Mr Greg Heale: Director Business Development Engineering and Construction at Group Five visited the SABT dancers on August 31st . He received the artwork, as well as a pointe shoe autographed by Ms Burnise Silvius which he bid for at the SABT/ Le Canard Gala Dinner series earlier this year. The next SABT/ Le Canard Gala dinner series takes place on October 6 - 7 2010 at 19h00. Bookings are now open through .

Staff members from BDO South Africa Incorporated enjoyed their annual visit to the SABT studios on Thursday August 5th 2010. They were treated to a goodie bags and the opportunity to watch the Company do their daily class. This was followed by a scrumptious tea and extracts from 'Carmen-the Ballet'.

On Thursday July 29th, experts from MAC cosmetics held a professional stage make-up course for SABT. This workshop was held in preparation for 'Carmen-the Ballet'. An original Carmen 'look' was created for the dancers by Mr Robin McBroom: Training Manager for MAC

Stephan Welz & Co will be including an etch donated by William Kentridge to The South African Ballet Theatre, on their main paintings auction session on the evening of Tuesday, 17 August 2010 at 6.30pm at 13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg. The proceeds received from the sale of this lot will help towards the continuation of classical ballet in South Africa.

Lot 399 THE DANCING NOSE (sugarlift and aquatint, signed and inscribed 'A.P II/III' in pencil in the margin - sheet size: 40 by 35cm) an early state from a suite of 30 Nose etchings by William Kentridge

with an estimate of R30 000 ? R50 000. This piece is etched by Mr Kentridge and has been donated by him for this worthy institution.  

Tickets prices vary from R105 to R290 with discounts for SABT Friends, Block bookings and selected corporate companies.

Schools Performances ? Tues 17 & 24 August at 11am - all tickets just R50.00

Bookings through Computicket 083 915 8000 or Mr Moagi + 27 11 877 6898.

SABT dancers Chloé Grové and Nicole Ferreira appeared at Africa Fashion Week on July 3rd modeling for renowned designers Malkolm Kluk CGDT

2010 SABT Winterschool ...

A new and exciting vision for the SABT...

The Board and Management of The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) are pleased to announce that, following their November 2009 announcement on their funding challenges, and the subsequent ten staff retrenchments that took place in December 2009, significant and exciting progress has been made.

Although R 2 million had been received by January 2010 this was insufficient for SABT's needs and SABT would have had to have implemented a further round of retrenchments in April but, following the receipt of several large sponsorships, the SABT is delighted to announce that further retrenchments have been averted and the SABT is now proactively forging ahead with a new and exciting vision for the company.

The National Arts Council (NAC) have approved funding towards SABT's next season of Carmen-the Ballet which opens at the Joburg Theatre on August 13th 2010 and runs until 29 August.

SABT was recently informed of the successful outcome to an appeal lodged with the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and is delighted to announce that the first tranche of funding has been received for various SABT projects including the upgrade of transport for student dancers attending SABT's Outreach programmes in Alexandra and Soweto.

A South African corporate has come on board with a significant sponsorship which will see them taking naming rights to the SABT Alexandra Outreach plus adding their support to a SABT season - details will be announced shortly.

On 17 February 2010 Mr Cedric Ntumba was appointed as SABT Chairman, and Mr James Campbell was appointed as Vice-Chairman. Mr Cedric Ntumba is delighted to announce on behalf of the SABT Board that, following a company restructuring process, Ms Fiona Budd has been appointed as Managing Director of The SABT and Mr Iain MacDonald has been appointed as Artistic Director of The SABT, with effect from 1 May 2010. Says Mr Ntumba, "The Board is proud to have such dedicated individuals at the helm of SABT and we wish them the very best in their respective new roles".

The SABT Board is also delighted to welcome their two newest Board Members - Ms Susie Mabie and Ms Kethabile Moya. Ms Mabie has been active in the creative and arts industries for many years, working with non- governmental organisations, government departments and the corporate sector in the arts. She is a Senior Manager at Transnet Foundation where she oversees the company's social investment in the arts. Ms Moya holds an LLB degree, has worked with government and NGO organisations and is currently the General Manager of Legal Services and Board Secretariat with the Railway Safety Regulator.

SABT welcomes Mr Teboho Nkoane as their new Stakeholder Relationships Manager (with effect from 1 May) and Ms Ishshah Basheh will be joining the SABT in early June 2010, taking up the position of Commercial Manager.

