Choreographer Veronica Paeper has turned Cinderella into a nice little earner over the years. Her production for Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB) recently ended, and now she is focusing on Gauteng's State Ballet Theatre (SBT) production, which will run at weekends from November into the festive season.
As with the Cape production, Paeper will use the Prokofiev music but the cast will comprise SBT dancers, and whereas the Cape production used Peter Cazalet's costumes and set designs, SBT will use those of Andrew Botha. The CTCB production was a condensed two-act production, but the SBT version will use all three acts.
When I interviewed Paeper the only SBT castings she knew of were those of Angela Malan and Christian Tatchev dancing the roles of Cinderella and the Prince with, as alternating Cinderellas, Anya Carstens and Karen Beukes
As a choreographer Paeper is known for her narrative strength. In Cinderella it is not only the romantic leads but also the supporting players, or dancers, who figure up front. The Ugly Sisters are right up there.
Discussing dancing requiring some acting ability, Paeper is dismissive of what she calls chickens - young dancers with a strong technique who can't act. On music that draws her choreograpically, she says: I'll use anything that stirs my juices. Otherwise it is still born.
But she's always been drawn to the music of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. She first used his music, a combination of his Lieutenant Kije Suite and his opera, For the Love of Three Oranges, for her ballet, Herrie-hulle, written in 1973.
So what's next? On the back-burner is Valentino, based on the life of doomed Latin lover Rudolph Valentino, who died of blood poisoning in 1926.
She has asked Cape Town composer Charl-Johan Lingenfelder to write the music. To take the title role she has her mind set on British-born former CTCB dancer Jonathan Ollivier.
Looking at the petite, trim and seemingly ageless Paeper, it's hard to believe she is 61, has a son of 40 (by first husband and mentor Frank Staff) and is a grandmother.
Born in Port Shepston, in KZN, her mother made her take ballet because she had flat feet. She was glad to give up dancing when she became Capab Ballet's resident choreographer.
Paeper is now married to her tower of strength, Ken Kearns.
Which, she chuckles, ended 30 years of pre-marital sex.