Following the success of its season of Coppélia at the Promusica Theatre, The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT), the country’s largest professional ballet company, has announced that the ballet Coppélia which recently enjoyed much success at the Promusica Theatre can now be watched on DVD as from 9 october.
Over the past five months, Izithombe TV Productions (Zulu for “picture”), an independent production company, have worked closely with The SABT to produce this first of its kind DVD.
The conceptualization of the final product took many hours of work from all involved including producers Christo Gerlach and Mariette Cloete, scriptwriter Mongi Mthombeni and Marketing and Distribution Manager Brenda Rust.
While the ballet will be featured in its entirety on the DVD, Izithombe TV have incorporated several other original elements for the additional DVD tracks including the narration of the ballet for younger viewers. As part of the ongoing efforts to make classical ballet as accessible as possible, the DVD will soon be available with French and Zulu narrations. Other exciting tracks include the Sandman’s Tale – a 24 minute children’s version of Coppélia, a Ballet Class 101 taught by Iain MacDonald and much more!
Coppélia combines the romance between villagers Swanhilda and Franz with the story of the doll maker Dr Coppelius, whose greatest dream is to create a doll with a soul. Set to the well-known score by Leo Delibes, the ballet enjoys popularity in repertoires worldwide. This DVD is guaranteed entertainment for the whole family and the perfect introductory ballet for those who may not have experienced the glamour, quality, escapism and magic that is The South African Ballet Theatre.
“This proudly South African DVD puts our local dancers on the international dance map and is a must for anyone interested in dance and education.” – Governor Tito T. Mboweni, Patron of The South African Ballet Theatre”.
Appearing in the title roles are Principal dancers Burnise Silvius as Swanhilda, Michael Revie as Franz and character artist Jacob Mosehla as Dr Coppelius.
Copies of this DVD will be on sale, from 9 October, orders may be placed via Kerry-jean McLean happyinjozi@gmail.com.
