The Baxter Dance Festival 2019 promises a fresh and vibrant programme, jam-packed with over 50 works in varying styles. For the past 15 years, the Baxter Dance Festival has showcased some of the finest dance talents and choreographers in the Western Cape and the country. This year will be no exception as Cape Town’s premiere dance festival celebrates the milestone from 26 September to 5 October 2019. The works on the festival programme this year range from contemporary to hip hop, classical ballet to flamenco, African, classical Indian and Latin American dance and everything in between. There’s even belly dancing in the mix.
The pieces tackle a textured mixture of personal stories, from interrogating the current state of affairs in the world and searching, probing emotional content, to self-expression through movement and dance.
A new four-tier line-up has been introduced to launch the Highfliers category, a platform for established and seasoned dance-makers and companies. In this way creativity, exploration and the development of new works are encouraged.
Baxter Dance Festival 2019 Main and Off Main
The Baxter Dance Festival 2019 kicks off with the Main Programme on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 September at 8pm, followed by the Off Main on Saturday 28 September at 5pm. The Highfliers, with eight works on offer, takes place on Monday 30 September at 8pm. The rest of the Main Programme follows from Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 October and the Fringe, on Saturday 5 October at 1pm, closes the 2019 annual Baxter Dance Festival.
Ignatius van Heerden’s solo performance of the highly acclaimed Nijinsky’s War (pictured peft) and the collaborative work Unravelled, by Sasha Fourie Myburgh, Marlin Zoutman, Lee Sophia Piedt, Rae Classen, Natasha Rhoda and Yaseen Manual, opens the Main Programme on 26 and 27 September.
The Off Main programme on Saturday 28 September is a rich and diverse smorgasbord of dance talent and works by a dozen dynamic choreographers. They are Leroy Samuels, Christopher Sherwood-Adcock, Rory Marais featuring Gabrielle Rossouw and Keanan, Ahneesh Valodia, James Bradley, Simone Marshall-Kleinenberg, Desiree Lee Angus, Kim Pretorius, Kyle Andrew Grant, Olwethu Sotiya, Kristy Brown, Wanie Johannes, Amanda Guma and Tanzley Jooste.
Baxter Dance Festival 2019 Highfliers and Fringe
The new addition to the festival, Highfliers, on 30 September at 8pm, will showcase works by established artists who have already carved successful careers for themselves locally and abroad. The line-up includes Forever without end, choreographed by Celeste Botha and performed by 34/18 Youth Dance Company, Contraband choreographed by Michelle Reid and performed by Cape Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA), Say Something, Do Something, choreographed by Janine Booysens and performed by the Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies, Distance Call choreographed by Bruno Wani and performed by Dance for All South Africa Bridging Programme, Ingxolo yabafazi (Stories of women) choreographed by Sbonakaliso Ndaba and performed by Indoni Dance Arts and Leadership Academy, Oblivion choreographed by Craig Pedro and performed by Cape Town City Ballet and It’s ok, you’re ok choreographed by Marlin Zoutman and performed by New World Dance Theatre.
The Main Programme continues 1 and 2 October with Maktub by Yaseen Manuel, Perspective by Yellow Frame Films, choreographed by Shirley-Anne Bezuidenhout, blame it on the algorithm by Darkroom Contemporary and Image by Dance Theatre Africa, choreographed by Tercia Amsterdam. On 3 and 4 October, the line-up features Crossroad by Fo8, and Sun of a Daughter by New World Dance Company, choreographed by Marlin Zoutman and Aweh Maria by Garage.
There are over 20 dance pieces, by choreographers and studios from the Western Cape on the Fringe, the final day of the festival, on Saturday 5 October at 1pm.
What: Baxter Dance Festival 2019
Where and when: Baxter Theatre from 26 September to 5 October 2019. The Main Programme is nightly at 8pm, the Highfliers is on 30 September at 8pm, the Off Main Programme is on 28 September at 5pm and the Fringe Programme is on 5 October at 1pm
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
