Dance For All class, Barrydale.

A single take video of an entire hour-long intensive ballet class for children of mixed ages taught by a professional ballet dancer from Holland speaking Afrikaans to these South African children of mixed race living in rural Cape province. They are drawn from the Dance for All Foundation classes given in farm schools in this isolated area, selected as the best in class and brought together for this weekly session.For all I knew they may well have never seen themselves dance reflected in a mirror nor on film, nor attended a professional ballet performance; the exersizes they are carrying out are demanding and sophisticated. They are rehearsing for a gala performance in the city of Cape Town which is about 3 hours drive away. I was lucky to arrive just in time for the start of the class in a shabby hall in a workers township over the hill and out of sight near Barrydale, a charming, trendy rural village.