Strength and Grace Benefit for Ballet Basel Dancer

The international arts community has united to support Lisa Horten-Skilbrei, a beloved dancer from Ballett Basel who has recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. In response, Jorge García Pérez and a devoted group of organisers and friends have assembled the Strength and Grace Benefit, a special dance gala in her honour, on August 18th. This event will feature performances by dancers from Basel and around the world, celebrating Lisa's artistry and the power of dance.

Lisa has been living in Basel since she arrived to dance at the Ballet Basel in 2017. She has been a powerful force for dance in this city and has been stopped in her tracks with the rapid and aggressive onset of her illness. Basel has been her beloved artistic home, but her family is in Norway. The goal is to raise enough funds to enable Lisa to return home with her family. In her condition, this is an expensive and complex procedure.

The benefit will take place on Sunday, August 18th at 15:00 (doors open at 14:00) at the Schauspielhaus at Theater Basel (Steinentorstrasse 7), with all proceeds going towards Lisa's medical expenses and comfort care. Although Lisa is unable to attend due to her condition, the event will be live-streamed, allowing her to witness the love and support from her extended dance family.

Tickets for the Strength and Grace Benefit cost CHF 150.- and can be purchased by emailing contact@strengthandgracebenefit.com

You can participate either by attending the event in Basel or by contributing to the GoFundMe page.

To send light to Lisa and her friends and family, our music theme this week was all about summer and joy. We played:

Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk

Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar

Alok & Jess Glynne - Summer's Back

Blondie - In The Sun

Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam

Nia Archives - Baianá

Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

Otis Redding - (Sittin On) the Dock of the Bay

The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun