The chandeliers at the Artscape – it’s such an incredible building
Last night I attended the opening night of Camille at the Artscape - a beautiful ballet which will be showing until 12 May.
Now I’ve been an avid ballet fan ever since ballet dancer, Chehon Wespi-Tschopp walked onto the So you think you can dance stage in these white ballet tights which looked like they’d been spray painted on and did an amazing piece from The Nutcracker with fellow contestant, Eliana Girard, who also happened to be a ballet dancer. The two of them went on to win season 9, making it the first time a ballet dancer had ever came out tops on this particular dance show. And Chehon’s perfectly sculpted butt cheeks amazing lines & precision, has stayed with me since… that guy was so hot talented. 
Only pic I could find. Sorry, Eliana is clearly in the way there. (Photo credit: buddytv.com)
** You can actually watch the full performance over here.
But on a serious note. I’ve always been intrigued by the art of ballet, but for some reason I just never made it to an actual live performance before. Last night was a total first for me and I was absolutdely blown away… from the incredible stage changes and beautiful costumes, to the enchanting music & dancers, everything was just so perfect. I left there thinking, right, when’s the next one??
Camille is based on a novel called The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas which was first published back in 1848. The story has been converted for film, stage and the opera. Veronica Paeper also created a ballet from it which has been staged several times since 1990. In short, the story follows Marguerite Gautier, a young courtisane (i.e. lady “kept” by various lovers) suffering from tuberculosis, and a young provincial bourgeois (a French term for a person belonging to the middle class), Armand Duval. Armand falls in love with Marguerite and tries to convince her to start a new life with him. But Armand’s dad won’t have any of that and convinces Marguerite to leave Armand, who until Marguerite’s death, believes that she’s run off with another man…
The ending had me on the edge of my seat, it was so intense and I won’t lie, it brought a bit of a tear to my eye…
Accompanied by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, the ballet is set to the music of Verdi’s La Traviata and features dancers from the Cape Town City Ballet, including principal dancers Laura Bosenberg & Thomas Thorne.
Hop on over to Computicket over here right away to secure your tickets. Prices range from R140 to R280 and it will be money well spent, trust me.
A huge thanks to Louis Fouche from ClassicSA Media & Events for the invite. This girl is totally hooked on ballet now (and this time for the right reasons).
xxx
