Joburg Ballet has announced the appointment of award-winning choreographer and director Dane Hurst as Interim Artistic Director from January to June 2025.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dane Hurst as Interim Artistic Director at Joburg Ballet for the first half of 2025,” says Elroy Fillis-Bell, CEO of Joburg Ballet. “Dane’s remarkable career, spanning continents and collaborations, reflects a profound dedication to dance. We are excited to have him return home to South Africa and anticipate the impact of his leadership, vision and global expertise as Joburg Ballet continues to showcase excellence and make an impact in our communities.”
Responding to the announcement, Dane Hurst commented: “I am inspired to step into the role of Interim Artistic Director with Joburg Ballet. Returning to South Africa to contribute to the arts in this capacity is both an honour and a privilege. I am inspired by the extraordinary talent within the company and its school, and I look forward to collaborating closely with the Joburg Ballet team to build on its rich legacy. Together, we will continue to elevate the company, engage with the community, and celebrate the power of dance to inspire, connect, and transform lives.”
Born in South Africa, Dane Hurst received a Nelson Mandela/Linbury Trust and Oppenheimer Memorial Trust scholarship, joining the Rambert School in London in 2003. He has travelled extensively, performing to critical acclaim with, among other UK companies, Rambert, Phoenix Dance Theatre, National Dance Company of Wales and Company Wayne McGregor. He has served as Artistic Director to Phoenix Dance Theatre in UK and Jazzart Dance Theatre in SA. He currently lives between London and SA, teaching at the Royal Ballet School and serving as Artistic Consultant to Cape Town City Ballet.
As a choreographer Dane Hurst has received UK commissions from Rambert, Phoenix, Opera North, The Place, Barbican, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Whitechapel Art Gallery, and in SA from South African National Dance Trust and Jazzart Dance Theatre. He holds an MA Choreography with Central School of Ballet from University of Kent. In 2016 he founded the Moving Assembly Project to use dance to inspire young people, creating a cross-cultural bridge between SA and UK.
Dane Hurst was appointed Artistic Director to Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2020, curating the 40 Years of Phoenix mixed bill and gala programmes. He joined Jazzart Dance Theatre as Artistic Director in April 2022 and was guest Artistic Director for The Royal Ballet’s Chance To Dance Connect in 2023. His production, Requiem: Journeys of the Soul in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre, Opera North, Cape Town Opera, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and Jazzart Dance Theatre premiered in Leeds in May and in Cape Town in October 2023.
Dane Hurst’s initial project with Joburg Ballet will be curating DreamScapes, the company’s first production of 2025.