Dancing in the townships

TOWNSHIP youth have polished up their dance and choreography moves with the help of Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM), and they will stage site-specific performances in various place in Joburg this October.

MIDM has been holding on-going workshops with township community dance groups, in which the performances have been created.

Moving from one space to another in OrlandoMoving from one space to another in Orlando (Photo: John Hogg)They take the theme In and Out, and are part of MIDM’s Outreach Project, which has been facilitated by senior members of the professional dance company since February. The workshops have been funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, National Arts Council of South Africa, Rand Merchant Bank, and Goethe-Institut of South Africa.

The In and Out collaborations came about after the MIDM dancer, Fana Tshabalala, helped create and perform site-specific dance works during his six-month residency programme in France.

The theme, In and Out, was inspired by the curiosity that people often have when they see a suitcase, wondering “what is inside?” At each community site, the performance will move from one space to another, and in this process the suitcase will be used as a symbol to draw attention and change focus.

“Most of the community-based dance groups in the townships lack resources such as facilities, finances and skills to produce quality works,” Tshabalala says.

As a result, he decided to use the idea of site-specific works to enable young artists with few or no resources to create and present professional works. A secondary aim is developing audiences and raising awareness in townships about dance as an art form.

Tshabalala has a close affinity to community dance groups, having begun his performing arts career in this environment. He was the assistant director at Vuku Zenzele Cultural Group; a performer at Sonqoba Cultural Group; a dance trainee at Pheelo Dance Company; a performer at Motswako Performing Artists; and a dance director at Vuka African Artists. He was also a dancer at Vaal Sounds Chorus.

Performing arts
He studied performing arts at MIDM, and has choreographed works for the Dance Umbrella Festival. At present, he is a performance company member of MIDM and dances in various productions by internationally acclaimed choreographers Vincent Mantsoe, Thabo Rapoo and Sylvia Glasser.

In 2009/10, Tshabalala worked with the French choreographer, Michel Kelemenis, and danced the role of Anatom in L’Amoureuse de Monsieur Muscle, which toured France. He also worked with Kelemenis on his new solo That Side and staged his own work Lost and Found in Avignon, France.

During his residency in France, Tshabalala also facilitated dance workshops for schools and artists. On his return to Joburg, he was inspired to work with community groups and share his experiences as part of MIDM’s Outreach Project.

Tshabalala held workshops to train senior MIDM company members, and these dancer-choreographers have since been working with the community groups twice a week on polishing their dance skills and creating site-specific works.

He is the facilitator for the Isambane Arts production ensemble in Orlando East, Soweto; Sunnyboy Motaung has assisted the African Theatre community group from Alexandra; Sonia Radebe has worked with Diepsloot’s Afrika Tikkun dancers; Thandi Tshabalala has worked with the Sydney Maseko Artist Development Troupe in Central Western Jabavu, Soweto; and Muzi Shili has helped the Tswelopele Promising Artists group in Tembisa.

Site-specific performances will take place in Soweto, Alexandra, Diepsloot, Orange Farm and Tembisa throughout the month - keep a look out for them. These collaborative dance works will also be performed at the FNB Gauteng Diwali Festival, taking place at Newtown’s Mary Fitzgerald Square on 15 October. The dances will be at 12.20pm and 2.55pm.

The In and Out performances are free to the public. Enquiries can be directed to Jabu at MIDM on 011 838 2816.