January 31, 2003
By Bongani Majola
JOHANNESBURG'S premier annual festival of contemporary choreography and dance, the FNB Dance Umbrella, opens in four different venues of the city at the same time on Saturday, each performance inspired and shaped by the space that it is performed in.
Now in its 15th year, the festival runs from 1 February to 15 March 2003, and this year it features 20 programmes of work that vary from traditional African dance, urban contemporary pieces to performances by international dance companies.
First on the line up is CityScapes, a dance theatre and video art production conceived and directed by Jay Pather of the Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre in Durban. The first phase of CityScapes brings four site-specific works in four of Johannesburg's open spaces for free, while the second phase of the production brings together all four works at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in Joubert Park for R25 entrance fee.
The production at the Gallery brings all four from different venues together, against a video and special effects' backdrop.
The historic Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg is the site for the first work, where nine dancers create dance portraits of the vast and heady mix of people, sights, smells, sounds and the atmosphere that permeate the typically Johannesburg space. With performances from 10h00 to 11h30, the work features dancers from Moving into Dance and Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre.
Carlton Centre's inner city bustling ambience, and the centre's distinct escalators have inspired a fast-moving performance with Pantsula dancers costumed in pinstripe suits, their landmark hats, briefcases and cell phones. According to festival publicist Tammy Ballantyne, "the dancers will work with motions of escalators as well as the vast mosaic at the foot of the escalators playing with the notions of businessmen taking themselves very seriously".
CityScapes at Carlton Centre is at 15h00, 15h45 and 16h30, featuring dancers from Our Hour Pantsula Company and Shwibeka Dance Ensemble. At 18h30, 30 traditional Shembe dancers, classical Indian dancers and classical ballet dancers will storm Sandton Square in a performance evoking the vast epic spaces, while "using the Square as the meeting ground for ancient cultures".
In contrast, however, the fourth space is a hotel room at the Devonshire Hotel in Braamfontein, where an intimate dance works ensues, with a man and a woman depicting a mysterious and intriguing relationship. The performance is on Sunday at 15h00, 15h45 and 16h30. Joburgers should note here that only a dozen people are able watch the spectacle each time.
In short, dance lovers should diarise the whole two weeks of bodies moving in space, and move along.
For more performance schedules and updates visit Dance Umbella and ArtsLink
Tickets are available at Computicket or call 083 915 8000.
