January 2024 Trip to South Africa

by Kristine Elliott

Gugulethu Ballet Project’s annual teaching trip is an opportunity to connect with the schools and dancers we support, to discover new ways we can help and nurture talent, to identify promising dancers, to collaborate and create across the different communities we work in, and to expose dancers to different ways of dancing and learning. 

This January, I traveled to South Africa for four weeks with my long-time colleagues Nathan Bartman and Ciara Baldwin, two extremely talented dancers, choreographers, and musicians who have been former recipients of Gugulethu Ballet Project’s support in South Africa and now run their own company, Manacan, based in London.

Arrival in South Africa

Driving from Cape Town to Zolani, we drive through the majestic Langeberh Mountain Range. We always stop at the same farm stall to provision up a bit, a familiar comfort. The place is filled with all sorts of pumpkins and colored  gourds–it’s the opposite season to ours in the States. In early January, South Africa is coming out of summer into autumn.

Even though I’ve visited South Africa almost every year for the past twenty, there is still an adjustment period. South Africa is a lot! The beauty of the mountains, the roadside baboons, the guinea fowl who sound like so many cars trying to start. The hadada ibis birds are loud and cranky; elegant to look at, but stinky. And load shedding is real. At will, the power will go out. Be sure to keep your phone charged!

Bridging A Cultural Divide

Our first week is split between the townships of Zolani and McGregor. Driving to Dancescape’s studio in Zolani, children are playing with car tires and running in the street amidst goats, cows, pigs, and dogs. When we arrive at the studio, load shedding is in effect. It’s a bit dark, but no worries, the eager, beautiful children are here, and entering the studio, which is a shared church in Zolani, I immediately see the flooring–a whole new Marley floor (vinyl, specially made for dance), which Gugulethu Ballet Project helped fund! It is beautiful, compared to the splintery uneven wooden floor from before. It’s just fantastic and wonderful to see.

I teach ballet, and Nathan and Ciara teach contemporary dance. We are a good team together, offering the children different skill sets alongside our different backgrounds. Nathan is a South African man who grew up in Eersterivier–a particularly crime-ridden area. He was a recipient of Gugulethu Ballet Project’s support in 2015 when he spent the summer with us attending the Alonzo King LINES Ballet summer program in San Francisco. Ciara Baldwin, Nathan’s partner, is a white South African woman whose grandmother was Nigerian.

After classes, we drive 45 minutes from Zolani to the town of McGregor. At First Step Ballet in McGregor, we teach “coloured” children—members of multiracial ethnic communities in South Africa who may have ancestry from African, European, and Asian people, and who often speak Afrikaans as well as English. It’s only recently that I’ve worked in the coloured communities, though Nathan–with whom I’ve worked for many years–is from a coloured background. The consequences of Apartheid policies still affect a social distance between black and coloured people in South Africa, but we wanted to serve both communities and also find a way to get them to work together.

Kristine at First Step in McGregor

Things are still separate in South Africa, and of course the two towns are not nearby so it’s difficult to interact, but we have a Saturday program where the Dancescape students from Zolani go to First Step Ballet in McGregor twice a month. There, the black Zolani children experience the class with Mary Silver, the director of First Step Ballet. A white woman from England, Mary is a dedicated and excellent teacher. Likewise, the coloured dancers from McGregor experience Dancescape’s Nqaba, a black, male teacher who is an engaging instructor and skilled choreographer. Mary doesn’t have any boys at her school, and that’s another big plus for the Saturday program. Nqaba is a big role model for the dancers at Dancescape, and he brings many boys so that the dancers can have a partnering classes. It’s a rewarding collaboration.

Song and Dance 

Another wonderful collaboration is between Dancescape, First Step Ballet, and the Zolani Youth Choir. This is the second year that Nathan and Ciara have choreographed a piece for the two schools to perform together, along with composing the music–a choral song performed live by the Zolani Youth Choir. This year’s piece is titled “The Call.” Through dance and song, Nathan and Ciara communicate that people should not be isolated in this world of woe. Call out, you’re not alone.

When the dancers watch each other dance, they shout encouragement in the form of beautiful sounds and words. “Casssss awoway!” gives energy and enthusiasm. It’s magic to experience.

Zolani Youth Choir rehearses in the studio before the dancers join them.

Masterclass with Adji Cissoko 

A big highlight of the trip was Adji Cissoko from Alonzo King LINES Ballet giving a master class on Zoom to the young dancers of First Step in McGregor. We didn’t know if we could get the connection, but we bought data and figured it all out! 10:30 pm at night for her, 8:30 in the morning for us.

Adji was stunning, and the children were immediately inspired. She taught them choreography that she created on the spot, manipulating her phrases of choreography musically, directionally, and individually. Even though she was being projected on a screen, she had the children’s full attention. They followed her cues, and miraculously, Adji created a five minute dance in little more than an hour.

Gugulethu Ballet Project Syllabus

Gugulethu Ballet Project’s ballet syllabus is the latest iteration of our commitment to serve South African dancers where they are and recognize the diversity of their struggles. Working in relatively isolated communities, the teachers and students have limited opportunities to learn and grow through exposure to new forms of teaching.

To respond to this need, I have been working over the last year to develop, film, and edit the Gugulethu Ballet Project Syllabus: a video compilation of ballet class exercises performed by young women of color that together create a solid foundation of ballet technique. Finally, it was ready to bring to our partner schools on this trip!

The syllabus, modeled by the talented Danielle Hillman of San Francisco Ballet school, Sophia Garduno of Berkeley Ballet Theater, and Aaliyahmarie Key, an apprentice at San Francisco Ballet, gives a wealth of knowledge, and, crucially, is accessed from flash drive, which can be plugged into a phone or a tablet and does not require any internet or connectivity. I was extremely pleased how well this format worked out and met the needs of the teachers and students. 

The young dancers were especially excited, and wanted to show they could grasp and execute the material. They loved watching the American dancers on screen as a helpful example and model for them. The older dancers were challenged too, eager to practice and refine the material, and the teachers really liked having a codified lesson plan with progressive teaching methods modeled by black and brown dancers.

I am so happy to have been able to leave behind this syllabus that the students can continue to learn from even when our visit ends.

Young dancers at First Step Ballet in McGregor learn a relevé combination from Gugulethu Ballet Project’s ballet sylabus.

Endinako’s Eyes

During last year’s trip, I identified the need of one little boy, Endinako Dyan, for medical attention to address his crossed eyes. A few months later, Endinako Dyan’s eye surgery took place to correct his strabismus. It was a same day surgery, and the doctor was very pleased with the outcome. This success was a huge team effort to find a doctor in Cape Town and make the necessary appointments and arrangements, a testament to the strength of the dance community in South Africa.  

It was a very heartfelt moment seeing Endinako again this year. He looks beautiful, and I just couldn’t be happier. His mother made a special trip in between her shifts at the factory to thank me.

Building Pride Through Dance

2024’s visit was a resounding success! Thank you to all of Gugulethu Ballet Project’s supporters who make our work possible. This annual trip is a crucial moment to reconnect with our partners on the ground in South Africa, learn their needs, and celebrate their accomplishments. Together we provide young dancers with opportunities for joy, safety, connection, community, self-expression, artistry, and growth.

I look forward to continuing this journey together, and seeing what the rest of 2024 has in store. Ubuntu!

Sincerely,

Kristine Elliott

Director, Gugulethu Ballet Project

Building Pride through Dance