So you think you can dance? Join UKZN's Jomba! Masihambisane online dance seminar | City Press

21 Mar

Mbali Mbatha

The art form of dance will be the centre of the dialogue to be had at UKZN in May.

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Submissions for proposals to be considered for the fourth instalment of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) Jomba! Masihambisane Contemporary Dance Conference are now opened.

UKZN will continue accepting submissions of no more than 400 words until 4pm on Friday, 5 April.

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It is important for the public to be mindful that Masihambisane is not a festival, but an online dialogue that can be joined via Zoom.

The Jomba! Festival is a separate segment under the Jomba! umbrella body. Participation in the conversations can also be undertaken on the Jomba! website, Facebook page as well as their YouTube channel.

Internationally renowned South African choreograph

Internationally renowned SA choreographers will deliver keynote speeches relating to navigating the dance industry.

The conversations will be taking place on 22, 23 and 24 May. Jomba! curator and dialogues chairperson Lliane Loots described the event as more of a colloquial than a conference.

She said:

Artists, scholars and individuals with a keen interest in the arts can submit papers or dance works that can be entered into the discussion for the purposes of sharing knowledge and ideas. We identify artists and academics to lead the dialogue so that they can share their expertise with individuals who write about the arts, particularly the art of dance; or are looking at this industry as a future career path etcetera.

Dancer and choreographer Moeketsi Koena who has taught dance in the USA, Belgium and the Netherlands is one of this year’s keynote speakers.

He will be sharing this task with Soweto-born choreographer and former artistic director at the Moving into Dance company Vincent Mantsoe, who founded the Association Noa Company in France back in 2005.

The arts have always been a culturally powered medium of education, and thus the theme for this year is Return to the Drum.

This instrument has been a part of Africa's musicality and dance culture for centuries. The theme will decipher how traditions, cultures, memory, hybridity and contested identities manifest in contemporary dance.

Loots added:

We have created a platform that opens up networking opportunities. Last year’s dialogue was focused on dance and disability, and out of those discussions, two artists have collaborated and are currently putting together work that we are hoping to present at the Jomba! Festival in 2025.

The panel of speakers also includes Thobile Maphanga (UKZN, SA), David Thatanelo April (UP, SA), Sarahleigh Castelyn (UEL, UK), Yvette Hutchison (Warwick Uni, UK), Clare Craighead (DUT, SA). Mbongeni Mtshali (UCT, SA) and Gift Marovatsanga (UKZN, SA).

READ: Disability Awareness Month | Sibikwa Arts Centre celebrates diversity with dance festival

Loots confirmed that the dialogue is also recorded and loaded into their archives on the website, for the benefit of those who are unable to join the conversation or would life to refer back at a later date.

Full details of the criteria and how to submit can be obtained on here.

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