This Week & Beyond
The end of a (very short) era but do stick around ... I am about to go wild!
After six months of writing to you every week about life in Cape Town my journey is about to change, and I hope you’ll join me for the next ride. It’s going to be wild!
The beloved and I are moving to the country. I’m beyond excited now that we have a date set for our relocation to a smallholding near the village of Philadelphia, right on the edge of the Swartland.
This newsletter will evolve as I let go of my city ways and find my new rural rhythm. It will probably become more occasional, and the content focus will definitely shift, but the adventure will continue, that’s for sure. Please stick around.
Goodbye Cape Town
I am feeling so pleased as I prepare to walk away. I am deeply grateful for the past I know, almost two decades of it, and wildly hopeful for a totally unknown future.
Talking about beautiful and wild … If you are one of the lucky ones attending the National Arts Festival in Makhanda, I highly recommend putting Cape Ballet Africa’s Salt on your agenda.
We thought the South Africans rocked in Salt, Cape Ballet Africa’s inaugural triple bill, in September last year, and find ourselves in very good company. Three of the artists – Mthuthuzeli November, Joshua Williams and Camille Bracher – were celebrated just last week by the prestigious Benois de la Danse for the parts they played in November’s work Chapter 2, performed as part of Salt.
At a ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, November was awarded the prize for Best Choreography, and Williams shared the Prize for Best Male Dancer (with Dmitry Smilevskiy, Principal Dancer at the Bolshoi Theatre). Bracher was nominated for Best Female Dancer.
“The Benois de la Danse Awards are considered to be the ‘Oscars’ of the ballet world,” says Debbie Turner, artistic director and founder of Cape Ballet Africa. “For a young, South African ballet company to be considered and win among such globally esteemed company is testament to the extraordinary level of talent, skill, dedication and artistry of our country’s dancers. We are humbled and proud to celebrate their win as a win for all South African creatives.”
Cape Ballet Africa takes the best of classical ballet, infuses it with African heart and soul, and dips the whole thing in a specific and sexy South Africanness. Watching them dance is how we feel on the really good days.
National Arts Festival-goers must also check out Spark Hub, the new venue launched by Spark in the Dark Productions, which will be premiering 14 original works from emerging artists. If you can’t make it to Makhanda, you can support these courageous and talented people by making a donation to their ThundaFund, which they are hoping will raise enough to keep them all fed and sheltered and get them home afterwards. Go on, give them R100 even; give them R1,000 if you can afford it. For more information contact: Spark in the Dark Productions, 📞 +27 71 362 9750, email solojoans@gmail.com
Those of us left facing a cold front in Cape Town at least have the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival to cheer us up. I saw The Blue Road, the Edna O’Brien story, on opening night (Friday June 20). What a knockout! This is my idea of a great doccie: a compelling and powerful story that is both ghastly and beautiful. It was told through excerpts of many interviews with the Irish author, whose books were banned and burned, as well as impressive recreations of powerful scenes. All of this was beautifully layered with so much fabulous footage of the time and the place.
I adore a good documentary! I left the cinema hungry for more, wanting to read all of Edna O’Brien’s 31 books, longing to visit Ireland again and (the easiest one to accomplish…) book to see more movies at Encounters. There is much to choose from this week in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Read more and book.
The very next day, June 21, the winter solstice, defied all expectations (super cold, shortest day of the year etc) by being a cracker of a clear, sunny day. It was perfect for the International Day of Yoga celebration at Kirstenbosch Gardens. The event, organised by the Consulate General of India to celebrate the 11th International Day of Yoga, was a wonderful two hours of calm and connection in glorious surroundings.
The lush, freshly cut grass was soaked, but I soon forgot about it. I laid out my mat surrounded by 250-odd strangers and surrendered to two hours of calm and connection. We listened and stretched and some of us took part in some Iyengar sequences. There was also a Bhastrika Pranayama (Bellows Breath) exercise and a superb, guided meditation, during which I saw all the colours of the rainbow.
Consul General of India Ruby Jaspreet ran the show so well, with input from her chief guest Mireille Wenger, Western Cape MEC for Health & Wellness. Demonstrations and guidance were provided by the Iyengar School of Yoga, Braham Kumaris school of Yoga, Art of Living and Mzansi Yoga. This is one to look out for next year!
In the meantime, Yoga Loft has launched a campaign of events and offers to help keep you ‘townies’ moving this winter. They have added extra Sculpt classes, including one at 8am every day of the week at the De Waterkant studio, with the 8am Sunday session absolutely free. This is a great opportunity to try something new, or for a member to bring a friend along. There are various other Sculpt classes at both studios, and a winter special offer of R500 for a month of Sculpt classes, as many as you can manage.
Sculpt classes are a dynamic blend of yoga, HIIT (high-intensity interval training), cardio, light weights and upbeat music. At Loft in De Waterkant, they’re semi-heated, adding a great detoxifying element. At Loft in Kloof Lifestyles, they’re unheated and slightly lower intensity, with a focus on controlled movement and strength-building. Both formats are super energising and accessible, no matter your fitness level (we are told).
Sculpt is just part of the Loft offering, which includes more than 100 classes per week in various styles: vinyasa, heated vinyasa, power, hot 26, sculpt, unheated sculpt, restorative and yin. More info
Yoga is one of the things I dread leaving. I love the variety of classes, the camaraderie, the motivation, the heat and the energy in the room. I have started thinking about self-practice, but I am just such a pack animal. I have started gathering intel on how to take yoga to the farm with me. Watch this space ...