Renowned South African dancer Camille Bracher says she's thrilled to perform in South Africa for the first time in over a decade.
The former Royal Ballet dancer is the special feature in a new production "It’s Beautiful at the Ballet", an inspiring, uplifting dance masterpiece.
The show premieres at the Theatre On The Bay on Friday, November 19, and runs until Saturday, December 4.
The dance extravaganza also features celebrated South African choreographers Veronica Paeper, Sean Bovim and Adele Blank, and promises “sheer entertainment”.
Bracher will be performing with a cast of 11 professional dancers and eight apprentice dancers from the Jacqui Pells School of Ballet, Cape Town and the Jozi Youth Dance.
“I'm excited to step back onto the stage again and to experience that unmatched feeling of being transported into another world together with the audience. It is a magical world that enables you to use the music and the movement to escape together with the audience members into a completely different reality,” said Bracher.
“At the start of Covid, I found myself without a job after working for two world-renowned dance companies. I was living in London and had rent to pay so I knew I needed to make a plan quickly.
“I am also a qualified dance teacher and life coach and I knew that I needed to use these skills and adapt to the fluctuating circumstances that we were all living through.
“I decided to start teaching dance online and picked up a lot of students quite quickly. This was the beginning of my transition from stage to working online all day, every day.
“When things started opening up again I came back to visit my family in South Africa. Whilst here, I was asked to take part in this production of Beautiful at the Ballet. Hesitant at first due to my break from the stage, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to perform in South Africa for the first time since leaving at the age of 19 to join the Royal Ballet.”
On what fans can expect from her special feature, Bracher shared: “One of the pieces that I will be performing is the Nutcracker pas de deux.
“The music is beautiful and it always makes me think of Christmas and my time at the Royal Ballet.
"The choreography is fun, but also challenging, with different turns as well as lifts that my partner and I have been working on.
“We have also been rehearsing a pas de deux from Orpheus and Eurydice that Veronica Paeper has choreographed for us. It is always special to have something created for you.”
These breathtaking dance pieces were created in 2020, at the height of the national lockdown.
Robyn Taylor, the director of South African National Dance Trust (SANDT), said she believed that the audiences would “want to see beautiful and encouraging productions” when theatres reopened.
With the support of the National Arts Council, SANDT has been able to offer independent, professional dancers the opportunity to perform on stage, get back into daily training and most importantly to earn an income
“During 2020, the SANDT trustees (Robyn Taylor, Mike Bosazza and Veronica Paeper) realised that independent, professional dancers, choreographers and theatre technicians were unable to work or to earn an income.
“We decided that we would initiate a project that could assist the sector, once the conditions allowed it.
“This exhilarating program will include pieces from Veronica Paeper’s much loved, “Orpheus in the Underworld”, Sean Bovim’s Swing Time at the Ballet and Adele Blanks Mad Dogs. There will also be new works to delight and entertain,” added Taylor.
Catch “It’s Beautiful at the Ballet”' at Theatre On The Bay from November 19.
Tickets are priced between R150 and R180 and are available at Computicket.