SABT is also happy to announce that the following dancers have been promoted with effect from 1 May 2010:
- Ms Shannon Glover from Soloist to Senior Soloist; Mr Hyun Kyung Cho from Senior Corps de Ballet to Senior Soloist; Mr Humberto Montero from Soloist to Senior Soloist.
- Mr Guy Wheatstone and Mr Chase Bosch were both promoted from Senior Corps de Ballet to Soloist.

Says Mr Cedric Ntumba, "The SABT, along with many organisations, has been through challenging times recently due to global and economic circumstances, but, with our newly-formulated structure and focus on all levels, plus overwhelming public support, are confident that we are entering a new era for The SABT and are fully committed to ensuring the ongoing viability and future of ballet in South Africa, both as a creative and vibrant arts industry and as a business venture." vision for the SABT ...

SABT has a busy few months ahead before their August season of 'Carmen - the Ballet' at the Joburg Theatre.
The second set of the Le Canard SABT Gala Dinners are taking place at Le Canard Restaurant in Sandton from 19 - 20 May, SABT will be holding a pre-World Cup Open Day at their studios on Saturday 29 May from 10am - 1pm and limited places are still available for SABT's Winter School (June 21th - 26th 2010) where dancers aged six to eighteen years old are invited to spend a week with the Company working closely with stars such as Angela Malan and Anya Carstens as they participate in pointe work classes, pas de deux, National dance classes, Pilates lessons, stagecraft lessons and even some World Cup-themed classes.

The South African Ballet Theatre would like to extend their huge thanks and appreciation to all who have given such generous and unstinting support to the SABT during the past few months - including the media, the CEO and staff of the Joburg Theatre, existing and new partners and the ballet and general public. SABT looks forward to many exciting new partnerships and projects in the coming months.

Some lovely SABT ladies mesmerized the audience at a private function on Saturday May 1st 2010 at Park Station Johannesburg.

Seen here are Yolandi Olckers, Lauryn Summerley, Chloé Grové and Shannon Glover.

Sport and the arts may compete for sponsors and for public interest, but do they necessarily stand in opposition to one another? Have we drawn a false dichotomy between the two? What do we make of arts practitioners who are passionate about sport? Or sports buffs who take a keen interest in literature, music, theatre, dance and the visual arts? Sport versus Art is a collection of essays, commentaries, personal memoirs and humorous pieces attempting to answer these and other questions about an often fraught relationship at the heart of South Africa's public life.

To purchase a copy of this book, which includes a contribution from The South African Ballet Theatre, please contact Dr Christopher Thurman on +27 11 717 4113 or Christopher.Thurman@wits.ac.za

Stephan Welz & Co are including a charity auction to raise funds for The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT). All proceeds received from the sale of these lots will help ensure the continuation of the SABT. The auction will take place on Wednesday, 21 April 2010 at 6.30pm at 13 Biermann Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg.

Established in 2001, the SABT has forged a central niche in the local dance sector and is the country's largest professional ballet company and has established itself as a major player in the performing arts with impressive productions of classical ballets, new works by South African choreographers and collaborators across international boundaries. International stars such as Mara Galeazzi (Royal Ballet), Guillaume Côté (National Ballet of Canada) and Maina Gielgud (English National Ballet) have worked and performed with SABT. In addition to the professional company, and under the auspices of SABT, five Outreach Programmes are managed (in Mamelodi, Alexandra, Soweto, Eersterus and Katlehong) as well as an extra-curricular Ballet Academy for high school students and a Graduate (apprenticeship) Programme.

On November 10 2009, The SABT Board announced that the SABT, although debt-free, was facing severe financial challenges and that, if substantial immediate funding was not found, the Board would have to take robust action to preserve the integrity of the company. The auction is one of several fundraising initiatives undertaken by the Company to raise the much needed funds.

SABT wishes to acknowledge Stephen Welz & Co, Mrs Carol Botha and the Joburg Theatre for its support.

Please address all enquiries regarding this interesting and worthwhile auction to our Johannesburg office: 011 880 3125 or email jhb@swelco.co.za. Visit the website www.swelco.co.za

Members of The South African Ballet Theatre were invited to perform at the prestigious annual Marie Claire Prix D'Excellence Beauty Awards on March 16th at The Venue in Melrose Arch.

Seen here in their gowns designed by local fashion designers Black Coffee are (left - right) Lauryn Summerley, Shannon Glover, Chloé Grové, Nicole Ferreira, Yolandi Olckers and Sanmarie Kreuzhuber (in front).