CAPE Ballet Africa’s acclaimed triple bill SALT returns in full force, featuring original works choreographed by Kirsten Isenberg, multi-award-winning artist, Mthuthuzeli November, and Michelle Reid. A standout event on Cape Town’s dance calendar, SALT will be presented at Theatre on The Bay from 17 to 27 September.
Salt resonates on many levels in our daily existence. It flavours, purifies, heals, and preserves. Salt has significance in ancient rituals, warding off evil, keeping us safe and inspiring us to a higher spiritual realm.
These three ballets are poignant, sleek, stylish, celebratory and percussive. Expect strong athletic pointe work, gravity-defying pas de deux, and beautifully articulated bodies in motion.
“We are proud to be making our debut at Theatre on the Bay with our award-winning programme SALT,” says Debbie Turner, founder and artistic director of Cape Ballet Africa. “This esteemed venue in such a magnificent location is iconic on Cape Town’s cultural landscape. We can’t wait to present this triple bill, featuring work by South African choreographers, to its audiences. We are hugely grateful for the opportunity to perform here for the first time.”
Kirsten Isenberg’s Reverie, a neoclassical work to Rachmaninov’s Concerto No 2 in C Minor, introduces the programme. “This classical work explores being lost in one’s thoughts and the journey from light to dark and back again. Sometimes supported and sometimes alone,” says Isenberg. Reverie is a meditative and reflective study. Swathed in a palette of blush pink, it is delirious fanciful musings, in a dreamy state.
Mthuthuzeli November’s Chapter Two, costumed in vibrant hues of pink and red and set to a purpose-commissioned score written by Peter Johnson, is a modern percussive work that is perfectly reflected through the rhythmic body isolations and lightening quick movement vocabulary reminiscent of the precursor of his original Visceral. Chapter Two is a revisit, a place you have been to before, a musing on a previous time. November’s reinterpretation of this score depicts the emergence and underpinning of his unique African classical choreographic voice.
November’s Chapter 2 won in two categories at the prestigious Benois de la Danse Awards 2025. November won Best Choreography for Chapter 2, while dancer Joshua Williams won for his performance in Chapter 2. Williams shared the Best Male Dancer prize with Dmitry Smilevskiy, Principal Dancer at the Bolshoi Theatre. Camille Bracher was also nominated for Best Female Dancer for her performance in Chapter 2.
Michelle Reid’s Smoke costumed in hot red is a metaphor for glowing heat and intense emotion. Reid is widely known for her quirky creative spirit, unique movement language and interpretive skill. A passion for pure jazz music, Reid creates a new take on the iconic Brubeck Take Five, a reference to the rhythmic tempo of the work in a manner that is smooth, graceful and playful. “A classical ballet company can do old school,” says Reid.
SALT was nominated for Best Ensemble at the 2025 Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees Kanna Awards.
Bookings can be made at Webtickets
