Bovim Ballet is proud to announce their next Cape Town season, SwingTime, taking place at The Baxter Theatre for a limited season from 7th -18th October 2009.

SwingTime - the perfect marriage between Broadway and Ballet, providing a high impact production and a visual feast that will entertain audiences of all ages.

Having recently returned from their very successful inaugural national tour of Sean Bovim's Tango Nights, Ballet Fans will be thrilled to hear that Bovim Ballet's next project will be the ever-popular SwingTime, originally created by Bovim in 2003.

Bovim will be updating the original production, adding new numbers to the work, and tweaking some of the existing numbers. This will be the first time that the audience can look forward to seeing SwingTime danced by Bovim Ballet, enhanced by a completely new set and dazzling costumes by Klûk and CGDT.

An exciting addition to the cast is accomplished vocalist, Francois Lliam (Blue eyes to Buble, Jesus Chris Superstar, We Will Rock You) who will delight audiences with his velvety vocals, singing popular tunes including Miss Jones, Fever, Mr Bojangles, Mack the Knife and others, while enjoying the visual artistry of the dancers’ romantic interpretations of these unforgettable classical hits.

SwingTime takes the audience on a nostalgic journey of the Big Band Era. The story centres around Bojangles, the owner of the Swing Club where it all happened. Bojangles' journey takes the audience back in time where romance was the order of the day, and dancing was a way of life for the young and young-at-heart. The audience will accompany Bojangles on his trip down memory lane, where he remembers his past loves and the shenanigans during his time at The Swing Club. The role of Bojangles will be performed by Grant Swift.

The audience can expect Bovim's technically demanding choreography, while at the same time being thrilled by beautifully created costumes, a fantastic collection of songs, and Bovim's talented troupe of dancers.

The audience can look forward to enjoying the inspiring local talent of Kerryn Howard, Tanya Futter, Kirsten Isenberg, Faye Dubinski, Simone Muller, Jennifer Middleton, Kristin Wilson and Nicola Marais. Male dancers include Grant Swift, Marc Goldberg, Shaun Brian Murphy, Ignatius Van Heerden, Devon Marshbank, James Bradley, Kyle Rossouw and Owen Manamela.

Bovim states, "The show fuses the jazzy rhythms of 1930's Broadway with the quick step demands of ballet en-pointe". I am excited to be working with this high calibre of dancers that have joined Bovim Ballet."

Over the past 15 years Bovim’s work has been seen all over South Africa and as far afield as the USA, Russia, Denmark, Spain, the Edinburgh Festival and Ireland, where Queen at the Ballet played to more than 30,000 people with standing ovations at every performance at the Point Theatre in Dublin.

Sean won the Dance Indaba Fringe Award for Choreography in 1995, the National Choreographic Competition in 1999 and his production SwingTime won a Naledi Award in 2005.

Reviewers of SwingTime at the Ballet had this to say about the inaugural production:

Glittering, Superb, Fresh, It's a Sure Bet - Star Tonight
Seductive, Enchanting, Pure Energy - The Argus
Joyous, Stunning, Visually and Aurally Delightful - Cape Times
Those torsos and hips... articulate and move in a wash of sexy physicality – Star Tonight.

Audiences are encouraged to book early as SwingTime has a strictly limited Cape Town season.

SwingTime runs at The Baxter Theatre from Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 6pm. Tickets are on sale through Computicket or Baxter's Box Office (Tel 021 680 3993) and range from R120-R150. A 10% discount applies to students and senior citizens on presentation of valid ID, as well as group bookings of 10 or more.

21 August 2009: Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) opens nation-wide in cinemas from today 21 August 2009.  The release comes after an unprecedented interest globally, including the President’s office and the Department of Arts and Culture. 

To mark the nationwide release of Izulu Lami, the Durban Film Office invited one hundred (100) children from Durban and surrounding areas to view the film with South Africa’s First Lady Nompumelelo Ntuli. “The Durban Film Office is privileged to have the First Lady watch Izulu Lami with the kids. The response received from the kids after watching the movie was both phenomenal and incredible,” said Toni Monty, Acting CEO Durban Film Office. Toni went on to say that the 100 kids, together with cast members which comprised of Tarifa award-winning young actress Sobahle Mkhabase “were excited to be in the company of the country’s First Lady”.

Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) was directed by Madoda Ncayiyana. The film has already received international acclaim. In May 2009 the film received the Audience and Best Actress awards at the Tarifa International Pan African Film Festival in Spain. The film’s African premiere was at the 30th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in July of this year, where it received phenomenal response from an audience, which included the honourable Minister of Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana. During the DIFF awards ceremony Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) received special jury mentions of the child actors.

Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) follows the story of two young children who journey to the city from their rural homestead after their mother's death. The film features a cast of mainly young children who had never acted professionally before, discovered through extensive casting by the director, from the townships and informal settlements of eThekwini Municipality to the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

Seeing such a compelling and authentic local story told in Zulu by a local Black director makes the NFVF immensely proud,” said Ryan Haidarian of the NFVF.

Reviewing the film in his NFVF blog, Dr. Don Materra mentions that the film “is the kind of family movie that you may want your kids to see; the kind that gives one confidence and a sense of tangible hope for the future of film production in South Africa generally.” Dr. Mattera goes on to say that the film can play an important role “in the creation of stirring children's dramas in South Africa, and also on our beleaguered African Continent.”

Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) will screen nation-wide at cinema’s including; Sterkinekor Cape, Gauteng East, Gauteng West, KZN, Sterkinekor Pretoria; and NuMetro Cape Town, Gauteng and KZN. The film will be available on DVD through Ster-Kinekor Home Entertainment and will be broadcast on SABC towards the end of the year. For more information on the screening venues visit www.sterkinekor.com.

Written by Julie Frederikse and Madoda Ncayiyana, the film is produced by Dv8 Films and co-produced by Vuleka Productions. Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) is supported by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the SABC, Ster-Kinekor Distribution, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Rebate, INK and the French film fund, Fonds Images Afrique.

CHILMARK, Mass. -- The first family settled in Sunday for their vacation on Martha's Vineyard not long after Hurricane Bill scampered away, leaving behind big waves and heavy rip currents for the Obamas.

A tropical storm warning was lifted just hours before President Barack Obama began his first vacation since taking office. The hurricane forced him to delay his departure from Andrews Air Force Base by a few hours.

During the flight from Washington to Cape Cod, White House spokesman Bill Burton conveyed a message from Obama, who boarded Air Force One in khakis and without jacket or tie, to the reporters traveling with him.

"He wants you to relax and have a good time. Take some walks on the beaches. Nobody's looking to make any news," Burton told reporters.

The Obama then flew by helicopter from the Coast Guard station at Otis Air Base to Martha's Vineyard, and took a motorcade from the airport to their vacation home. Along the route, several people help signs, including ones that said, "Aloha Obama Family" and "Hope, Obama."

Some Obama friends, including White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and Chicago physician Eric Whitaker, joined the family, as did Obama's sister, Maya, and her husband. The president has no official events scheduled in the week ahead.

"You can bet there's going to be some golf playing. Maybe a little bit swimming," Burton said.

There are the likely trips for ice cream and salt water taffy, possibly a bike ride and plenty of quiet time at a secluded 28-acre private estate that rents for $35,000 a week. The Obamas are paying for their share of the vacation home; taxpayers are picking up the tab for security and White House staff, which is customary for all presidents.

Ahead of the trip, Obama and his aides asked for privacy for his daughters, 8-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old Malia.

The White House said there are no plans for Obama to visit ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy at his vacation home in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod. A visit with Kennedy, who has brain cancer, could provide a rallying point for Democrats as Obama seeks to achieve one of Kennedy's career goals: overhauling the nation's health insurance system to provide near-universal coverage.

Vendors on Martha's Vineyard are selling T-shirts with the first family's pictures and even promoting Bo. The first dog who flew with the Obama on Air Force One and wandered through the press cabin during the flight. There are cupcakes and ice creams named for the Obamas and cardboard cutouts of the president in storefront windows.

