Gen Z ballerina and award-winning choreographer Chloe Blair's is a talent powerhouse. She's debuting an original work this month.
Ballet is like a watercolour painting, sometimes like an abstract. But it’s always a masterpiece.
Its movement, shape and purpose. It’s grace.
However, it’s sometimes seen as old-school, despite being timeless. It’s classical and its appeal lies across generations, from boomers to Gen Z.
26-year-old Naledi Award-winning choreographer and dancer Chloé Blair, believes in the art. She’s a Gen Z, and he has grace absolutely waxed.
At this year’s Spring Season of Dance with Joburg Ballet, she’s debuting Nothing Twice, her brand-new work.
It’s part of a show themed Celestial Bodies and comprises a collaboration between choreographer Mario Gaglione and physicist Luca Pontiggia, along with composer Yasheen Modi.
The show runs from 3 to 12 October at the Joburg Theatre, and the season ends with First Light, a programme of new works created from within the company. This includes Blair’s Nothing Twice.
You are debuting ‘Nothing Twice’. How did this piece come to life, and what do you want the audience to feel when they watch it?
I was inspired by a friend’s personal story. She had a very deep but fleeting relationship with someone. All the years I’ve known her, she has been searching for this same connection, but of course, you cannot have the exact same relationship with a different person, as each one is unique.
This got me questioning … will she be searching forever to replicate that exact same connection, or is it only possible once?
The piece is set to Ezio Bosso’s Concerto No. 1.
“It came about when one day I was listening to orchestral music and my boyfriend said, ‘you are such an old soul’. I was shocked because when I’m listening to orchestral music, I’m thinking of my own experiences and life as a young woman in 2025, so the association for me is very modern.
“I thought, ‘why not tell my modern love story to the classical music which I love?’. My hope is to transfer a tiny bit of that passion and connection that I feel for orchestral music to other young people, allowing them to recognise their own relationship stories in the framework of such intricate music.
You’re part of a generation that sees identity, creativity and career differently. How does being Gen Z influence your approach?
I want to tell young people’s stories through the elements I love about ballet. Its structure, sensitivity and intricate musicality, and connect the form more closely to young people’s lived experiences in 2025.
‘Celestial Bodies’, the theme of this year’s event, merges science, music and dance. It kind of stretches ballet?
The thing that I love about ballet as an art form is the understated nature of it. When you come to see a ballet, you may not even understand all the mime or exactly what each thing means, but your brain is searching for connections to interpret the beauty of this intricate movement, creating individual meaning for each person.
As I sat listening to Luca Pontiggia explain the universe and Yasheen Modi’s composition, I felt my brain searching for the same connection, making links between the scientific jargon, visuals and the music, allowing questions to arise in my mind which I had not considered before. It really reveals the dynamic nature of ballet as an art form.
How do you balance your dancer’s role with your choreography?
Balancing the two roles is interesting. Whilst one helps you understand the other role more, they do require two different mindsets.
As a dancer, you’re the vessel, embodying someone else’s vision, interpreting their language and staying rigorously faithful to the detail and intention of the choreography.
But as a choreographer, you’re the architect and a leader, shaping narrative, texture and emotion, while leaving enough openness for dancers to bring their own artistry.
If you could reimagine ballet for Gen Z audiences, what would you keep, and what would you change?
I would keep the structure, discipline and rigorous work ethic, but I would advocate for more openness and collaboration.
I’d also push for policies that make ballet a viable career in South Africa, so young people can pursue it not just out of passion, but as a sustainable professional path.
Do you approach storytelling differently when you’re dancing someone else’s choreography compared to when you’re creating your own?
When I dance someone else’s work, I draw on my own experiences to bring it to life within the framework of their vision.
When I choreograph, I start from my personal story, but I leave space for the dancers to interpret it as their own, allowing the story to evolve into something personal to them and therefore read more true.
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How do you balance innovation with tradition in ballet?
I see tradition as the foundation, the structure, discipline and artistry that give ballet its power.
It is vitally important to respect this, but equally important to incorporate the openness and innovation that is exploding amongst Gen Z.
Tradition and innovation can coexist to create work that is both timeless and alive today.
If you imagine ballet in 20 years, what does Gen Z’s influence leave behind?
I would see ballet as an art form that values sensitivity, structure, and discipline, while embracing new collaborations, stories, and people from different backgrounds.
In 20 years, my dream is that it becomes more accessible, that young people take themselves and their friends to ballets as they would concerts or movies, and that they passionately involve themselves in conversations about the stories as they would sports games.
