Ballet International
The South African State Theatre
of
Pretoria
"OUR MOVING HERITAGE"
September 23rd - September 25th, 2026
Dance Workshop
(THE WORKSHOP IS FREE OF CHARGE)
A special tribute and thanks to
Mr. Shane Maja - (Chief Executive Officer)
Mr. Aubrey Sekhabi - (Artistic Director)
Ms. Santa Viljoen - (Chief Financial Officer)
Join our incredible workshop facilitators:
Mduduzi Nhlapo
Dianne Finch
Stella Pike (Horwitz)
Jean-Pierre Alexandre Pribilois
23–25 September 2026 10:00 & 13:00
Studio 4A, South African State Theatre
REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY
Theatre Contact:
administrator@statetheatre.co.za
Scan the QR code below to register.
Limited spaces available.
Probably after the workshop
some videos or photos
might be uploaded
on this website
Please click on the following link
to fill the registration form
a quicker way instead of the
QR code
A special thanks to
Mr. Zander Naude
Director of the "Kids on Stage"
for making of this Workshop
a future dream of hope for the art of dance
in
South Africa
Mduduzi Nhlapo
Choreographer
and
Associate Artistic Director
of
The South African State Theatre of Pretoria
Mduduzi Nhlapo is an award-winning South African choreographer, director, playwright, and dancer.
Born in Soshanguve, Pretoria, he is known for his physical theatre and choreography that explore social and political themes.
Career & Background
- Education: Holds an Honours Degree in Drama and Film Studies from the University of Pretoria, majoring in physical theatre, directing, acting, and research.
- Leadership Role: Appointed Associate Artistic Director of the South African State Theatre (SAST) in September 2022.
- His responsibilities include directing, choreographing, overseeing festivals like the Kucheza Afrika Festival and Vavasati International Festival, and driving artistic collaborations.
- Acclaimed Works:
- KIU (2017) – A dance production presented at the SAST and the National Arts Festival.
- Angola Camp 13 – Won the Naledi Theatre Award for Best Choreography in 2020.
- Askari – Nominated for Naledi Theatre Awards for Best Choreography and Best New South African Script.
- Lesilo Rula – A satirical biographical play honoring theatrical legend Mr. Boikie Moditle Pholo.
- International & Festival Projects: Choreographed the Pantsula dance piece Rhythms of Resistance representing South Africa at Expo 2020 Dubai, and managed international touring productions such as Burn the Floor, Saturday Night Fever, and Fela and the Kalakuta Queens.
His classes are highly recommended and the students will achieve great experience.
Dianne Finch
Dianne Finch after a brilliant career with PACT Ballet she thereafter became a highly acclaimed South African ballet educator and specialist teacher associated with The Dance Academy of South Africa (DASA).
- Specialist Masterclasses & Workshops: She functions as a specialist teacher for advanced levels, including leading Major ballet workshops for dance studios in South Africa. Her sessions focus on unset work, technique, and classical ballet syllabus preparation.
- She has also helped staging les Sylphides and has worked with the prestigious "Joburg Youth Ballet".
- She had served as a Judge for the "RAD Bursary Competitions".
- Studio Collaborations: Over the years, she has conducted instructional workshops for several prominent DASA-affiliated dance studios, including those run by Dawn Gemmell, Vida Deysel, Irene du Toit, Irene Webber and Ronel Zeelie.
- Regional Presence: Her teaching activities and workshops have been notably centered around the East Rand region in Gauteng, South Africa.
Stella Pike (Horwitz)
Ballet Teacher at the “WGRUV Dance Company
Stella Pike after a brilliant career with PACT Ballet she is now a ballet teacher associated with the WGRUV Dance Company and its pre-professional training facility, the Johannesburg Arts Conservatory (JAC).
- Role: Ballet Instructor / Teaching Staff at WGRUV Dance Company.
- Affiliation: Based in South Africa, working alongside founder/artistic director Holly Anderson Gruver and other instructors within the company.
- Her classes are highly recommended not only for her technique but for all the precious experience and teaching skills, in the world of ballet she is highly recommended.
- Her teachers were: Jose Orlandini, Marjorie Sturman, Denise Schultze.
Jean Pierre Alexandre Pribilois
Jean-Pierre Alexandre Pribilois born on May 1st, 1959 in Alexandria Egypt while his father Claude Marius Pribilois was pursuing his Diplomat career at the French Consulate of Alexandria.
Jean Pierre, has always been dancing as a Corps de Ballet Member in different Ballet Companies, after several injuries he decided to teach, at present he acts as a ballet advocate best known for founding the global online community Ballet International, and this beside the 36 years of teaching Ballet and Postural Gym.
Early Life & Dance Career
- Training: Studied classical ballet under his mother, ballet teacher Ada Giulia Pisani Pribilois, until the age 19 at the "Conservatoire de Danse et Musique" of Alexandria Egypt, he performed at the Sayed Darwish Opera House of Alexandria in 1976, 1977, 1978.
- Company Work: Danced professionally in South Africa with PACT Ballet the (Performing Arts Council of Transvaal), winning Second prize nominee in the Young Choreographer Competition for three Classical Pas de Deux at the Witwatersrand University of Johannesburg, and at the State Theatre of Pretoria.
- European Stage: Performed as a corps de ballet and character dancer across Italy (Arena di Verona, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Regio in Turin) and France at the Theatre du Colisée with Ballet du Nord (Lille, Roubaix, Bordeaux).
- His teachers were: Ada Giulia Pisani Pribilois, Isabella Glowacka, Irina Hudova, Jozo Borcic, Ugo Dell'Ara. Nestor Mondino, Carmen Panader, Konstantin Damianov, Mihai Ciortea, Alfonso Catà.
- In South Africa his teachers were: Audrey King, Edgardo Hartley, Ashley Killar, Jaime Pinto Riveros, Bruce Simpson, Nicola Middlemist.
- Choreographers with whom he worked for: Ashley Killar, Jaime Pinto Riveros, Lorna Haupt, Ugo Dell'Ara, Carmen Panader, Alfonso Catà, Andrè Prokovsky.
Teaching & Pedagogy
- Began teaching in 1985 in Agadir, Morocco, leading an Academy under the patronage of the King of Morocco and the Youth & Sport Department and the Moroccan Ministry of Culture for seven years.
- Integrates the Vaganova method with Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) influences gathered from his international performance career.
- Continues to work as an international guest teacher and masterclass instructor.
Ballet Advocacy & Views
- Ballet International: Founded and manages the popular network and platform Ballet International, sharing historical archives, rare rehearsal clips, performance footage, and pedagogical insights.
Artistic Philosophy:
Strongly advocates for full-length, narrative story ballets, emphasizing that the art form needs new full-scale creations, music, and staging with historical masters like Marius Petipa and George Balanchine, he created several choreographies for the Ballet School in Morocco for 150 students and each year a Gala was offered at the Theatre de Verdure of Agadir, Morocco.
- Empathy and Adaptation: He emphasizes patience and adaptability in teaching, arguing that instructors must maintain authority through kindness rather than offense or rigid authority.
- Focus on Injury Prevention: He stresses the importance of understanding a dancer's physical limits and pain to help them recover safely without causing lasting damage.
- Observation and Calmness: His core philosophy centers on observing, listening, and maintaining composure, avoiding or humiliating dance artists with overly punitive or critical instruction.
- He always encourage dancers, while keeping a rigorous discipline in his view the little details in ballet technique are more important than the great flashy bravura technique, he gives more attention of the expressiveness of movement either during the Barre and Centre Work and also during Rehearsals.
