Former Scottish Ballet Principal joins Cape Town City Ballet For Summer Season at Artscape

Cape Town City Ballet has announced that former Scottish Ballet Principal Jerome Anthony Barnes will be joining the company for its upcoming Summer Season that opens next month at Artscape. Barnes, who also danced with Northern Ballet, trained at The Royal Ballet School before advancing to White Lodge. During his tenure at Scottish Ballet, he performed iconic roles in Mayerling, The Nutcracker, Coppélia and The Snow Queen, earning numerous accolades including the Rising Star prize at the One Dance Awards in 2021. This season, Barnes will partner CTCB’s Principal Ballerina Kirstél Paterson in the Raymonda Pas de Dix, and newly appointed CTCB Principal Hannah Ward in her Giselle debut. He will also perform in Dane Hurst’s Requiem. 

Cape Town City Ballet dancers making significant debuts this season include Hannah Ward and Maryana Pobuta as Giselle, and Kirstél Paterson, Paige McElligott and Sasha Barnes as Queen of the Wilis. Other guest artists this season include Marlon Sales, as well as Nicolette Loxton and Lauren Rogers as Giselle’s Mother.

CTCB's Summer Season, produced by Artistic Manager Tracy Li, features the full-length Giselle alongside a double bill that includes the thrilling Pas de Dix from Raymonda and a re-staging of Dane Hurst's Requiem.

The Pas de Dix from Raymonda is rich in classical elements, with both powerful and lyrical passages that emphasise the beauty and fluidity of ballet.  A showcase of stately formations danced to Alexander Glazunov’s sweeping score, this ensemble piece highlights grace, artistry and musicality and remains a celebrated jewel of 19th-century ballet, captivating audiences with its refined artistry. The principal couples in the Pas de Dix will be Kirstél Paterson and Jerome Barnes, alongside Paige McElligott and Jordan Roelofze who impressed audiences with their debuts as The Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince in The Nutcracker this past festive season.

Requiem, originally conceived by Dane Hurst during the COVID-19 pandemic, first premiered in the UK with Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre in collaboration with Jazzart and Cape Town Opera. Now, with kind permission from the aforementioned companies, Requiem has been reimagined by Hurst, former Artistic Director of Jazzart. Created exclusively for CTCB with several of the dancers now en pointe, the piece serves as a meditation on the future and is described by Dane as an act of honouring and remembrance of those lost, and a powerful reflection on the beauty, brutality and brevity of life.

Requiem combines Mozart’s awe-inspiring choral masterpiece with the expressive physicality of Cape Town City Ballet’s dancers. Hurst’s creative team includes visual projection designer Kirsti Cumming, Costume Designer Maritha Visagie and lighting designer Faheem Bardien. Audiences can expect visceral and transcendent performances that breathe new life into Mozart’s celebrated work, making it as relevant today as it was over two centuries ago. 

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