Dance-maker awarded at JOMBA!

CAPE Town dance-maker Yaseen Manuel received the Pick of the Fringe award for his work “Maktub” at this year’s JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience Fringe event at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre last week.

The prestigious award, was awarded by a committee comprising 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance and well-known South African dance-maker Musa Hlatshwayo, veteran dance writer and critic Adrienne Sichel, and Prof Ketu Katrak from the Department of Drama, University of California [Irvine], USA.

The work “Maktub,” meaning “our destiny” in Arabic, was inspired by a line from an Islamic reading. Manuel, who only started dancing at the age of 18, is a dancer and choreographer who aspires to tell his stories through movement drawing on his own spiritual and personal life’s journey. He currently works independently, but has worked extensively with the Cape Town-based Jazzart Dance Theatre and Unmute Dance Theatre, performing a variety of dance styles.

ALSO READ: Sizzling ballroom production for Sibaya

“I am really grateful and honoured to have received the award, especially as it opens up the opportunity for me to dig further into my exploration of the work. It has also made me realise that if you do things with love and intention as you tell your story, you are able to find who you are as an artist – and great things can come from this,” he said.

Next up, Manuel will perform at the Baxter Dance Festival opening on 26 September with a collaborative production “Unraveled” and will also perform “Maktub” at the fest with Sifiso Khumalo of the Flatfoot Dance Company on 1 and 2 October.