Represent BigUps: Sony Bravia TV Ad
It’s not just because we love Sony Bravia products but also because this ad is just so wonderful it’s really worth sharing. Gotta love bunnies! Just think how much time, blood, sweat and tears went into creating this work of art and crafting all those colourful play doh bunnies… Big Ups to Sony yet again. See an interview with animation director Darren Walsh, from Passion Pictures, on Creative Review… great resource all ye creatives if ya don’t know it yet....
Bright Young Thing: Musa Hlatshwayo
You know we love to share all things bright and beautiful with you across all artistic genres including dance – celebrate one of KZN’s true movers and shakers Musa Hlatshwayo, who’s choreography has been chosen to tour 10 countries across the African Continent. Some of you will remember the recent call for entries for Dance! Africa Dance! – Musa represented SA in Paris in 2006 and his star continues to rise – see below. ‘Umthombi’ – South African Dance on continental tour Musa Hlatshwayo, South African dancer and choreographer is going on tour in 10 countries on the continent to present the dance piece Umthombi. The dance theatre duet is the narrative of a male adolescent who is in search of his traditional identity and manhood. In his quest, the young boy undergoes the rites of passage as set out by the traditions of his people. He learns accountability and responsibility, means that he applies as survival tools in the grazing fields. Aesthetically, the work explores creative movement, contemporary dance, sound and music in an attempt to explore the future of a uniquely African aesthetic in story telling. Umthombi premiered at the Jomba! Contemporary Dance Festival in 2004, the year when Hlatshwayo was awarded the KZN Young Choreographer’s Commission by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) and the Jomba! Festival to create a dance piece for the festival. Umthombi also featured in the Dance Umbrella Festival in 2007. Umthombi is not the first piece where Hlatshwayo incorporates tradition, at the FNB Dance Umbrella Festival in 2006; he presented a dance piece on Ukuqiniswa, the traditional practise of strengthening or safeguarding oneself from man-made evil forces such as witchcraft. Hlatshwayo is an internationally recognised dance professional who represented South Africa in the Danse! L’Afrique Danse! competition in Paris in 2006. (Applications for the 2008 edition of the competition which will be held in Tunisia can be downloaded from the French Institute website www.ifas.org.za/culture Deadline: 15 Nov) The tour was organized by the French cultural network. Umthombi will be hosted in the following countries Kenya, Mauritius, Madagascar, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique from Sept to Nov this year. See schedule below: DATE City/Country Sept 2007 Nairobi, Kenya Sept 2007 Mauritius Oct 2007 Windhoek, Namibia Oct 2007 Lusaka, Zambia Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Djibouti Addis, Ethiopia Blantyre, Malawi Maputo, Mozambique Nov 2007 Antanarivo, Madagascar. Here’s Musa’s backstory from the Centre for Creative Arts in KZN – pic by Val Adamson: Born and raised in Maphumulo, KwaZulu-Natal, Musa Hlatshwayo holds a BA (Hons) in Performance Studies (UKZN), a Dance & Choreography Diploma from the Copenhagen School o fModern Dance (Denmark), a Postgraduate Certificate in...
