| Jomba means "jump" in Zulu, and JOMBA! is certainly making things jump on the dance scene. Exciting plans are in process for the 3rd JOMBA! in 2000.
Apart from once again being a platform for local dance companies of excellence, JOMBA! will also host exciting international participation.
In the afterglow of two sell out international contemporary dance festivals, JOMBA! 2000 promises to be the national dance event of the year. Hosted by the University of Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, JOMBA! 2000 offers a local, national and international line-up of world class contemporary dance for Durban audiences.
The prime line-up for this year international guests include the London based Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company who come to JOMBA! with the generous sponsorship of the British Council. This company’s artistic director, Shobana Jeyasingh, has been heralded as one of Britain’s “great and gifted dancemakers” (London Evening Standard). Jeyasingh, as choreographer, creates unique dance languages that express her own personal mixing of British and Indian identity. Using the Indian classical form of Bharatha Natyam as a starting point for her exploration, Jeyasingh, creates thought-provoking dance work which challenges entrenched and narrow views of cultural boundries
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Kafig Dance Company (France)
KAFIG, an Algerian French-based street dance company are also international guests of JOMBA!, coming to us with the kind support of the French Institute (South Africa). This company’s funky street smart style of dance has made them perfect partners for a collaboration with Durban’s own Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre. Working with the local styles of pantsula, hip-hop and kwaito, KAFIG and Siwela will workshop an up-beat groovy street dance especially for JOMBA! - not to be missed.
JOMBA! will also feature the best of local Durban contemporary dance with the Centre for Creative Arts awarding artistic grants to both the Fantastic Flying Fish Dance Company and to the University based Flatfoot Dance Company. These grants are seen as vital to the spirit of JOMBA! which sees the need to both financially support dance but also to give it a platform to perform new works.
Finally JOMBA! and the Centre for Creative Arts are proud to announce a partnership with FNB Vita and the introduction of two specific programmes within the dance festival. The first is the Sunday night (27 August) programme called FNB Vita New Moves. This programme will feature six fresh up and coming new Durban choreographers selected by an expert panel who has monitored their work over the past year believing that a platform such as this will help push these young choreographers to develop their art work. Each of the New Moves choreographers will be given a grant by FNB Vita to create a new work for JOMBA! as a way of nurturing and promoting these young Durban choreographers. They will be mentored during their creative process by established Durban choreographers, Jay Pather, Lliane Loots and David Gouldie. The recipients of this years FNB VITA New Moves grant are:
- Thulebona Mzizi
- Ntombi Gasa
- Garth Naudé
- Claire Angelique Bezuidenhout
- Quinnton Ribonnaar
- Eric Shabalala
JOMBA! and FNB Vita are proud to be part of giving these exciting and talented young artists a chance to make and show their dance work.
Finally, FNB Vita, as generous sponsors of dance in South Africa, are also giving away two major choreographic awards to two established South African choreographers to create dance work for the JOMBA! festival. Recipients this year are Jay Pather (artistic director of the Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre) and Boyzie Cekwana (Floating Outfit Project). Both of these choreographers have made an incredible impact on the lexicon of emerging contemporary dance in South Africa and, in recognition of years of beautiful and thought-provoking dance, FNB Vita and JOMBA! are proud to host and financially support artists of their caliber.
JOMBA! 2000 promises to dazzle and delight Durban audiences with a range of new and exciting local and international contemporary dance - it certainly celebrates its place as one of South Africa’s leading dance festivals.
Claire Bezuidenhout of Siwela Sonke. |
