DANCE-makers Brenda “BreeH” Cele (Pietermaritzburg), and Mfundiseni Ndwalane (Durban) were awarded the JOMBA! Pick of the Platform for their works in the Digital Open Horizons and Live Open Horizons, respectively this week.
Digital Open Horizons is a curated platform of screen dance films, and the Live Open Horizons platform. It is an opportunity for choreographers to showcase their works in a professionally supported stage presentation at the Festival. These are both presented as JOMBA!’s commitment to developing and growing contemporary dance in Durban and South Africa.
This year’s Digital Open Horizons jury included Pak Ndjamena, a multifaceted artist based in Maputo (Mozambique), Ivan Barros an award-winning Mozambican photographer and video-maker, Clare Craighead a Drama and Performance Studies lecturer at DUT, a dance writer and academic, and Thobile Maphanga, a Durban-based dancer, dance writer and researcher interested in the histories and narratives of Black women.
The overall winner of the platform was “Sisukaphi?”, choreographed by Mfundiseni Ndwalane. Drawing on his own compositions and choreography during his research for his MA at UKZN, the work explores storytelling elements alongside a fusion of African popular music and traditional elements such as amaZulu dance. The jury praised Ndwalane for his cohesive vision in bringing together live music and singing, projections and scenic elements which brought depth to the theme and choreography. “His invitation to the audience to consider one’s ancestry as a collective was a powerful visual and aural moment of using the body as a memory tool. His ensemble was focussed, polished and committed.”
JOMBA! Continues until Sunday 7 September with a range of performances, workshops and talks. For more information and to see the full programme, go to: https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/
Tickets are R85 and R65 (concessions and groups). Booking via WebTickets.
