Innovative Dance Works Commissioned For JOMBA! EDGE Platform At Festival

Three KwaZulu-Natal dance-makers have been commissioned to create works for this year’s JOMBA! EDGE platform, as part of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience taking place from 30 Augusut at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban.

JOMBA! which is presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal has a long history of supporting Durban and KZN-based dance-makers and has offered grants to three choreographers/dancers to help push their creation of new local work. In the JOMBA! EDGE mentored platform, Sandile Mkhize (Durban), Tegan Peacock (Pietermaritzburg) and Pavishen Paideya (Durban) will present their work on Friday, 2 September at 7pm and Saturday, 3 September at 2.30pm.

The same programme will be presented by JOMBA! and Rerouting Arts at the Old Mushroom Farm in Howick on 17 September at 6pm.

“All three have displayed an uncanny survival instinct and despite so much lost time for dance over the COVID shut down, all three have continued to make meaningful work over this time,” says JOMBA!’s Artistic Director Lliane Loots. “We are delighted to honour them in our 2022 festival and have asked to respond to the curatorial provocation of this year’s festival – the (im)possibility of home.”

Co-founder and Artistic Director of Phakama Dance Theatre Sandile Mkhize will premiere TAKE ME BACK HOME, a duet that begins to rethink notions of black masculinity and brotherhood. He takes us on a journey to what home means for the body – a place of self-discovery and self-interrogation.

Sandile Mkhize

Accomplished dancer and choreographer and artistic director of Rudra Dance Theatre, an Indian dance company, Pavishen Paideya presents SAMSARA – an honest and culturally magnificent dance journey into Diaspora Indian South African identity and ideas of home and belonging.

Pavishen Paideya

Performance artist and creator and founder of Rerouting Arts, a collaborative arts organisation, Tegan Peacock present HEAD_SPACE as she attempts to trace the internal conversations of the body and the mind in turmoil. It is a mapping of patterns, pressures and struggles, a performative cartography of self and belonging that works with live music.

Tegan Peacock

The festival offers a 13 day feast of contemporary dance, and includes performances and dance talks at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre with a Youth Open Horizons event at the Stable Theatre and select online offerings, as well as workshops, and an extensive online blog.

The Festival takes place from 30 August to 11 September. Tickets for performances at the Sneddon Theatre are R80, and R65 for students, scholars and pensioners through Computicket (tickets.computicket.com/). All other events are free.

(Tickets for the programme in Howick on 17 September at 6pm are R80 and can be booked through bit.ly/BookJombaReroutingHowick

For more information follow on social media or go to the website: jomba.ukzn.ac.za

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb