Veronica Louw on her graceful career as a ballerina

When you watch ballet, it is almost as if the dancers become one with the universe and everything in it. They ebb and flow like tides of emotion. There is such beauty, such incredible grace in the way that they move. It is impossible not to be mesmerized.

Mzansi Ballet’s Veronica Louw, who stars as Cinderella in the company’s ABBA tribute show, is as captivating on stage as she is in conversation. She is engaging and her passion for her craft is infectious.

And being on stage, dancing, is all she has ever wanted to do since first seeing a production of Sleeping Beauty when she was six years old.

She said: “A lot of young girls are always fascinated with this idea of the fairy princess magic that is a ballet dancer. I was just totally enthralled by the magic of the theatre, sitting in the seats and the lights going down, the house lights being dimmed, and the orchestra being tuned. And I was like, oh my God, this is magical. And then the curtains go up, and it’s just like those fairy princesses on stage.”

It sparked the dream that Veronica realised through decades of training. She started dancing in pre-school, but by the time she was eight years old, she had made up her mind that performing was her future. Sixteen years on, she creates magic for audiences.

It was a tough journey though. Veronica remembers her teenage years when her peers were jolling on weekends, she was in a studio, dancing. Success and realising your dreams come with a lot of sacrifice, but the outcome is incredible, and she would not change her journey in hindsight, not for anything.

Being on stage, she said, is an experience like no other and it never gets old. She said: “There is honestly no way to describe it. It feels like the world stands still for those few seconds or minutes I am on that stage and it’s just you, your mind and your body and that connection between the two, because obviously in ballet you can’t really speak. So, it’s your mind and what you tell your mind to tell your body to do, that gets the message across to the audience. And it’s almost meditative for me.”

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Veronica said that the fairy tale begins even before stepping onto stage.  She said: “There’s just nothing like that adrenaline before a show and getting ready, doing your hair and makeup. It’s like setting the scene. It’s like getting you in the zone. And then you do your warmup class and now your heart rate’s up. Then you put your costume on and your shoes, and just that whole process makes the magic even better.”

Because there is no dialogue in ballet, communicating with the audience on a physical and emotionally projective manner is critical. Making that connection with the audience, showing them an effortless moment on stage.

Because of the physical intensity of dance, particularly ballet, dancers tend to have a limited career lifespan. Veronica is studying psychology part time for that reason and is considering specialising in dance psychology. She said that it’s incredibly tough for dancers to see themselves sin the mirror every day, to be continually self-critical about appearance, as it matters so much in performance art.

She said: “Almost every dancer suffers from some form of the mental illness body dysmorphia. It’s because you’re staring at yourself in the mirror, in skintight clothing for eight hours a day. You do start to become quite overcritical of yourself, you know? And if there’s one little thing out of place you freak out because that’s all you can see.”

Work scheduling also tends to influence other aspects of dancers’ lives. She said that it’s possible to become quite obsessive and compulsive, with everything on stage and off neatly blocked into schedules and systems. She said: “A ballet dancer’s wardrobe and home is likely the neatest, most organised in the world. Everything always must be ‘just so’.”

Even her time off is by schedule. There is very little time to chill and just be spontaneous, but it’s a skill that she is working on.

In Mzansi Ballet’s ABBA Show, a Cinderella Story, Veronica dances both Cinderella and one of her evil sisters. Two very contrasting roles. She said: “Cinderella’s naïve, sweet, and just wants to do good. Her character is full of hope. But her sister is the complete opposite. She’s a piece of work. She’s spoiled. She’s over the top, she’s bolshy. So, you must draw on your own experiences from your own life to portray that in the character,”

She added that the cast was afforded quite a measure of creative input during the development of the show which was choreographed by husband-and-wife team Michael and Angela Revie, conceptualised and directed by company director Dirk Badenhorst. Cathy Specific, also known as Brendan van Rhyn, plays the Fairy Godmother.

Veronica loves the show and said it makes ballet so much more accessible to everyone. She said: “It’s funky, ABBA’s music tells a story, it’s fun for everyone and there are elements to it that will appeal to almost everyone.”

Veronica is a remarkable woman whose warmth, open demeanour and inviting personality sits beside her arsenal of exceptional talent. It’s difficult to imagine the frantic life of a dancer, but the passion with which she describes every aspect of her life is simply inspiring.

The production is about to embark on a national tour.

Sasolburg Etienne Rousseau Theatre 16 October – Tickets: www.ertickets.com

Mbombela Sycamore Theatre CURRO Nelspruit 21 October – Tickets: CURRO Nelspruit

Bloemfontein Sand Du Plessis Theatre 29 October – Tickets: PACOFS Booking office on

051 447 7772

Joburg Pieter Toerien Theatre Montecasino 28 December – 22 January – Tickets: www.computicket.com

Cape Town The Pam Golding Theatre at the Baxter 25 to 28 January – Tickets: www.webtickets.co.za