South Africans rock in Salt

Pass the ballet baton, please

Three of the four pieces in Salt, Cape Ballet Africa's debut show, which opened at the Baxter Theatre on September 21, held us in delighted breathlessness. They were all written by South African choreographers.

Reverie Photo: Paul Seaby

We were beautifully warmed up by the opening piece, the very dreamy Reverie by local choreographer Kirsten Isenberg, set to Rachmaninov’s Concerto No 2 in C Minor.

Chapter II. Photograph: Paul Seaby

Our reverie ended and we were quickly shocked into a breathless excitement by Mthuthuzeli November’s thrilling Chapter II. After that, there was a place to rest and gather ourselves, a lovely little bit of imported, olde worlde elegance in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto Adagio Pas De Deux.

Smoke Photograph: Paul Seaby

The delightful Salt comes to its climax with another exhilarating shock in the form of local choreographer Michelle Reid’s absolutely steaming Smoke.

Debbie Turner, Cape Ballet Africa CEO and Artistic Director, says that South African dancers deserve to be able to perform at home. She is walking that talk with the creation of CBA, a fitting heir to the long-lamented Cape Dance Company (If you want to know more about that, read Journey through another world and Ballet, like water for chocolate…)

At a lunch the day after Salt’s opening, the beloved delivered the one-line review: ‘Debbie Turner is back.’ The other guests knew what that meant. Aaah! they said. Aaah indeed. Go see it Cape Town; beg for a chance, Joburg. It is an absolute knockout.

It can be difficult to articulate how art makes you feel … the photos, by Paul Seaby, do it more justice.

More info in our preview: The exhilaration of watching ‘Salt’ crystallise