A double-ended candle: art

Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Monday, April 14, 2014

Cape Town City Ballet

About 2 week ago we went to the CTCB open day, held at Baxter. We got to sit in on a rehearsal, a class and there were workshops on stage make-up etc. it was a fabulous morning! I

particularly enjoyed the rehearsal as not only was the ballet beautiful, but the teacher/ director told stories about performances of the piece being rehearsed over the past half century.

This past weekend we went to see the production we had seen rehearsed - Swan Lake. It was fabulous to see the dances we had seen rehearsed, and to know more of the background. #1 was particularly taken by it all, and I think her love of ballet has been taken to new heights.

However, what astounded me is that the final scene, in which Rotbart is killed and Odette is set free, made me cry. CRY!! I don't cry at ballet. Ever. Never ever. Yet, I cried in the final scene. The Odette dancer played her character so well, so beautifully I couldn't help myself.

One thing I can say for sure - I was so impressed with so many of the dancers, and with the scenery, an dust the whole experience, that I think we'll be making more of an effort to attend the ballet in future!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Functional Art

Don't you just love this 4-seater bench? Designed so that each alternate person faces the opposite way, making it easier to have a face-to-face conversation while sitting next to each other. But I also just love the detail of the mosaics. Beautiful. I wish there was more functional art like this around Cape Town. This bench is in The Company Gardens.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

SHARK!!

While out looking at the lights in Adderley St, we stopped to feed Nathan and discovered a lovely little square at the front (back?) of the Capetonian Hotel that links across to Jetty St. The square is filled with interesting, life-size statues of people, including a child with his little black motorbike. Closer to Jetty St side, there are several rotating sculptures of sharks.

While my rational mind KNEW that these were just sculptures and that we were far away from the ocean where their real counterparts were, the fact that they were shark-shaped and that they were moving kept me in a state of anxiety the entire time I was there photographing them. It struck me that there really is something instinctual about the fear of large predators. They're well worth a visit though! Pretty amazing sculptures.