Andile Ndlovu
ANDILE NDLOVU, of Johannesburg, South Africa, is in his third season with The Washington Ballet, after dancing one season with the Studio Company. Mr. Ndlovu began his training in Latin American and in ballroom dance at the age of 10. At 15, he began training in ballet, studying under Martin Schöenberg, director of Ballet Theatre Afrikan. In 2007, Mr. Ndlovu performed with South African Ballet Theatre, performing the lead in Don Quixote and the Jester in Swan Lake, among other roles. He went on to dance with Cape Town City Ballet and tied for first place in the contemporary category of the 2008 South African International Ballet Competition. Mr. Ndlovu has also been part of the 15-year anniversary of Step Afrika! as a guest artist, performed his collaborative choreography solo with Gregory Vuyani Maqoma in Beyond Skin and was a part of the South African version of Queen with Mzansi Productions, choreographed by Debbie Rakusin and Timothy Le Roux.
QUESTION & ANSWER
TWB: Now that we are one month into the New Year, what were your new year’s resolutions? Have you been successful in achieving them so far?
Andile: Actually, I'm resolving to become a better, more understanding person, and I think I’ve accomplished that so far. Not that I was mean before, but I wanted to improve the way I can treat people. In order to become a better dancer, you first have to become truly human, and I am trying to do that for myself.
TWB: What are you working on now?
Andile: I’m enjoying Pacific the most right now, because of its musicality, attention to detail, and all the learning involved. It’s taken a lot of work to learn how to work in so many large groups with many different counts. I’ve enjoyed the challenge!
TWB: What performance are you most looking forward to this spring, and why?
Andile: Bolero and Push Comes to Shove. I’m excited for Push because: 1. It’s Twyla Tharp, and 2. because there’s a story within it. But the story isn’t really in your face; It’s very subdued. You really have to watch the ballet closely to understand it. And I’m excited for Bolero because of the music. I used to listen to Bolero before I started ballet, so to me, it’s just an iconic piece of music.
