Local dancers shine at Royal Moscow Ballet show
Scores of arts lovers thronged the Gaborone International Convention Centre on Saturday evening for the Royal Moscow Ballet show, where the audience was treated to breathtaking performances by some of the finest ballet dancers.
The programme had exclusive and diverse offerings, but a performance that stood out was collaboration between one of Russia’s finest dance companies alongside local ballet dancers from Risa Ballet and North Side Primary School in a piece titled ‘The Nutcracker.’ Based on the story of ‘The Nutcracker and the king of Mice,’ the story is about a young girl’s favourite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker coming alive and after defeating an evil mouse king in battle, whisks her away to a magical place filled with dolls. Hoffman originally composed the German story in 1816.
According to Wikipedia, Russian composers, Pyotr Tchalkovsky, Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned the Alexandre Dumaspere’s adaptation of the story into the ballet piece, The Nutcracker. It remains one of the popular ballets in the world. The dozen local dancers stood to the stage confidently and moved effortlessly in sync with the more experienced dancers.
Dressed in all-white angel inspired costumes, they pranced and twirled the stage in bewitching fashion. They later changed into lime costumes, and they were just a marvel to watch as they showed off their dancing prowess with ease.
A darling to watch on the evening was Stephanie Keabetswe, a dancer with Risa Ballet School. Keabetswe officially opened the evening with a stunning solo performance that left the audience enthralled. The confident dancer endeared herself to the crowd as she proved that she is a force to be reckoned with in ballet. There is no doubt that she is likely to be one of the best dancers from Botswana in the near future.
Former ballet students Katlo Mokgosana and Ranewa Phologolo could not hide their excitement at the end of the evening. The duo left ballet to pursue other interests such as gymnastics but they still appreciate the dance. “It was supper fun and I enjoyed everything about the show,” Mokgosana gushed. Phologolo said: “I liked the dancing and the music, it was all amazing.”
But there were some who were not impressed. One young critic, who did not want to disclose her identity, said the programme was too long and she was bored halfway throughout the proceedings. “It was boring and there was a lot of repetition,” she said.
This was not the first time that the ballet school dancers showcased their craft at the show organised by the internationally renowned dance company. In 2015, the little ones from Risa Ballet School had an opportunity to share the stage with dancers from the Joburg Ballet dancing company when they officially opened the show with a piece titled ‘The dance of the hours.’