Represent Review: Keith Murray and friends
Get your dictionary’s out ‘cos the Matrix has been working out with his thesaurus again and this time round we let his words flow without cutbacks. Reuben went to check out US HipHop star Keith Murray aka another “I’m home in the motherland” visiting artist, on our behalf – He wasn’t impressed with the women-izing but had a bash all the same. Enjoy: “Ke mokone; Paki ya bo – Darkie ka di – Baki mpya!” , you’ll forgive me for dropping my 2 cents worth of lyrical rhyme here, but the short-lived excitement and free flow repertoires of last weekend’s mammoth rap concert at Emperor’s Palace has left me with an aura of unquantifiable satisfaction. If I’ve ever doubted Ghetto-Ruff’s ability to stage a world class event, I was wrong. My cynicism was shoved aside by Saturday’s hip gig: shame unto anyone who still believes that an “A” grade event under the African skies is the equivalent of a shebeen bosberaad! To this end – the Matrix bows to Ghetto-Ruff’s skillful and artistic management of a world class event in a world class African City – Jozi – our Jozi. Now, back to the lecture at hand, this Saturday evening/ Sunday morning yours truly was in the East Rand to Represent all you outgoing Jozi folk in what will go down in Mzansi’s event history as “a diamond in the rough” of Jozi Hip-Hop concerts. At first glance the venue (Former Caesar’s Gauteng), draws you into a comfortable world of plush and splendor only befitting the “have more’s”. The lobby is lit in such a way that your heart beat starts to pace as you digest the surreal magnificence that’s almost overkill. “Suprise, suprise” the artist line-up was a bit too biased in Ghetto-Ruff’s favour (but then again, this was their show!). The listings boasted the flamboyant and very “stout” (we shall get back to this…) Keith Murray and a host of Ghetto-Ruff artists and co-opting allies like: Drenco, Slice, Gum Shev, Maggz, Mr. NK, Jub-Jub, Jus Dat, Morale, Malic, Bricks, DJ Cleo, HPP, Morafe and Zola, although the latter 4 artists did not make their stage appearances (and with no public service announcement as to why not – I found this to be a bit disappointing!), however their absence was cheered up by Mandoza’s surprise appearance and the reinforced turn-table skills of DJ Speed-Cop. The Down-Low: ‘Jus’ Dat’ raised the curtains to a half-empty auditorium of fanatics who nevertheless received them with cheers and excitement. As the night advanced further Jub-Jub lashed us with his spiked whip as Emperor’s Palace got thumping to their famous single: Good time of your life! Mandoza and Bricks got us doing moves to their “Left, Right” song… Then Keith...
Call for Dancers for Tunisia 2008
This is a very exciting call for local choreographers and dancers to get their work into Dance! Africa Dance! a Dance festival to be held in Tunisia next May. Go Go GO and bonne chance! Dance is magic, its lucky colour is ebony. With its qualities of innovation, freedom and creativity, it opens up the paths of the future. It is dance that anticipates and indicates the changing trends in society and the world. Syhem Belkhodja (Artistic Director/Choreographer) Culturesfrance and Association Ness el Fen are calling for applications for the special edition of ‘Danse L’afrique Danse’ the 7th Choreographic encounters of the Africa and Indian Ocean Region that will take place from the 1st to the 10th May 2008 in Tunis, Tunisia. The competition is aimed at promoting African dancers and choreographers and providing access to the international stage for budding dance professionals. The competition has two types of entries: – Solo piece, interpreted by the choreographer – A joint piece, presented by the choreographer The Sybel Ballet Theatre artistic director and choreographer, Syhem Belkhodja will chair the artistic committee that will sit in Paris in Dec 2007 to select the winning entries. The committee will be looking for innovation and originality in the choreography entries. They will also assess how choreographers use the theatrical space, the quality and force of their interpretation, whether the music they use is suited to the dance, be it live or recorded and also their development of the changing choreographic language. Costumes, hair styles and make-up will also be assessed. These will be judged from the videos/DVDs of staged shows that applicants are expected to submit in their application packs. The French Institute will receive hard copies of the applications in South Africa. Applicants must also send electronic copies of the applications to nesselfen@gnet.tn, danseafriquedance@culturesfrance.com Applications should be sent on or before 30 November and be clearly marked Dance Competition The Director French Institute of South Africa, 66 Margaret Mcingana St, P. O. Box 542, Newtown Precint., Johannesburg, 2113 For more information contact comm.culture@ifas.org.za...
