For decades, dancers of various styles have eagerly descended on the Bay for the annual Port Elizabeth Dance Festival, and this year the event celebrates its 42nd edition with a new partner and a new name – the Nelson Mandela Bay Dance Festival.
The prestigious Nelson Mandela Bay Dance Festival, formerly known as the PE Dance Festival, has been officially recognised and supported this year by the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture of the Nelson Mandela Municipality which is a huge accolade for this Legacy event.
Dance lovers can look forward to watching over 1000 dances, from 23 dance studios, performing at the 42nd edition of the Nelson Mandela Bay Dance Festival from Tuesday, 22 August to Saturday, 26th August at the Savoy Theatre. With disciplines including ballet, contemporary / modern, tap, hip-hop, Spanish, Indian, Irish, African, fusion / free movement / ballroom dancing, cheerleading and adaptive dance (freestyle), this festival is set to be a foot-tapping celebration.
NMB Dance Festival Chairperson, Nici Lovemore, expressed her gratitude for the City’s support and her vision for the future of dance.
“I extend gratitude and appreciation for the alignment and grant awarded to us by Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
“Since taking the chair of PE Dance Festival five years ago, a key focus for me, together with our outstanding committee, has been for our Festival to grow, stay relevant and continuously evolve.
“I believe that tradition must not be the worship of ashes but rather the preservation of fire.
“This grant enables us to stoke the fire and take a significant step forward in formally re-branding our successful PE Dance Festival (with its 42-year history) as the Nelson Mandela Bay Dance Festival.
“Together with NMB Municipality we will strive to place Nelson Mandela Bay front and centre as a prominent seat of Dance and Dance development in South Africa”, concluded Lovemore.
The NMB Dance Festival encourages the participation of all dance studios in the Eastern Cape and is dedicated to providing a stage experience for all dancers and the opportunity to invest in and promote local talent. This year dancers will be assessed by internationally acclaimed, dance choreographer, Desiree Green-Demianenko, owner of One Step Ahead Dance Studio based in Edenvale, Johannesburg.
Desiree, who has been dancing since the age of 2, started her studio 24 years ago, offering training in modern, jazz, contemporary, tap and hip hop. She is an International Licensed Judge for the International Dance Organisation (IDO) in Showdance and Tap and represented South Africa as an official judge at the IDO World Tap Championships and IDO Showdance World Championships on several occasions. She is a Federated International Gymnastic (FIG) Level 4 Judge as well as a World Lyrical Dance Federation Senior Adjudicator, of which there are only 2 in the world!
She has trained and developed young dancers who have gone on to become World Champions and Vice World Champions in Showdance, Jazz, Tap and Modern.
“I have been training children from the very early learning stages all the way through to professional dancers and love instilling the passion of dance in these dancers.
“I believe that the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step!” reflected Desiree.
This prestigious Nelson Mandela Bay Dance Festival, formerly known as the PE Dance Festival, was founded in 1981 by Jennifer Abraham and Hermione Ballinger and has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 4 decades.
In keeping with the festival’s tradition, every dancer will receive a medal for participating, and will be competing for the sought-after annual trophies and awards to celebrate the 2023 Festival.
The Festival will culminate in a gala celebration, showcasing the performance highlights of the Festival and the Awards Presentation on Saturday, 26 August from 19h00 – 22h00.
Tickets for the Festival can be purchased at the door of the Savoy Theatre for R50 per person per day. Gala tickets for Saturday, 26 August will be on sale from July 17, for R120 per person, on www.webtickets.co.za.
The annual Port Elizabeth Dance Festival is a must for all dance lovers!