ABOUT US
About Cape Town City Ballet
Founded in 1934 as the University of Cape Town Ballet Company, Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB) stands as a beacon of artistic excellence and cultural heritage. Celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2024, it is the oldest ballet company in the Southern Hemisphere and among the most enduring in the world.
Operating as a registered non-profit since 1994, CTCB is committed to nurturing talent, enriching communities, and elevating the art of ballet. The company offers a sought-after full-time apprenticeship programme for young dancers, providing intensive training, mentorship, and invaluable performance opportunities. Professional dancers benefit from ongoing coaching and guidance to uphold world-class standards.
CTCB also supports dancers beyond the stage, offering mid-career pathways in teaching, choreography, design, and arts administration, in alignment with national goals for sustainable careers in the creative industries.
More than a performance company, CTCB is a catalyst for collaboration and social change. It works closely with independent dance organisations and community groups to broaden access to dance education and nurture choreographic talent. Current partners include Zama Dance School, Dance for All, Denis Goldberg House of Hope, and the EOAN Group.
By celebrating both tradition and transformation, Cape Town City Ballet continues to share the power of dance with audiences across generations, keeping its legacy in motion.
Our History
Cape Town City Ballet’s story is one of vision, resilience, and artistry that spans over nine decades.
Since its inception, the company has been shaped by a powerful belief in access and opportunity. Founder and first Artistic Director, Dr Dulcie Howes, was unwavering in her conviction that talent should never be limited by race or colour. In defiance of the laws of the time, she built both the ballet company and its training programme on principles of inclusion, earning a national reputation for opening doors to dancers from all communities.
Her successor, Professor David Poole, carried this legacy forward. Under his leadership, the UCT training programme remained one of the very few in the country to graduate students across all communities. During this period, the company became home to dancers such as Mzonke Jama, Kevin Muller, Sharon Paulsen, Christopher Kindo, Laveen Naidoo, Jack Wyngaard, Llewellyn de Villiers, and Desiree Samaai — all of whom went on to distinguished careers both in South Africa and internationally. Under Professor Poole’s guidance, the CAPAB Ballet Company reached international standards of production and artistic direction, supported by ongoing collaboration with leading teachers and directors from abroad.
From 1990 to 2005, Veronica Paeper served as Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of the CAPAB Company, creating more than 40 ballets ranging from full-length works to one-act productions. It was under her leadership that the company became Cape Town City Ballet in 1997. Her legacy continues to live on through the company’s regular staging of her works, which remain deeply popular with audiences. Productions such as Orpheus in the Underworld, Don Quixote, Carmen, Camille, and Cinderella continue to draw strong support, while Drie Diere, set to music by South African composer Peter Klatzow, remains a definitive South African balletic work.
In 1997, Cape Town City Ballet became an independent non-profit organisation under the Executive Directorship of Professor Elizabeth Triegaardt. She guided the company through a period of significant change for ballet in South Africa, while maintaining exacting artistic standards until her retirement in March 2018. She continued to serve on the Board until April 2019. Robin Van Wyk was the Artistic Director from 2007 to 2019. From 2019 to 2023, Ms Debbie Turner was at the helm of Cape Town City Ballet as joint Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director.
