Dynamic Dance Line-up for Festival of Fame!

A rich heritage of dance styles will be given grand exposure during the National School of the Arts’ Festival of Fame – Expressions of Heritage from Feb 25th to March 2nd. Sharing the spotlight with the NSA learners are some of South Africa’s most distinguished choreographers and companies including Sylvia Glasser, Moving Into Dance Mophatong and Gregory Maqoma.

The NSA’s flagship production, Dance Spectrum, showcases the NSA learners in a program of Classical Ballet, Contemporary, Spanish and Afro-Fusion. Classical Ballet is in the spotlight in Minkus Variations choreographed by Manuel Norambuena and Sarah Hurter to the stirring music of the great Russian Imperial Ballet composer, Ludwig Minkus. Pictures of Africa, African Revival and Tribal Heartbeat features the choreography of Lauren Jones. Her rich contemporary vocabulary vividly conjures images of nature and the vast beauty of the African landscape. Expressing the essence of ubuntu- “I am because of who we all are”- Pictures of Africa shows in narrative dance that no matter our differences we can all stand united. In a clever confluence of cultures, Gillian Bonegio uses kwela music to open her dynamic Spanish program. This is followed by a Flamenco Tango La Mari Morena, with authentic Spanish vocal and guitar accompaniment by Raul Bonegio. Guest choreographer Gregory Maqoma from Vuyani Dance Theatre brings his signature choreographic style to the NSA in his staging of two movements from his critically celebrated, The Four Seasons. His Winter expresses the season of loss and despair, while Summer reveals hope and the possibility of a prosperous new dawn.

Dance Spectrum will perform daily at The Mandela at Joburg Theatre with two special evening performances on Wednesday 27th Feb and a gala closing performance on Sat 2nd March giving dance enthusiasts ample opportunity to see the high standards achieved by the NSA Dance Department.

In a true celebration of Heritage, the NSA is proud to present Tranceformations– the ground-breaking seminal work from Sylvia ‘Magogo’ Glasser and Moving Into Dance Mophatong. Created 21 years ago this work was inspired by Bushman/San rock art and trance dancing. Tranceformations is a trailblazing work that has transformed perceptions and attitudes to San culture and to theatrical dance. Tranceformations pays tribute to dispossessed people and their culture.

Sylvia Glasser will present a special lecture on Tranceformations on Wednesday 27 Feb at 10:30am preceding the performance. Although specifically aimed at learners who study this iconic work as part of their dance studies syllabus, the lecture is open to the public and certainly promises to be deeply informative. Tranceformations will be staged in the School Hall daily at 10:30.

From I Dance Productions comes a contemporary dance program entitled White Noise. Raindrops, Heavy, Muse, Art of Motion and Breathing are the works of Angelique Harris and offer her insight into the notions of tradition, honesty, destiny, self-reliance and self-image in the challenging world of the young artist. In the Architect of the Mind, Lauren Jones explores what goes on inside our minds as thoughts and ideas, some original and some borrowed, demand our detailed attention and creative processing.

As part of this year’s Festival of Fame Evening Fringe Program, the public will have the rare opportunity of seeing a showcase of the “work-in-progress” of dancer and theater-maker Vera Ephraim. Vera is one of three gifted cutting-edge female artists chosen to share the early stages of their new work at the NSA Downstairs Theatre. Ntshieng Mokgoro and Naomi Van Niekerk will also be featured in these showcases which are the brain child of NSA Drama Department Artist-in-Residence Kyla Davis and her Well Worn Theatre Company. This exciting use of the Downstairs Theatre at the NSA promises to provide a valuable space for artists and learners to flex their creative muscles and birth brave new work.

The enthralling Vera Ephraim will showcase her new dance work currently known as Transformations. Vera is known for her great versatility and ability to connect African traditional dance and contemporary dance together with acting and movement. Expect to see diverse dance styles in her work as Vera is a specialist in genres such as hip-hop, salsa, afro-caribbean and afro-beat. In this piece she explores the positive and negative sides of her life, shows her doubts and fears, her submission to a strong African tradition and finally the assertion of her authentic self and her creative abilities .

From classical ballet to vibrant physical theatre in the hands of specialists like Tristan Jacobs, Daniel Buckland, Craig Morris and Richard Antrobus. From Afro-Fusion and Spanish to the NSA Drama Departments fascinating movement piece E = MC2 directed by Ndu Msimang and Roger Lambert, Festival of Fame – Expressions of Heritage shows the continuum of our rich dance and movement heritage offering a diverse and stimulating program for all dance and theatre lovers.

www.festivaloffame.co.za

All bookings through Joburg Theatre: www.joburgtheatre.com