Northern areas dancers showcase ballet at its best
The head of the Toynbee Ballet Academy will host her first theatre showcase since taking over eight years ago in an effort to revive the classical art among the youth from Gqeberha’s northern areas.
This week Ariana Bailey, who took over the school in 2015 from Gwen-Mary Wells, and her team of new and old dancers will host their first show, aptly named Elemental Rhythms.
Bailey, 32, said she had built on the lessons she learnt from Wells, who had been a wellloved and respected ballet teacher and founded the Toynbee Academy in Gelvandale.
“Miss Wells’s legacy left behind a rich array of talented dancers from the northern areas who have pursued dance professionally both nationally and internationally,” she said.
“With the upcoming show, emotions are running high as this is my first show since I took over the studio.”
With big shoes to fill, a new generation of pupils and parents from different socioeconomic challenges, as well as Covid-19, the studio came to a complete standstill from 2020 until 2021.
“For a whole year, there was no classical ballet in the northern areas.
“Due to a lack of rehearsal space and stringent Covid regulations,
I was left with only four pupils to work with in a classroom in a church hall.”
But her passion and hope of reviving the classical dance saw her overcome the challenges and, this year, the classes resumed in their rehearsal space at St Thomas High School, with 20 students from the age of four attending classes four times a week at the school or at the Cotswold scouts hall.
Bailey said the northern areas should be exposed to classical ballet and other dance techniques and she aimed to pass on her professional knowledge to the next generation.
She said the show, which would be staged on June 1 at the Savoy Theatre, depicted elements that sustained life, with the underlying message being “through chaos, harmony restores”.
“The school was fortunate to receive help from various organisations and sponsorships, as we rely on funding to have productions. The students were fortunate to receive help from past pupils of the Toynbee Club, Jordan Roelfze, Bradley Van Heerden, Darren Rockman and Kyle Adams, who all played a role in training and choreographing the show.
“A special treat will be performances from ex-students.”
Tickets are R120 for adults and R80 for children.