Dirk Badenhorst Becomes First South African to Judge Beijing International Ballet Competition, July 2013

Dirk Badenhorst, CEO of the Cape Town International Ballet Competition, has accepted an invitation to serve as a judge at the Beijing International Ballet Competition in China in July. This will be the first time a South African has been a judge at a Chinese international ballet competition. Dirk Badenhorst joins a distinguished line-up of international ballet personalities who will gather in the Chinese city to assess dancers from around the world as they compete for medals and monetary prizes.

Among the judges announced for the Beijing competition are luminaries such as former ballet stars Angel Corella, Julio Bocca and Thomas Edur and company directors such as Brigitte Lefevre of the Paris Opera Ballet, Lin Wei-Min of the Cloud Gate Dance Company of Taiwan and Ivan Liska of the Munich Ballet. While in Beijing, Badenhorst plans takes the opportunity to appoint judges for the fourth Cape Town International Ballet Competition, of which he is the founder and CEO, taking place in February 2014. Most of the judges for the 2014 CTIBC have already been named but a couple of appointments will only be finalized after Mr. Badenhorst's visit to Beijing. The CTIBC is the only international ballet competition held on the African continent.

As with most international ballet competitions, judges for Beijing have been encouraged to facilitate participation of competitors from their respective countries. SA dancer Shana Dewey and SA-based Cuban intercultural exchange student Ramiro Samon will compete in the Beijing International Ballet Competition. Dirk Badenhorst leaves for Beijing immediately following the International Ballet Gala in Honour of Alicia Alonso being presented by him at the Teatro at Montecasino from 28 to 30 June 2013.

The next Cape Town International Ballet Competition is at the Artscape Theatre Centre from 17 to 23 February 2014, featuring spectacular talent from around the World and SA. The closing date for entries is 13 January 2014. Visit www.ctibc.com for more information.