TSHWANE DANCE THEATRE PRESENTS IMPACT NO.1, A COLLABORATION WITH THE CAPE DANCE COMPANY, IN WORKS BY AGUDO, NUSSER, AND SIDIYA
August sees a rare event on the Mandela stage of the Joburg Theatre – a collaboration between two dance companies from the opposite corners of the country – the Cape Dance Company (CDC) and Tshwane Dance Theatre (TDT). This event is part of a project made possible by a grant of R420 000 from the National Lotteries Commission (NLC).
These two companies will present a programme that transcends national and cultural borders, and that brings together widely diverse works, yet works that unite in their exploration of the human condition.
Earlier this year, at Artscape during CDC’s 21st anniversary season, CDC presented the African première of A Thousand Shepherds, by José Agudo, an acclaimed Spanish/United Kingdom choreographer. It is regarded by many as one of the most ground-breaking contemporary works presented in South Africa for many a year.
A searing exploration of humanity, A Thousand Shepherds is inspired by the notion of pilgrimage. Originally created on the company Ace Dance & Music in Birmingham, to the music of Vincenzo Lamagna, the tone of the work is underpinned by the influence of a study period in an Indian ashram, which brings to the work a mystical and mysterious feel. Agudo’s work is poignantly articulate and reflective, and creates an aura of sacredness and intense spirituality. Costume design is by Kimie Nakano, and the lighting design by Wilhelm Disbergen.
José Agudo is the artistic director of his own project-based dance company and rehearsal director for world-renowned British choreographer, Akram Khan. Agudo’s multi-disciplinary pedigree started with the study of flamenco dance, which has influenced and crafted much of the rhythmical virtuosity of this work.
The CDC is one of South Africa’s leading dance companies. Blending neoclassical and contemporary dance styles with a hybrid flavour of African fusion, CDC creates and performs worldwide original works by South African choreographers and presents works by international choreographers to give the company and its growing audiences’ exposure to the global dance world. Led by founding artistic director Debbie Turner and supported by an ensemble of dancers who never fail to captivate through their pure athleticism, humanity, physical expression, and breath-taking virtuosity, CDC has been in high demand since its inception in 1995. CDC presents approximately 40 performances per year across South Africa and has toured internationally to Europe, the United States of America, and Asia.
Belinda Nusser returns to South Africa to reimagine phase 5 confronted, first created for Mzansi Productions. It is a work that traverses many themes. Nusser says that it contrasts similarity, uniformity, and precise clean movement with vague carelessness and inconsistent chaos. The six TDT dancers show the strength of group dynamics, counterpointed by the intense power of solitude. The soundscape features Amon Tobin Murcof, and Massive Attack.
Nusser trained at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg. She then studied briefly at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, before returning to South Africa where she danced with Vusa Dance Company, Free Flight Dance Company, and the State Theatre Dance Company. She then moved to Europe where she danced professionally for Companie de Redha (France), Danish Dance Theatre, Galili Dance (Holland), and Norrdans (Sweden). She is now a permanent member of Skånes Dance Theatre – a repertoire contemporary dance company in Malmö, Sweden. In 2011, she choreographed Quartet for Lunch” in 2011 for the company. Her first work in South Africa, Assignment: What?, was for the Jozi Dance Company. For this work she was nominated for the 2008 Gauteng MEC Awards for Best Upcoming Choreographer. This was followed by phase 5 confronted, which nominated in 2009 for the Gauteng MEC Awards for the Best Choreography in Contemporary Style. In July 2013, she choreographed the deep and lovely quiet for the Joburg Ballet. In September 2013, she performed a solo, Entrementes, choreographed by Nelson Rodriguez-Smith as part of the Dance Umbrella tribute to Adele Blank. This was followed in 2014 by Fade-out. Five for the CDC.
Completing this extensive programme, is Luyanda Sidiya’s Maisha, fresh from its premiere at the South African State Theatre. It is his first new major work as an independent choreographer and was commissioned by TDT.
“Maisha” in Swahili means “life”’. Sidiya describes his new work as “driven by our way of life, ubuntu and the beauty that we carry as Africans”, a beauty that lies much deeper than the eye can see. He fights against stereotypical notions of Africa. Instead, he seeks to dispel this trope or cliché, and, as with his spectacular earlier work Siva (Seven), looks beyond colour, perceived poverty, poor governance, and all that the Western media portray unquestioned, and untrue, about us, the people of Africa.
