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...
ReDeephine next weekend
For the almost extinct House heads out there, fear not, there’s still a party you can rely on to get your hit, that’s ReDeephined and it’s happening on the 29th Sept at Keye’s Lounge in Rosebank, click on flyer for more. ReDeephined is once again proud to hit you with another late night exclusive deep house journey that you cant afford to miss , this time cool down Spring with some freshly ground essence of Jozi’s underground Connoisseurs’ : Erica Elle (5Fm) , Brad S (All good) supported by ReDeephined’s ship captains B-Deep and Jazzidiss. For more info pls check attachment. We such a sweet line up it promises to put a “smile” on your face so surprise yourself and come thru,...
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 Recommends: Introdans
We’re so lucky to have such a choice of delightful overseas performers gracing our shores these days, keeping our options broad and varied. If you’re into dance, physical theatre or merely love being mesmerized by powerful live performance, make sure to catch the popular and world-renowned Dutch company Introdans this week in Jozi. See their website. The acclaimed Dutch dance company Introdans will perform in Johannesburg this week after a successful run in Cape Town. Since 1971 when it was founded by Hans Focking and Ton Wiggers, Introdans has grown into one of the biggest and most active ballet companies in the Netherlands. The company presents modern ballet performances on the themes Old Masters, New Partners, Young Talent. Working from the Netherlands, the company dances in Dutch theatres and at international venues. An array of choreographers create ballets for Introdans in which classical elements are combined with modern techniques. There are 3 performances only which will take place at the University of Johannesburg on Wednesday, July 4, Thursday, July 5 and Friday, July 6, all starting at 8pm. The programme includes Hans van Manen’s Andante; Tom Wiggers’ Gilles; Ed Wubbe’s White Streams and Ben Holder’s Daylight. The South African Tour is sponsored by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria and Podium Kunsten (The Hague). Booking for Introdans is through Computicket, tickets are R120 and R150. Tickets for pensioners and students with student cards are R80.00. There is a 10% discount offered for groups of 10 or...
Represent Review: Imperial Russian Ballet
Representah Werner scored some points with his wifey by sweeping her off to the Imperial Russian Ballet at the Civic aka Nelson Mandela Theatre. He says it’s a must see – so go on… treat your lady. See it! But hurry it’s showing from now ’till the 24th June. It is not very often that we have the privilege of being captivated by truly world class performances from international artists. Well, if you have been sitting on the sideline waiting for such an event, the wait is finally over. The Imperial Russian Ballet troupe is currently visiting South Africa and thrilling audiences for a limited number of performances. As the name suggests the group is from Moscow and was founded in 1994 by legendary Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya. The company has already toured several countries including diverse countries such as Australia, Japan, Germany and many more. The choreography, albeit mostly classical, tends to lean to the modernist style unique to performances we have learnt to expect from Russia. The stage design, costumes and wonderful music is only outdone by the incredible talent of the performers. The programme is unique in the sense that it is broken into two distinctive acts consisting of a number of interpretations of well known ballet masterpieces. The first act is dedicated to George Bizet’s “Carmen” and is a truly a fitting introduction to an evening of spectacular dance. The second act comprises of a number of restyled ballets that include “Swan Lake”, “Nutcracker”, “Don Quixote” and “Orpheus in the Underworld”. Audiences will be overwhelmed by the wealth of talent that exists within the troupe and left breathless by the masterful performances of dancers like Anastasia Mikheikina, Nariman Bekzhanov and Kirill Rad. The repertoire of the cast includes numerous well known ballets and it is clearly evident that the production and performers are set to thrill audiences worldwide for quite some time to come. The production is currently staged at the Nelson Mandela Theatre and runs from 19th to the 24th of June 2007. Lovers of the performing arts should note that this is truly one production that is not to be missed. Details: Venue: NELSON MANDELA THEATRE Date: June 19th – 24th Price: (from) R125 inclusive of booking fee THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN BALLET IMPERIAL RUSSIAN BALLET was founded in April 1994, on the initiative of the legendary Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya. The group’s name is a tribute to both former “emperors” of the stage – immortal founders of the Russian ballet stage, and to the Emperor’s family, that had made a great historical contribution into native culture, including the foundation of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres....
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