Rising Ballet Stars to Shine in Beloved COPPELIA at Artscape

Rising young stars of the Cape Town City Ballet are set to take centre stage in the classic and comic ballet, COPPÉLIA, at Artscape in Cape Town. Based on the well-known tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, this sparkling production of the beloved ballet has a short run at the end of May.

With its charming and mischievous plot, brightly-coloured costumes and glorious music, COPPÉLIA is ideal for both families and serious dance lovers as well as for newcomers to the ballet. True love triumphs in this enchanting fairytale, which features three main characters - the young Franz, his fiancée Swanilda and the mysterious doll-maker, Dr Coppelius, who creates the life-like doll, Coppélia. Believing the doll is a real person, Franz becomes infatuated with her, which most definitely does not meet with Swanilda's approval. This leads to all kinds of hilarious situations amongst the protagonists and culminates in a happily-ever-after wedding scene.

For this production, a number of Cape Town City Ballet's young star dancers will be shining in the spotlight. The role of Swanilda will be shared by Cleo Ames, Sarah-Lee Chapman, Meghan Henegan and Elizabeth Nienaber, while Franz will be danced by Ivan Boonzaaier, Martin Milner, Craig Pedro and Revil Yon.

Alternating as the eccentric, Dr Coppelius, as well as the Bürgermeister, the company's master character dancers, Mervyn Williams and Johnny Bovang, are bound to have audiences in the palms of their hands at all performances. The choreography is after David Poole and the lighting design will be handled by Faheem Bardien. The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Brandon Phillips, will accompany the cast at selected performances.

Tickets for COPPÉLIA, which runs from 25 - 29 May, are available at Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 7695. For performances with pre-recorded music - of which there are only three - tickets cost a mere R50. For performances with the live orchestra, prices are R110, R120, R140 and R160. Specific discounts apply for Friends of Cape Town City Ballet, pensioners, students and scholars, as well as block bookings for groups of ten or more.