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A season of arts at Civic

MAKE A SPLASH: Drummond Marais with one of his works on auction. © Sowetan.
MAKE A SPLASH: Drummond Marais with one of his works on auction. © Sowetan.

Edward Tsumele

Edward Tsumele

There was a time when one dismissed ballet as "white people's dance" that had no social relevance to one's life.

But that is no longer true. Increasingly, ballet is taking hold in townships as ever more people take ballet lessons and the art form ceases to be elitist.

For those who would like to see this art form in action, the place to be is the Civic Theatre in Johannesburg, where the ever-popular story of Romeo and Juliet will be told on stage.

A treat awaits both lovers of ballet and and of fine art during the South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) season of the full-length romantic ballet Romeo and Juliet.

For the visual-arts enthusiast, Out of the Box will present an exhibition of more than 30 original art, craft and sculpture works inspired by dance in the foyer of the Nelson Mandela Theatre, at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, for the duration of the Romeo and Juliet season, which is Friday to March 18.

All the works on exhibition will be auctioned on Sunday March 18 at 6pm by well-known actor, singer and director, Malcolm Terry.

The proceeds of the auction will go to the exhibiting artists, to the SABT and to Out of the Box, which is opening a skills-development school at which all forms of art, crafts, business and life skills will be taught.

The exhibition is the brain child of artist Adrian del Greco, who approached Nina Venjakob, of Out of the Box, with the idea of creatively celebrating both art forms.

Exhibiting artists include Drummond Marais who, since his retirement from the stage, has focused his creative energies on fine art and has created a prolific body of work. His mixed-media canvases combine vivid acrylic brushwork with evocative photographic imagery.

Screen-print artist Emma Robb is the winner of this year's MOAG award for best painting and the 2005 Peter Moir Trophy for best drawing.

She specialises in portraiture and is the recipient of several gold and silver awards from the American and South African screen print associations.

Nikodemis van Rensburg's Afro-pop take on his surroundings is reflected in a body of work that has a broad thematic spectrum, including spirituality and surrealism.

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