Aweh! Find out what’s happening in Durbs
Dezzie Raceway and Virginia Airport are humming with action. Flatfood Dance Company will have you mesmerised, and there are so many other things to enjoy in Durban this coming week.
THERE’S enough dance to keep you captivated and your feet tapping. And for the rubber junkies and flight enthusiasts, the next few days are packed with action.
Disability network brings the joys of dance
Dance, Disability and Access – the African Dance Disability Network partners with the Centre for Creative Arts and JOMBA! 2024 for the event at the Stable Theatre from August 22 to 25.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience has a long history of including diverse and integrated dance work in its programming. In 2023, JOMBA!’s curator, Dr Lliane Loots, teamed up with Prof Yvette Hutchison from the University of Warwick in the UK to work on the UKRI-funded project, ‘Encountering disability through contemporary dance in Africa’, which explores widening citizenship through dance. Part of the outcome of this partnership is an uplifting four-day pre-JOMBA! festival and colloquium – the ADDN JOMBA! ABILITY DANCE FESTIVAL 2024 – which sees some of the world’s most inventive and beautiful dance-makers engage with disability and integrated dance practices.
This four-day festival, which takes place before the main JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (August 27 to September 8), sees dancers and guest participants from South Africa, Kenya, USA, UK, Finland and China. The daily programme offers workshops, panel discussions and open public evening performances.
The performance programme includes works from Flatfoot Dance Company and their Flatfoot Wheelchair programme, as well as work from their now eight-year-old Flatfoot Downie Dance Company.
The festival will host one digital online workshop by disability culture activist, wheelchair dancer and community performance artist, Petra Kuppers. Kuppers, the Anita Gonzalez collegiate professor of Performance Studies and Disability Culture at the University of Michigan (USA), offers her Starship Somatic Workshop free of charge on Sunday, August 25, from 16:15–17:00. To sign up, contact marcia.mzindle13@gmail.com.
For the full programme, visit https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/ability-festival/. The workshops and panels are offered free of charge, but places are limited so if you wish to join and participate, contact Marcia on marcia.mzindle13@gmail.com. Bookings must be done a full 24 hours before the event.
Tickets for the evening shows are R50 each, and booking is via Computicket: https://computicket.com/event/addn_jomba_2024/7294522
Experience the magic of dance
Don’t miss the unforgettable journey that is the Women’s Arts Festival! It is taking place on August 15 to 18 at The Playhouse, Durban.
This Women’s Arts Festival, Flatfoot Dance Company presents Journey, featuring two captivating dance works. The first piece is by resident choreographer and artistic director, Lliane Loots, while the second is by special guest choreographer, Gaby Saranouffi from Madagascar. This production not only celebrates Flatfoot’s 21-year journey of reaching significant milestones but also explores the essence of what it means to be alive at this moment in history.
Saranouffi’s Soritra (Traces) opens the evening with a fast-paced exploration of self, searching for ‘traces of where we come from and where we are going’. Inspired by the Malagasy, indigenous, abstract, strategy board game Diam-panorona, the movements of stones on the board are intriguingly replicated in contemporary dance with bold athletic movements.
Loots’ The Salt on Your Skin takes the audience on a journey to the cities of the interior, offering a poignant and beautiful look at intimacy. The piece references sweat, skin and other acts of love and labour that define our everyday lives. Co-created with six resident Flatfoot dancers, Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika, Zinhle Nzama, Ndumiso Dube and Siseko Duba, this work draws on deeply personal stories of love, loss and hope. Loots uses dance to delve into these intimate narratives, imagining and transforming the larger story of our lives.
The shows start at 16:00. Bookings via Webtickets.
Keep Bad Company this time
Formed in 1973, Bad Company was the second British supergroup to hit no 1 on the US charts with their debut album, The Beatles. Featured on this album was their first hit, Can’t Get Enough (of Your Love), and to date, they have sold 40-million albums.
Frontman Paul Rogers said, “It felt very natural… It felt like we had the goods.” With a punishing, blues-based attack, coupled with unaffected lyrics, Bad Company offered the anthemic majesty and lyrical honesty their worldwide audiences craved.
