MEDIA RELEASE
Fabulous Fringe Events at JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience.
The JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts, UKZN, celebrates its 20th edition, offering its audiences a variety of dance in which to indulge over the 13 day event taking place from 28 August to 9 September.
This year, besides a packed programme of dance on the main festival, six new short works are featured on the Fringe which takes place on Saturday, September 1 at 7.30pm at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
“This open performance platform provides an opportunity for choreographers (some new to choreography and some professional dancers and dance makers) to present their work in a professional theatre environment with the support of a full technical team,” says Artistic Director of JOMBA! Lliane Loots. “This is one of the ways in which the JOMBA! festival offers assistance in developing dance and choreographic talent, by offering open professional performance spaces.”
Works to be presented this year include Mbontsi and Alice Findlay – Pietermaritzburg (KZN), Flatfoot Dance Company (Junior Company: Sbonga Ndlovu, Ndumiso Dube, Siseko Duba, Qhawe Ndimande and Mthoko Mkhwanazi – Durban (KZN), Mlondi Ngubani – Pietermaritzburg (KZN), Sabelo Cele – Pietermaritzburg (KZN), Sizwe Hlophe – Durban (KZN) and Thulisile Binda – Johannesburg (Gauteng).
For the second year running the Centre for Creative Arts, will honour one of the works with the “JOMBA! Pick Of the Fringe Award” in recognition of the excellence that independent artists and companies bring to this platform. This award comes with a small cash prize but more significantly the artist making the winning work is automatically invited to the 2019 JOMBA! KZN ON THE EDGE platform to premier a new fuller length work that will be financially and technically supported by JOMBA!
The adjudication panel for 2018 are Adrienne Sichel - independent arts/dance journalist and writer, and curator for The Ar(t)chive at the Wits School of Arts., Lauren Warnecke – special guest to the JOMBA! 2018 festival, dance writer and journalist (Chicago, USA) and Musa Hlatshwayo – dancer, choreographer and Director for Mhayise Producitons and 2018 recipient of the Standard Bank Yong Artist Award.
Last year’s award went to Pietermaritzburg’s JC Zondi, who has now been invited to present a new work on the “JOMBA! ON THE EDGE” platform on Tuesday, September 4 at 7.30pm at the Sneddon.
Then in an endeavour to encourage young dancers, the free JOMBA! Youth Fringe takes place at the Open Air Theatre (UKZN – Howard College Campus) on Sunday 2 September at 2pm.
This is a popular festival event for the sheer vitality and energy of the performances, and is a showground for young dancers under 16. This year will feature works by many of Durban’s dance development programmes showing off the incredible dance training being given. Twelve groups of young KZN dancers feature including Siyakhula Dance Project (Flatfoot Dance Company) – KwaMashu, Newlands Youth Organisations – Newlands, Project Hheshe Nsizwa(Flatfoot Dance Company) – Umlazi, Project Dudlu Ntombi (Flatfoot Dance Company) – Umlazi, Martizbrug College - Pietermatrizburg, St. Annes - Hilton, Slangspriut – Pietermatrizburg,Epworth School – Pietermaritzburg, Nqabakazulu High School – KwaMashu, Waterloo Dance Programme (Flatfoot Dance Company) – Waterloo, JG Zuma High School – Inanada, William Clarke Gardens Dance Programme (Flatfoot Dance Company) – Sherwood.
Tickets at the Sneddon Theatre are R80 or R60 (scholars/students/pensioners/block booking of 10 or more). Booking through Computicket (or at venue from one hour before). Durban Art Gallery and Open Air Theatre are free events.
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