After Sidiya’s formal training at Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM), he was appointed there as the Afro-fusion dance teacher and rehearsal director. He went on to teach choreography and African dance at Bennington College in Vermont, in the United States, and spent three years with the ACE Dance and Music Company in the United Kingdom. From 2014 to 2015 he was the artistic director of Vuyani Dance Theatre – a post he left to pursue a career as a freelance choreographer. Sidiya was the Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance 2015. His commissioned work, Siva (Seven), received unanimous praise from dance critics and was hailed as a milestone in the evolution of South African dance. It was presented at the National Arts Festival, and subsequently at The Market Theatre. In May 2016 it will be performed at the South African State Theatre. In 2015, he was nominated for a Naledi Theatre Award for his choreography for Ketekang. More recently, his work Dominion was nominated for a prestigious Dora Award for best dance production after it was staged in Toronto in April 2015.
The lighting design for all three works is by the acclaimed designer Wilhelm Disbergen.
Disbergen is a prolific award-winning designer working in all design disciplines, and in dance, opera, and theatre. New full-length works for dance include two major works by celebrated French choreographer Redha Benteifour – Redha’s Giselle and CrashDance, Sbonakaliso Ndaba’s Pula, and Moffie for Bailey Snyman, the Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance 2012 (National Arts Festival, the South African State Theatre, and Artscape), From Then Till Now for Mark Hawkins (The Playhouse), and Qaphela Caesar for Jay Pather (The South African State Theatre). Recently, for Moving into Dance Mophatong, he has lit works by Oscar Buthelezi, Rachel Erdos, Sylvia Glasser and Lebo Mashile, Alfred Hinkel, Mandla Sunnyboy Motau Ntuli, and Sonja Radebe. He toured with MIDM to HIFA (Harare) and MASA (Abidjan). In 2016, he has designed Ntuli’s In My End Is My Beginning (Market Theatre), and lit the 21st anniversary season of Debbie Turner’s Cape Dance Company (Artscape), with works by José Agudo, Christopher Huggins, and Bradley Shelver. Other choreographers he has collaborated with include Mari-Louise Basson, Adele Blank, Thulani Chauke, Thabo Rapoo, and Kristin Wilson.
Esther Nasser, the outgoing artistic director of TDT, is an award-winning choreographer, who is renowned in the dance world for her work in building forward-looking dance companies such as the Pact Dance Company, the State Theatre Dance Company, and Jozi Dance Co. (which later morphed into Mzansi Productions Dance Company).
TDT was formed in 2002 under the tutelage of Mandla Mcunu and Vicki Karras, to provide a professional home for young dancers graduating from the various dance academies. It gave a voice to choreographers such as Sifiso Kweyama, Gregory Vuyani Mqoma, and PJ Sabbagha. In recent seasons it presented major new works by Redha Benteifour (Redhas’s Giselle and CrashDance), and Sbonakaliso Ndaba (Pula), along with new work by Mari-Louise Basson, Celeste Botha, Liyabuya Gongo, Timothy le Roux, Thabo Rapoo, and Kristin Wilson.
The TDT dancers for this season are Laura Cameron, Liyabuya Gongo, Thabiso Khomo, Ipeleng Merafe, Llewellyn Mnguni, and Kyle Rossouw.
Impact No. 1 will be staged at the Joburg Theatre from *** for four performances only. Bookings open Monday 19 July 2016.
Running time 90 minutes. There will be two intervals.
Tshwane Dance Theatre is funded by the National Lotteries Commission.
The NLC relies on funds from the proceeds of the National Lottery. The Lotteries Act guides the way in which NLC funding may be allocated. The intention of NLC funding is to make a difference to the lives of all South Africans, especially those more vulnerable and to improve the sustainability of the beneficiary organisations. Available funds are distributed to registered and qualifying non-profit organisations in the fields of charities; arts, culture and national heritage; and sport and recreation. By placing its emphasis on areas of greatest need and potential, the NLC contributes to South Africa’s development.
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