Love, romance, and fire in Don Quixote

Love, romance, and passion are all set to come alive as the dazzling classical ballet, Don Quixote, returns to the Joburg Theatre following a five-year hiatus. Taking to the stage from 13 to 22 March, the production will not only kick off Joburg Ballet’s production itinerary for the year but treat the audience to fiery lovefilled performances.

“I’ve performed this ballet a couple of times. However, we are doing a slightly different version and it’s definitely very vibrant – from act one to the final act. I think it’ll be lovely to be a part of the audience and being on the edge of your seat, because it feeds off the audience and it’s quite a nice dialogue,” said Shannon Glover, Joburg Ballet’s principal dancer.

With a fiery and love-filled storyline, Don Quixote, is set in the vibrant Spanish seaport of Barcelona and tells the story of a beautiful and bold Kitri and her love for the dashing but poor barber, Basilio. Using the classic tropes of love, family, and conflict, the production stays true to the ‘love conquers all’ ethos. With a wealth of experience under her belt, Shannon takes on the role of Kitri adding multiple and complex layers to the character.

The celebrated ballerina began her dance career in Johannesburg at the age of four and has since had roles in The Sleeping Beauty, La Traviata, Cinderella, Coppélia, Carmen, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Swan Lake, Giselle and Romeo and Juliet.

“I really like the relationship between Kitri and Basilio. It’s extremely fiery and they really love each other a lot. Their relationship is a lot of fun and very playful and I find that quite enjoyable on stage because it’s like we do in our day-to-day lives,” she said.

Throughout the ballet, Kitri and Basilio’s relationship evolves and they get married although Kitri’s father had more ambitious plans for his headstrong daughter, hoping to marry her off to a wealthy but narcissistic suitor. During the 10-performance season, Don Quixote will host major international ballet stars Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov of The Royal Ballet in the leading roles and feature three couples drawn from Joburg Ballet’s own leading dancers – Shannon and Claudia Monja will be paired with Ruan Galdino and Gabriel Fernandes respectively while the names of the third Joburg Ballet cast are still to be announced.

“It’s very important that you and your partner connect. I do believe that chemistry comes with the playfulness. I’ve danced with many people in the company and I’ve never struggled to have that great partnership and chemistry on stage,” said Shannon.

More often than not, performers immerse themselves in the characters they play and for Shannon who has some likeness to Kitri, her real-life love story comes full-circle as she is set to tie the knot as soon as the production comes to a close.

“It’s so exciting that this ballet is a love story and a couple of weeks after that I’m getting married. That’s quite exciting because being in a relationship and being in love is one of the best things you can experience – it just fills you up so much,” she said.