more from Cape Town, South Africa
Day one of the competition was a long one. Juniors performed their first round of classical solos in the afternoon followed by a brief break, then the seniors performed in the evening. This is truly an international competition with competitors from South Africa as well as Japan, Latvia, South Korea and the U.S. We’re seeing a lot of talent, which will make choosing the winners a welcome challenge. The competitors had to choose from a list of classical solos that included the female tambourine solo from La Esmeralda. That one turned out to be the most popular; it continued to reverberate in my head as I fell asleep last night. Hopefully there will be more variety today. Never mind, as there are so many different interpretations of the same variation and, thankfully, so many interesting dancers to watch perform it that boredom was never a danger.
Today, round two. I’m off to the theater now.
