'Coppélia' casts its spell on the audience at George Arts Theatre

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - Colourful costumes, enchanting sets, comedy and classical ballet combined to bring the magical world of Coppélia to life at the George Arts Theatre last weekend.

PHOTO GALLERY - Coppélia casts its spell on audiences at George Arts Theatre

Elvinia's Dance Academy presented three performances of this much-loved ballet on Friday and Saturday, 18 and 19 September, taking audiences into the curious world of eccentric inventor Dr Coppélius and his beautiful mechanical creation.

Presented in three acts, the production was visually striking, with beautiful costumes and detailed decor transforming the stage for each scene and carrying the story from the village square to the wonderfully strange workshop of Dr Coppélius and, ultimately, its celebratory conclusion.

At the heart of the production was York High matriculant Carla Wilson as Swanilda. Carla combined strong dancing with expressive acting, bringing Swanilda's playful and mischievous character to life throughout all three acts.

Providing much of the production's comedy was Bradley Zeelie, dance coach at George High School, as Dr Coppélius. His wonderfully eccentric and at times downright crazy theatrics brought the oddball inventor to life and drew plenty of laughs from the audience.

Accolades to the dance coach: Daleen Engelbrecht ends the evening with praise to teacher Elvinia Manuel. With them are (back) Sanja Rominger and Sofia Rominger, and (front) Hope de Reuck and Sadie Broderick. Photos: Michelle Pienaar

Mysterious girl

Based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Coppélia tells of Franz, a young man fascinated by a mysterious girl he sees reading on a balcony.

His fiancée, Swanilda, soon discovers that the beautiful Coppélia is not a girl at all, but a life-sized mechanical doll created by Dr Coppélius.

What follows is a playful mix of jealousy, deception, mischief and mistaken identity as Swanilda enters the inventor's strange world and turns the tables on both Franz and Dr Coppélius.

Mechanical dolls: From left are Junyi Wang, Kayla Hone, Carla Wilson (as Coppelia) and Bradley Zeelie (Dr Coppelius).

'Best show ever'

For academy principal Elvinia Manuel, the weekend marked a particularly special achievement. After bringing numerous productions to the stage through the years, she described Coppélia as her best show yet.

The ballet leaves audiences with a simple reminder: what appears real may not always be what it seems. True love, friendship and a little mischief can bring even the strangest story to a happy ending.

Little dancers: Emma Hamman, Hannah-Liyah van Zyl Smit and Zuri November.