Joburg Ballet traces its beginnings back to the establishment of South African Ballet Theatre at the State Theatre Pretoria in 2001 when six dancers gathered a company together and began presenting performances.
Amajor milestone was the move to new purpose-built studios and offices at the Joburg Theatre. With a home of its own in Johannesburg, the company moved forward with greater confidence and the advantage of being closer to SA’s cultural and economic heartbeat.
The next important development towards the establishment of Joburg Ballet was the merger of SABT and Mzansi Productions to create South African Mzansi Ballet in 2012. In 2013, the City of Johannesburg announced a generous sustainable funding grant for the company in terms of which the name was changed to Joburg Ballet.
The grant from the City of Johannesburg significantly increased Joburg Ballet’s ability to better fulfil its vision of making dance an art form embracing the widest possible cross section of SA society, and to enhance standards, training, development, job creation, opportunities, continuity, sustainability, tourism, international goodwill and inclusivity.
Joburg Ballet is under the direction of Esther Nasser (CEO) and Iain MacDonald (artistic director) and performs ballet classics and contemporary works in SA and internationally. In addition to the professional company, Joburg Ballet operates development and outreach programmes, the Joburg Ballet School, Ballet Academy and Aspirant Programme.
