Playhouse Opera: 13 – 15 September
Celebrating three decades of dazzling dance, Shall We Dance takes to the stage with a glitzy line up at the Playhouse Opera for five shows only from 13 – 15 September.
One of the longest running dance shows in the world, Shall We Dance shares this momentous milestone with a bevy of local performers representing the region’s top dance studios as well as four international guest artists in honour of their 30th anniversary.
Appearing for the third time, seven times Professional Danish Champions, Nicolai Bouet (Denmark) and Anna Shagalina (Ukraine) return having previously starred in 2015 and 2016. The Danish ballroom champions will light up the stage with their version of sport dancing. They are joined by newcomers, Latin American specialists Egor Kondratenko (Russia) and Mie Funch (Denmark). The duo have represented Denmark in the European and World Championships and were semi-finalists in the 2023 Grand Slam.
The toe-tapping array of dance styles featured this year include Ballroom, Latin, Modern, Ballet, Irish, Tap and Indian with the music ranging from Tico Tico to Michel Bublé to Abba. Durban’s own Marion Loudon returns for her third time hosting the show as compere and vocalist.
The dozens of dancers who make up the cast, are all hobbyists and dance for the sheer enjoyment of it. They represent various dance studios in the greater Durban area. Many of them have been dancing for years and have been in multiple SWD productions over the decades, and in some cases veteran cast members are now joined on stage by their children. The featured dancers come from all walks of life including an accountant, teacher, beekeeper, homeopath, model-boss, cook, lawyer, doctor, administrator, chiropractor, drummer and a bunch of students.
The studios pride themselves with creating new costumes every year to ensure the production always looks fresh and fabulous – with the seamstresses sewing literally kilometres of fabric and attaching hundreds of thousands of rhinestones for months ahead of time.
Recalling their first ever show in 1991, Director, Caryl Cusens shares, “The run of the first SWD in 1991 only had two performances, and with just a single rehearsal on stage, it was hair raising! The majority of cast members had never been on stage before, so there was no experience of theatre discipline. When one group of dancers was cued by the stage manager to wait in the wings, they didn’t realise that they had to respond immediately. Watching from the sound box, Neville and I heard the music start, saw the lights go up, and along with the packed house, were treated to a completely bare stage. The music played on and one couple strolled into the spotlight, realised the rest of their group wasn’t there, so strolled off the other side. In the meantime, Neville took flight and made the distance from the back of the theatre to the wings in about two seconds flat! The air backstage turned blue, and the compère was pushed onto the stage and was told to improvise. We have come a long way since those early years!”
Good to Know:
Show times:
Friday 13 September at 7pm
Saturday 14 September at 1pm and 5pm
Sunday 15 September at 11am and 3pm
Prices range from R120 to R180
Sunday morning (11am) – R120 throughout the house
Booking at Webtickets