Talented poor kids to see it on screen

THE last time the world's top opera outfit, The Bolshoi Ballet Company, performed in South Africa I missed it. That was at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, now the Joburg Theatre, in 2000.

The tickets were too expensive for me and also for most other people in the country.

Despite the things that went wrong in the Soviet Union during communist rule, the Kremlin at least invested heavily in the arts, which many governments fail to do.

Some of the investments went to ballet, opera and the visual art - and today Russia is reaping the benefits of the communist regime's investment.

Whether this was to control the arts, which I certainly think might have been the case, the result is that Russia is unparalleled when it comes to excellence in the arts.

Now The Bolshoi Ballet Company is coming to Cape Town on the big screen and children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who show promise in this art form, will have an opportunity to see the show for free.

Children and their parents from Khayelitsha, Langa, Gugulethu, the Cape Flats and several squatter areas around Cape Town will have an opportunity to enjoy the ballet.

Hosted by the Fugard Theatre Bioscope partnering with The Royal Opera House, The Royal Ballet Company in London and The Bolshoi Ballet Company in Moscow, the Fugard Theatre will be making 10 pairs of child and parent tickets available free of charge, together with the cost of transport, for each screening for choral and ballet pupils.

What this essentially means is that the children and their parents will enjoy the monthly weekend screenings of top ballet and opera.

The shows start on September 17 till December 11.

The shows also include recorded presentations, delayed-live presentations and live on the big screen.