Johannesburg Ballet Takes Dance to Rooftops for All

Picture ballet dancers in pointe shoes performing against an orange Johannesburg sunset on a repurposed rooftop basketball court. That's exactly what happened when Joburg Ballet brought classical dance to the people this March.

The company staged Ballet Above Braam on the rooftop of Play Braam, a venue on vibrant Juta Street in the city's inner core. Both nights sold out completely as audiences watched everything from classical pieces like Gisele to contemporary African-inspired choreography.

Artistic director Dane Hurst realized most Johannesburg residents didn't even know the ballet company existed. "I thought we need to bring ballet out of the theatre and into new spaces and take it to the people," he told reporters.

The result was what Hurst calls a "seven-course tasting menu" of dance styles. One standout performance fused traditional Xhosa dancing with classical pointe work, choreographed and performed by company dancer Tumelo Lekana.

For Lekana, combining African and European dance forms is deeply personal. "We are a ballet company in Africa and we are missing that African part of it," he explained about his creative mission since joining the company.

Joburg Ballet formed in 2001 after the closure of the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal Ballet. Today it's one of Africa's biggest dance companies, with performers from Paraguay, Italy, and Japan, plus a school teaching over 100 students.

The Ripple Effect

The rooftop performances are just the beginning of Joburg Ballet's accessibility push. The company now includes interactive sessions where audience members can ask dancers questions directly, breaking down the invisible walls that make ballet feel exclusive.

"By us bringing ballet into a different space, it's showing that it's not an art form that is just for the elite," Hurst said. Funding constraints in the arts could have meant cutbacks, but the company chose innovation instead.

Next up is a unique collaboration at the Candice Berman Gallery in Rosebank. Four company choreographers will create new pieces responding to visual art exhibitions, performing across four distinct gallery spaces during Johannesburg's monthly First Thursdays event.

The gallery performance is free to attend, requiring only an RSVP through a local app. It's another step toward proving that world-class dance belongs everywhere, from basketball courts to art galleries to street corners.

Twenty-five years in, this ballet company is writing a new playbook for how classical arts can thrive by meeting communities where they are.