GUGULETU BALLET
Original language title: [same]

Country of production: USA, South Africa
Year: 2002
Language: English, Xhosa
23 mins.

The power of dance. In 1992, a white South African ballet dancer ventured into a township and began teaching classes in an empty schoolroom. Soon, his classes were packed with children - though few, it seems, actually came to learn ballet. "At first, I planned to go everyday just because there was a white person," claims one student. "In those days, a white person was like something from God." Ten years later, GUGULETU BALLET profiles some extraordinary young people who have dedicated themselves to ballet in hopes that it will be their ticket out of the townships. Their stories reveal the harsh reality of township life, and proof that ballet dancers can come from the most unlikely places.

Director: Kristin Pichaske
Cinematography: Kristin Pichaske
Music: Kris Falk
Editing: Kristin Pichaske
Sound: John Neely, David Kneebone
Producer: Kristin Pichaske
Production Company: (independent)
Source:
Kristin Pichaske
946 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
kpichaske@kppix.com

Kristin Pichaske is a Chicago native and graduate of Northwestern University. Before embarking on a career in filmmaking, she worked as a political press secretary, speech writer, media relations consultant, and dancer. She has made films including TEATRO ROOTS, about California's famed Teatro Campesino (Farmworker's Theater), and GET IN THE KNOW, about teenage substance abuse in middle America.

Sunday, March 30
5pm
Facets Cinematheque
Screening with NIGHT AT THE MALL and WHEN THE WAR IS OVER