Dirk’s Cuban ballet dream for R’fontein
Cuban dancers are also built more like South African dancers.
Dirk Badenhorst, a former CEO of Joburg Ballet and CEO of the South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC), as well as the founder of Training Teachers in Townships, has given wings to his dreams by launching his Cuban method of ballet at Randfontein High School (RHS).
Young ballet dancers will be given the optimum chance to reach their full potential with this method of ballet. This initiative also includes Training Teachers in Townships, so that they can in turn, teach promising young ballet dancers.
Dirk says that there is a great need for proper ballet training to enable dancers to reach their full potential. In 2014, he flew in a number of young ballet dancers to show South African dancers what they can achieve if given proper ballet training.
Badenhorst wishes to transform not just the teachers and dancers, but also the audience. At the moment, 13 teachers in Soweto are being trained in the Cuban method of ballet. This method was chosen because it physically prepares the dancers’ bodies before they learn a certain routine. Cuban dancers are also built more like South African dancers. Badenhorst says that although they are teaching teachers in townships, this initiative is open to all races.
Ballet, he says, “is no longer only a cultural activity for a certain race, it’s for everybody.”
Maria De Los Angeles, a full-time Cuban ballet teacher, is currently teaching dancers at Randfontein High School (RHS). She also heads the Training Teachers in Townships project in Soweto.
Badenhorst invites all children aged from 6 to 14 years to join the classes held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3pm–4.15pm, and again from 4.15pm–5.30pm. No prior ballet training is needed, and boys and girls are welcome.
For details, contact Dirk Badenhorst on 083 324 0949.
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