‘The Reals’, with Durban favourites, Barry Thomson on guitar and vocals, Dawn Selby as musical director on keyboards and vocals, Mali Sewell on drums, Andy Turrell on bass guitar and Shaun Dragt on guitar and vocals, present an evening of good rocking classics from Bad Company.
Tickets cost R200 and R180 for Northlands Bowling Club members. Bring food picnic baskets. Full bar available – no alcohol may be brought onto the premises. Limited secure parking available. Booking is essential – contact Roland on 082 499 8636 or at roland@stansell.co.za or go to Webtickets.
Brave the kennels for the night
Did you know, the SPCA sees more than 13 000 homeless animals through their doors each year: some abandoned, some unwanted, some living on the streets and collected, and some abused, hungry, cold, frightened. This year, the Durban & Coast SPCA want you to brave their kennels for the night again!
Who is up for the challenge of leaving your nice comfy bed and roughing it for the plight of homeless animals? They need your support to continue giving homeless animals a safe and warm place while they wait for their second chance at life.
Join the other brave souls on August 17 at the Durban & Coast SPCA, Springfield Park, 2 Willowfield Crescent, Sea Cow Lake. It costs R200 per human and R50 per dog, plus, you get to ask your friends and family to sponsor your ‘adoption’ out of the kennels for the goal you set (minimum R3 000), and it includes dinner, fun games and a goodie bag. You can sponsor those who are taking part here: https://www.spcadbn.org.za/sleepover.php.
It will be compulsory for you to have a profile for sponsorships on their website – details will be emailed to you after you sign up – along with marketing material to help you out.
Guests are welcome to visit you between 16:00 and 18:00.
The event on August 17 also coincides with International Homeless Animals Day.
Join epic fundraiser event at Northwood Crusaders
Popular Durban party rock band, Broken Advocate, will be performing on August 31 on the field at Northwood Crusaders to raise funds for the Robin Hood Foundation. There will also be a couple of different drink tastings on offer for you to try. Keep an eye on Broken Advocate’s Facebook event page for more info on the drink choices. Saders Kitchen will be offering delicious food options for purchase.
Doors open at 12:00, and the music starts at 13:00. The event is scheduled to end at 16:30, in time for the rugby (which will also be screened at Crusaders). Bring your blankets and camping chairs, and enjoy a fun afternoon while helping raise valuable funds for the Robin Hood Foundation. There will also be an auction with amazing prizes!
Tickets are R100 for adults and R50 for children. Tickets are on Quicket. Contact marketing@robinhoodfoundation.co.za.
Red Bull Quicksand 2024 is here
It’s the most challenging mile you’ve ever run. On top of the obvious challenges that come with running on sand – runners expend 1.6 times more energy on sand than running on a road surface – the course is filled with all kinds of sandy climbs, giving competitors a full examination of endurance, acceleration and bursts of speed.
Red Bull Quicksand will take place on Saturday, August 17, on New Beach, Durban, from 08:00.
Entries are limited to 800 participants. Tickets available at Computicket.
Burning the tyres at Dezzie Raceway
As part of celebrating Women’s Month this August, KZN Road & Racing Club (KZNRRC) celebrates the outstanding contribution of its KZN women drivers and riders within the motorsport.
There is Nicole Lombard driving her VW Scirocco in the modified class, competing alongside Charmaine Petzer in her VW Polo, and Gayle Erasmus in her VW Golf, all being established drivers; Nikita Nel driving her Ford Escort in the M Project Historic class also an established driver; Caitlyn Ogilvie in her BMW competing in the Sports & GT class.
In the Time Challenge category, there is newcomer J Hayes in a Lotus 7. Last but not least, there is Hannah Puren on her motorcycle, competing in the 150cc class.
They will hopefully all be competing on August 17 at Dezzi Raceway. The event starts at 10:00. Tickets cost R80 for adults and R100 for children and pensioners. For more information, contact Llewelyn Puren on 082 903 5481 or admin@hanlee.co.za.
Magic in the sky
The award-winning Durban Virginia Airshow is back in 2024 with more exhilarating flying displays and aerobatics against the backdrop of the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. For a fantastic day out with the whole family, filled with aerobatic adrenaline, book now to witness SA’s best pilots and planes in action.
Gates open at 08:00, and displays begin at 10:00. Tickets are available at Ticketpro.
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