Joburg Ballet’s 25th Anniversary Season celebrations continue apace, with April proving to be a remarkable month for the company.

Awards, announcements, wins, nominations and a tour de force reprise of the critically acclaimed Celestial Bodies choreographed by Mario Gaglione in partnership with Universe on Stage at the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre, UJ Arts Centre this past weekend, have been the order of the day.

A Naledi Theatre Award win for Joburg Ballet’s Principal Dancer Monike Cristina, in the category ‘Best Performance in a Dance, Physical Theatre and Ballet Production’ was announced at the 21st annual Naledi Award ceremony held at the South African State Theatre, Pretoria at the end of March. The award recognised her performance in the production Maria Callas – Prima Donna, choreographed by Mario Gaglione. Principal Dancer Revil Yon was nominated along with Cristina for the same production.

Early in April, there was a serendipitous blending of the art of photography and the art of ballet with the announcement of the winners of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest. More than 57,000 photographs were entered by 3,747 photographers from 141 countries; and in the Africa Regional Singles category, Ihsaan Haffejee, a GroundUp photojournalist was named the winner for his image ‘Joburg Ballet School’. The image, captured on 7 December 2025 during the Joburg Ballet School’s year-end performance, features young dancers backstage at the Soweto Theatre. The Joburg Ballet School opened in 2012 and has schools in Soweto, Alexandra and Braamfontein where classes are conducted by qualified ballet teachers. Joburg Ballet extends its warm congratulations to Mr Haffejee.

Another blending – a unique dialogue between dance and visual art, was Joburg Ballet’s debut collaboration with the Candice Berman Gallery. Under Artistic Director, Dane Hurst’s choreographic development programme, Chloe Blair, Gabriella Ghiaroni, Tumelo Lekana and Gabrielle Fairhead presented newly developed site-specific performances responding to the art works of Shana Ellappa, Restone Maambo and Hannelie Taut, as part of the Prowess Exhibition at the Gallery. This inspiring exchange in an intimate setting brought audience, performers and artworks into a rare proximity and has opened exciting possibilities for future collaborations.

Joburg Ballet is delighted to announce that Latoya Mokoena, has been nominated in the 2025 National Dance Awards, UK, ‘Outstanding Female Modern Performance’ category for her performance in the title role of Salomé created by the late South African choreographer Dada Masilo. Salomé, performed at Joburg Ballet’s UK debut in Communion of Light at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House in London in October 2025, offered a striking interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s play shaped by Masilo’s distinctive choreographic voice and a performance of intensity, control and emotional depth by Mokoena. The nomination marks a powerful moment of international recognition for the young dancer and the work.

Another South African, Mthuthuzeli November, who will be choreographing Joburg Ballet’s 25th Anniversary Season July production, The Bacchae: An African Choral Ballet, has also been nominated in the category ‘Best Classical Choreography’ for his ballet, Fools, created for Northern Ballet, based on the famous South African novel, Hill of Fools, by R.L. Peteni.

For more information please visit www.joburgballet.com

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Di Sparks
disparks@artslink.co.za
073 208 8483
Joburg Ballet
http://www.joburgballet.com