The international competition will be held in Cape Town, where the world's top ballet dancers will gather.
Some of the world's best ballet dancers are gathering in the Western Cape this week to take part in the South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC) in Cape Town.
The competition will take place at the Artscape Theatre from July 14 to 17. Dancers have started trickling into Cape Town in the days leading up to the classical ballet event.
“As the only country on the African continent with a purely classical ballet as its main competition, and the only competition on the African continent with classical ballet as its main competition, we are very proud of what we have achieved,” said SAIBC founder Dirk Badenhorst. Citizen.
“We have participants from neighbouring countries, such as Kenya,” Badenhorst added.
Now in its 11th year, the competition was founded by Badenhorst in 2008. Starting in 2021, SAIBC has been held annually.
“SAIBC has traditionally been held every two years, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held online in 2020,” Badenhorst said.
Today, the event is known as Africa’s finest and most established ballet event, attracting leading dancers from around the world.
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Protecting dancers during training
SAIBC has three age groups in both classical and contemporary ballet categories: 9 to 12 years old (Scholars), 13 to 16 years old (Juniors) and 17 to 22 years old (Seniors). The competition is also open to duets, trios and groups.
The competition will feature 88 dancers from 15 countries.
“We have six jury members from six countries, so ballet and dance from around the world is really well represented,” Badenhorst said.
On Tuesday, there will be time set aside during the competition for proper discussion within the ballet industry, involving dancers, judges and the public.
“Tomorrow afternoon we will discuss the protection of dancers in training. But vice versa, I [the] “Pushback culture is a way to achieve the same results without losing the standards of ballet and without harming or damaging the dancers,” Badenhorst said.
Following discussions, the second round of competition will take place on Tuesday afternoon.
“From there, we will select the finalists for Wednesday morning followed by a closing performance, celebration and awards ceremony,” the SAIBC CEO asserted.
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SAIBC Award
The SAIBC Awards recognise contestants from South Africa and around the world and their achievements whilst competing at the Artscape Theatre.
As well as presenting awards to the various medallists, the gala will also feature the second SAIBC Awards Ceremony, honouring the lives of those who have made the greatest contribution throughout their lives to the success and sustainability of South Africa.
The highlight of the gala will be the appearance of Makateri and Kaisheta, whose performance is expected to enchant and inspire the audience.
“Through the SAIBC Recognition Awards we honour those who have contributed to the existence of dance and ballet in South Africa,” he said.
Renowned Georgian dancer Maia Makateri and Brazil's Gustavo Carvalho are scheduled to perform at the gala. Badenhorst said there's an even bigger reason why the world's best dancers are attending the gala.
“The reason we bring dancers like this to the gala is to really inspire our dancers,” Badenhorst said.
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