Pupils use dance to tell a story at Kearsney festival

Ten passionate dance groups from KZN high schools are participating in this week’s Kearsney dance festival, which celebrates the creative talent amongst the province’s youth.

Kearsney College, Thomas More College, Epworth, Maritzburg College, Howick High, Crawford College, Glenwood High School, Durban Girls’ High, Grantleigh and KwaNtabeni Comprehensive are all performing, utilising various dance styles to ‘tell a story’.

In addition to the school dancers, a performance will also be given by the Dance Movement, a dance project which trains and develops disadvantaged youth from the Wentworth community, using styles such as hip-hop, break dancing, contemporary and jazz.

In 2011 the group represented South Africa at the United Dance Organisation World Championship Street Dance competition in England, placing fifth, third, second and first in various dance categories among 4 000 participating dancers from 52 countries.

The dance festival forms part of Culture@Kearsney, a festival of the arts aimed at revealing the talents of youth from throughout the province. It will be followed at various intervals during the year by a number of other inter-schools events: a celebration of choirs from primary and high schools, a photographic competition and an evening of slam poetry.

The dancers will perform on Wednesday, 5 August and Thursday, 6 August at 7pm in the Henderson Hall at Kearsney College in Botha’s Hill. Tickets will be on sale at the door. For further information, go to www.kearsney.com.