Jomba season of dance returns

DON'T miss the 16th annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience in Durban from 27 August to 7 September at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre with one performance at artSpace (Durban) on 4 September, courtesy of UKZN's Centre for Creative Arts.

This year’s JOMBA! is an especially focused Msanzi edition of the festival with attention given to supporting some of South Africa’s top dance companies and dance makers. In an unprecedented move, JOMBA! 2014 has decided to give support and offer recognition to five of South Africa’s most awarded and cutting edge dance companies with a special invites to Vuyani Dance Theatre (Johannesburg), Moving Into Dance Mophatong (Johannesburg), Flatfoot Dance Company (Durban), First Physical Theatre Company (Grahamstown) and the Floating Outfit Project (Durban).

The festival opens with Vuyani Dance Theatre offering two works; Beautiful Us created by Gregory Maqoma and Dominion choreographed by Luyanda Sidiya. Maqoma’s Beautiful Us is a tour de force that has travelled the world to standing ovations and is a poetic invocation, as part of his renowned Beauty Trilogy, for humanity to pause to give planet earth some space and, as Maqoma says, “to pause a while to give our traditions, our humanity space to find the much needed change we all feel must manifest”.

Joining Maqoma, is Vuyani’s Luyanda Sidiya in his politically charged Dominion which, like Maqoma’s Beautiful Us weeps and dances for a better world, Sidiya’s Dominion looks at how humanity has distorted its human to human notions of power. This work is sure to be one of the great talking points of this year’s festival.

Also featured is Durban’s inimitable Flatfoot Dance Company. Fresh from a tour to Chicago (USA), Lliane Loots and her incomparable six Flatfoot dancers will present a soulful and deeply personal collaboration with the musical genius of Durban’s singer/songwriter Shannon Hope. Entitled “HOPE”, Loots takes her inspiration from weaving Shannon Hope’s poignant torch song lyrics into a contemporary dance landscape.

On the main platform performance front, JOMBA! continues its long-standing relationship with artSpace (durban) Gallery who host Durban’s Boyzie Cekwana and his Floating Outfit Project. Cekwana’s own brand of deconstructed and highly evocative postcolonial dance making will baffle, delight and challenge audiences. His work, wittily titled Love Letters Locking Lips/5km of Marshmallows has been especially crafted for the art gallery.

For a full listing go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and go to the JOMBA! page. These workshops and classes are offered free of charge but booking is essential. The workshops are only open to dancers 16yrs and older. Call 082 875 6065 during office hours or e-mail (jombafestival@gmail.com)to book a place; at least 2 days in advance of the workshop.

Tickets are performances are R60 for adults and R45 for scholars, students and pensioners, and booking is through Computicket (or at the venue from one hour before).