We want to celebrate the individuals who give us their blood, sweat and tears whilst appearing flawless on stage. We talked to Cape Town City Ballet’s principal dancer, Hannah Ward; Joburg Ballet’s principal dancers, Revil Yon and Tammy Higgins; and Mzansi Ballet’s Prima Ballerina, Angela Revie.
For Hannah Ward, it is “the challenge, the storytelling and the way movement expressed what words could not,” that made ballet a deeply fulfilling art form for her from the start. “The few moments I had on stage, with the audience in blackout light, almost felt like an escape – a kind of freedom I hadn’t felt before.”
Ballet is about “discovering what the human body is truly capable of and the never-ending pursuit of refinement,” she says. According to the dancer, it is a pure and timeless art form that carries an air of grace and elegance, but “also has this incredible ability to move your soul.” Whether in its most classical form, or pushing the boundaries in modern works, she says ballet is all about the connection between the artist, the audience and the music.
The first time Revie heard the opening notes of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, her heart was stolen and she never looked back. When she was younger, Revie was asked to choose between ballet and contemporary and other forms of dance, but she just couldn’t bring herself to sacrifice either. In her mind, “classical ballet keeps the history alive, while modern ballet allows for creativity and expression, blending tradition with innovation.”
During her career, she has danced on stage in South Africa and abroad. Today, Revie is a teacher and choreographer. “It has given me the opportunity to live in this world I love even longer,” she says, adding that passing on the knowledge she has learnt and creating new ballets and works give her just as much joy as being on stage. “If not more.”
“It should always be about the music for me,” says Revil Yon when asked about what inspires him in his profession. “Our bodies are our instruments,” he says. “Every day we can find new ways to explore music through the use of our bodies without the use of words.” According to Yon, the fact he gets to be someone different every day and explore what his limitations are as a human being, is something only few people get to experience. “I am very grateful and honoured to be able to live it daily.”
Yon says ballet is considered a luxury in today’s world. However, in his mind, it contributes to the “escapism of life.” With every performance, he hopes to make people feel hopeful; give them a sense of freedom.
Higgins is in her 20th year as a professional ballerina. After spending 12 years with the Hungarian National Ballet and Croatian National Ballet, she returned to Joburg Ballet, where her journey started at the young age of 18. “Ballet, and dance in general, is everything to me,” she says. “It is not merely a job, but a way of life… Many sacrifices have to be made in order to become a ballerina; through blood, sweat and tears.”
She says to make it in the ballet world, you must strive to better yourself and your technique daily. “To maintain it, you have to work extremely hard,” she adds, as there is always more you can do and achieve.
Whether for enjoyment or as a career, “ballet teaches you discipline, passion, dedication and more; you need a thick skin and a sense of humour,” Higgins concludes.
In a world where you can be anything, professional ballet dancers choose to be both athletes and artists and we can merely take our hats off to them for their unwavering dedication.
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