella for Cape Town City Ballet.

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October 3, 2018 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Advice, Artist, Arts, Artscape, Ballerina, Ballet, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Interview, Now Playing, Performer, Photography, Production, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Uncategorized, Woman, Women, WomxnTags: Advice, Artscape, Ballerina, Ballet, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, Carmen, Chanel Katz, Cinderella, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Don Quixote, Giselle, Interview, Mariette Opperman, Photography, Romeo and Juliet, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Swan Lake, Veronica Paeper, Women Leave a comment

A Conversation with Esther Nasser

Less than a year ago, Esther Nasser was named CEO of Joburg Ballet. As a choreographer, Nasser has created an extensive repertoire of new works to both commissioned and existing music and soundtracks, winning several awards for choreography. Nasser became involved in transformation in dance and theatre before South Africa achieved democracy in 1994 and remains actively involved in the process. She has established community and outreach projects, winning the Gauteng Achievement Community/Outreach Award in 1999. Nasser has also taught and lectured at leading SA universities and technikons, and has choreographed and directed extensively for television. Continue reading →

June 28, 2017June 28, 2017 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Art, Arts, Ballerina, Ballet, CEO, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Interview, Joburg, Joburg Ballet, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Uncategorized, Woman, WomenTags: Ballet, CEO, Choreographer, Contemporary Dance, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Esther Nasser, Interview, Joburg Ballet, Johannesburg 1 Comment

A Conversation with Burnise Silvius

Joburg Ballet’s prima ballerina Burnise Silvius has announced that she will be retiring from the stage at the end of the upcoming season of La Traviata – The Ballet at Joburg Theatre. Professionally, Burnise has been dancing for over twenty years and has performed all over the world playing some of ballet’s most iconic and challenging roles. We sat down with Burnise to chat about her retirement and reflect back on her incredible career.

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March 16, 2017March 16, 2017 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Ballerina, Ballet, Conversation, Culture, Dance, Dancer, Interview, Joburg, Joburg Ballet, Johannesburg, Now Playing, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, Woman, WomenTags: Arts, Ballet, Burnise Silvius, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, inspirational, inspiring, Joburg, Joburg Ballet, Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg, music, Performing, Prima Ballerina, Retirement 1 Comment

A Conversation with Laura Bösenberg and Kim Vieira

Laura Bösenberg and Kim Vieira are senior principal dancers with The Cape Town City Ballet. Between the two of them they have over 30 years of professional ballet experience. Currently Laura and Kim are starring in Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as ‘Tinkerbell’ and ‘Wendy’ respectively. They have both spent countless hours working on their craft and have tackled some of ballet’s most challenging roles, yet despite reaching the highest position in the company, they still rehearse almost every single day. Next year they will alternate the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at Maynardville. We were please to sit down and get to know the women behind these iconic roles.

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December 22, 2016February 4, 2017 by Sarafina Magazine Categories: Ballerina, Ballet, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, Conversation, Dancer, Interview, Kim Vieira, Laura Bosenberg, Now Playing, Sarafina, Sarafina Magazine, South Africa, Theater, Theatre, Uncategorized, WomenTags: A Stairway to Heaven, Arts, Artscape, Ballerinas, Ballet, Cape Town, Cape Town City Ballet, Conversation, Dance, Dancer, Dancers, inspirational, inspiring, Interview, Kim Vieira, Laura Bosenberg, Maynardville, Peter Pan, Romeo and Juliet, South Africa, Theater, Women 2 Comments

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