Cape Town City Ballet Presents SUMMERSNOW at Maynardville Open-Air Festival 2023

Cape Town City Ballet is back on the whimsical and wooded splendour of the Maynardville Open-Air Festival stage.

SUMMERSNOW embraces the certainty of the seasons..... the stark contrast of summer to winter. The enchanting double bill features the pastoral fantasy of Mikhail Fokine's LES SYLPHIDES and Sir Frederick Ashton's charming twilight skating scene, LES PATINEURS.

SUMMERSNOW will be performed from 1 to 5 March at 20.15 nightly.

LES SYLPHIDES is the quintessential romantic reverie, where sylphs of imaginary spirits dance in the moonlight with the "poet" to the sublime music of Frederic Chopin.

LES PATINEURS (The Skaters) features a party of ice skaters on a frozen pond joyfully depicting Ashton's virtuosic choreography of charming divertissements in a beautiful trellised setting. Delightful in its humour and lyrical adagio of the lead couple, as the "spills and thrills" of the Blue Boy and friends show masterfully the multiple pirouettes and leaps. As the snow starts to fall the skaters glide away.

Review comments for Cape Town City Ballet's production of LES PATINEURS include: 'a sublime romp on ice' (Beverley Brommert) and 'genius in action....mesmerising....[Les Patineurs] is very charming and clever (Siobhan Cassidy, calloffthesearch.com).

"Be transported to a place of magic and wonder under the stars at the wonderful Maynardville Amphitheatre," says Debbie Turner, CEO of Cape Town City Ballet. "SUMMERSNOW is a ballet lover's quintessential treat of two stellar works that whisk you into the world of pirouettes, technical prowess and exuberant, energizing dance!"

Jaco van Rensburg, co-owner of Maynardville Open-Air Theatre Festival's new producers VR Theatrical says, "We are thrilled that the Cape Town City Ballet is back on stage with us at Maynardville. Our Festival is an expression of the magic that is Cape Town and the unique setting of Maynardville and the ballet really takes that magic to a new level. It's a beautiful way to end the season."

In partnership with the Open Air Collective, Maynardville is now offering patrons a picnic option when booking their tickets (add it on at the end) as well as a host of food trucks, bar and coffee station. Picnics are no longer permitted in the theatre area.

SUMMERSNOW will be performed from 1 to 5 March at 20.15 nightly.

Tickets cost from R190 to R300.