Cape Ballet Africa’s acclaimed triple bill SALT will be presented at Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees at the Adam Small Auditorium.
SALT features original works by South African choreographers Kirsten Isenberg, multi-award-winning artist, Mthuthuzeli November and Michelle Reid. The programme also includes Isenberg’s captivating pas de deux, Nocturne which premiered at the prestigious international Benois de la Danse 2025.
These three ballets are poignant, sleek, stylish, celebratory and percussive. Expect strong athletic pointe work, gravity-defying pas de deux, and beautifully articulated bodies in motion.
Isenberg’s Reverie, a neoclassical work to Rachmaninov’s “Concerto No 2 in C Minor”, introduces the programme. “This classical work explores being lost in one’s thoughts and the journey from light to dark and back again. Sometimes supported and sometimes alone,” says Isenberg. Reverie is a meditative and reflective study. Swathed in a palette of blush pink, it is delirious fanciful musings, in a dreamy state.
Mthuthuzeli November’s Chapter Two, costumed in vibrant hues of pink and red and set to a purpose-commissioned score written by Peter Johnson, is a modern percussive work that is perfectly reflected through the rhythmic body isolations and lightening quick movement vocabulary reminiscent of the precursor of his original Visceral. Chapter Two is a revisit, a place you have been to before, a musing on a previous time. November’s reinterpretation of this score depicts the emergence and underpinning of his unique African classical choreographic voice.
Michelle Reid’s Smoke costumed in hot red is a metaphor for glowing heat and intense emotion. Reid is widely known for her quirky creative spirit, unique movement language and interpretive skill. A passion for pure jazz music, Reid creates a new take on the iconic Brubeck Take Five, a reference to the rhythmic tempo of the work in a manner that is smooth, graceful and playful. “A classical ballet company can do old school,” says Reid.
Performances are from Tuesday 14 October at 17:00 to Friday 17 October at 21:30. Tickets are available via Quicket.
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