Represent Review: Soweto Wine Festival
The Matrix get’s his first shot at wine-tasting and find’s himself seduced by the sensuality of it all. Sounds like something you don’t want to miss next year! Sharpile Reuben for always Representin’ – particularly when your assignment is so awful *wink*. See some pics here. This weekend Soweto was encased in charcoal roasted casks fresh from the Mother City as Cape Town’s best and not so best wine cellars eagerly perspired and promoted, hoping to gain favour with the pockets of the wealthy, novice, bargain hunters and the enthused! On Saturday night the Standard Bank sponsored grounds of the University of Johannesburg in the heart of Black Diamond economy were sprawling like a fishermen’s Mediterranean village at the Standard Bank Soweto Wine Festival 2007. Wine connoisseurs from all over the Rand sipped the fine, bold and crystal liquid as famous Stellenbosch cellars like Kanonkop (Canon Hill) Wine Estate served their best of the best. Kanonkop wine is gently and slowly fermented and aged to perfection in fire roasted-wooden casks for more than two years in order to give it it’s smooth full-body and the fervent after-taste that just makes you crave even more of their famous Cabernet Sauvignon. For me, the night was too young and choices too many for one to be over-indulging in just a few samples of cape liquid gold, especially when I took into account the number of Wine Estates represented at the event and all that tasting that still needed to be done. I wanted to have a well balanced and well informed cask (Pun intended!) of the entire event… and thus I prepared myself for what was inevitable with the task at hand – a heavy babalas! Representahs! I don’t know about you, but my knowledge of wine (before Saturday that is) was limited to what I saw on the store racks and the self-crowned cook shows on BBC-Food. However, right now i believe that i’m in a more informed state to “school” you all about the age old art of distillery that is Wine Making. Okay, now (what did I jot down…okay here it is), apparently, wine unlike beer or spirits can’t be fermented (this is wine jargon for crushing grapes and filtering the liquid with a mixture of other stabilizers in huge wooden barrels called Casks, more like those in the Jack Daniels Ads on TV, Ah…you see not so difficult is it?), at just any location and not all vines are suited for Wine making or rather superior quality wine making. I was also informed that you specifically need Mediterranean weather in order for the fields to yield delicious grapes, hence the Cape’s winter rainfall being well suited for South Africa’s...
A night out in Jozi– Dinner, Show & a Shooting
“It’s not even Christmas yet” my friend said to me, as we listen to more bad news… Now you know Editorista resists all negative submissions, especially whingers who send in complaints about crime etc. This story was written by Heather as a dedication to a mutual friend Justin Brown, who was horrifically murdered a few weeks ago defending his family – I publish this story because it’s a documentation of the crazy goldrush wild west we find ourselves living in in Jozi, these are the days of our lives: O.K. so first I have to admit I went to see Air Supply. I didn’t tell a soul about it, I mean how naff right? But my man and I are soppy romantics at heart and remember listing to “All out of Love” and “Making Love out of Nothing at All” in our pre-teens (yes that long ago – it is their 30th anniversary of being Air Supply, afterall). This being a child-free weekend for me (the little man safely off with his dad), we decided to make an evening of it. My auditor love has not gambled before (using real money as opposed to a roulette boardgame!) so I was determined to introduce him to the thrill of the game. It has been awhile since I’ve been to see an international act since I always get a bit freaked out by large crowds, but braved it anyway. The opening act was Alter and Irving – Cindy Alter from Clout and Stewart Irving from Ballyhoo. They were great, playing classics from their respective band’s hey days including “Substitute” and “Superstar”. I knew we were old when we remembered the words and could sing along! Cindy and Stewart also did a fab version of Patti Smythe’s “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”. When Air Supply arrived on stage, after a sparkling intro by MC, the Springs Boy – Tom London, I gasped as I saw how they had aged. I had seen the posters and seen some pics from the interviews, but somehow on stage, it seemed a little strange. I wondered how time had affected their voices….. And then they started to sing…. time has not affected their voices. All the memories came flooding back and I got all soft and marshmallowy inside as they took us back to classics like Lost in Love, Here I am and Two Less Lonely People. Their connection with the audience was fantastic– especially those of the middle-aged, female variety! But what I thought was amazing was the fact that they actually came down and walked through the audience- shaking hands, kissing and hugging audience members. It built up a most...
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