The Vineyard is just 23 miles long with a year-round population of about 15,000. Any motorcade is certain to draw attention on an island already crowded with summer visitors.

The playground for the rich was a vacation spot for President Bill Clinton and President Ulysses S. Grant. Obama has visited twice before. More typically he has vacationed in Hawaii, where he was born and spent time as a child.

Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton were island regulars through the highs and lows of Clinton's presidency. On their first presidential vacation there in 1993, they were photographed happily sailing, golfing and exploring the island's restaurants and scenery together.

Five years later, it was a different story. The Clintons headed for the island just hours after the president publicly confessed to an inappropriate relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.

Source: Foxnews.com

Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in.

Richard Hatch was jailed Tuesday night in Massachusetts, just hours after his pretaped interview with Matt Lauer—in which he blamed antigay discrimination for his lengthy prison sentence—aired on Today.

Officials, citing "privacy concerns," are being pretty tight-lipped when it comes to how Hatch went from A to Behind Bars.

But all signs point to some sort of violation concerning his return to the media spotlight yesterday.

Hatch, who is under home confinement until Oct. 7 and must get permission to run simple errands, had permission to speak with Lauer at his sister's Newport, R.I., home, where the one-time Survivor winner is serving the remainder of his 51-month prison sentence for federal income-tax evasion.

Source: E Online

Chefs from all over South Africa will be competing in three categories for thousands of rand in cash on 11 September.  They will all be flown to Durban to compete in an exciting mystery basket cook-off in their respective categories – Junior Chef of the Year, Team of Four, and the prestigious, Senior Chef of the Year.

R40 000 has already been given away in the By Invitation Category and was won by celebrity chef Jodi-Ann Pearton of The Food Design Agency. Which leaves R90 000 still up for grabs on 11 September!!

Each category of the competition takes the form of a mystery basket competition, in which the chefs are given a mystery basket of ingredients and have just half an hour to come up with their menu, and then three hours to prepare a starter, main course and dessert – utilising the ingredients that they were given just a few hours before.  This type of competition makes for very exciting filming, and the young contestants will be under great pressure to come up with the most innovative, creative and flavourful dishes possible.

In the Junior category, five of South Africa’s top up-and-coming young chefs – all with less than five years’ experience and aged under 30 – will be competing for the first prize of R10 000, second prize of R6 000 and third prize of R4 000, in South Africa’s most prestigious Junior Chef competition.

In the Senior category, five chefs with more than five years’ experience will compete for first prize of R15 000, second prize of R10 000 and third prize of R5 000 – and the prestigious title of Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year.  The winner will also automatically qualify to compete in next year’s By Invitation Only category of the competition, in which Unilever invites six chefs to compete for the winner-takes-all prize of R40 000 in cash.

The Senior category will be one of the most exciting ever, with top executive chefs of five star hotels, such as Andrew Atkinson of the Michelangelo Hotel in Johannesburg, competing against far less experienced by highly creative and innovative trendsetters like Jodi-Ann Palmer of The Food Design Agency.

In the Team of Four category, six teams consisting of four members; ie a team manager (or executive chef), senior cook, junior cook and a waiter, will present a starter, main course and dessert for six people.  The winners in the Team of the Four category will win a cash prize of R20 000, second prize R12 000 and third prize R8 000.  The six teams are from The Park Hotel (Johannesburg), Compass Group (Johannesburg), Riverside Hotel (Durban), Heritage Theatre (Durban), Le Franschhoek Hotel (Cape Town) and Western Province Caterers (Cape Town).

The judges for the cook-off include some of South Africa’s top chefs.

The cook-off takes place on Friday 11 September in Durban.  All flight and accommodation arrangements for your crew will be made. 

I have attached a press release for further information and we will be able to provide provides on all the finalists early next week.

Should you require further information, please don’t hesitate to Jené Godfrey, Strategic Public Relations, 011 672 2037