Cause Index

South African International Ballet Competition

The South African International Ballet Competition was founded in 2008. It hosts an International Competition, the only such competition on the African continent, every two years. It also hosts a Ballet Gala every year. This is all to transform ballet and make it more accessible to all South Africans and Africans.
The South African International Ballet Competition has initiated a program for the training of ballet and dance teachers in the townships, the main purpose being to empower and equip teachers in townships to coach dancers in classical ballet, using the proven Cuban method so well suited to South Africa and South African body types. Teachers taking part in the programme follow a syllabus from the National Ballet School of Cuba and at the end of the 5-year programme during which they take exams, they receive a qualification from this highly esteemed school. Apart of the theoretical and practical aspects of ballet, we would like to also include business principals, small business aspects like how to establish and run a ballet school and business mentorship. Our vision is to extend this programme to townships in other cities as well as rural towns.