Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
dancelatest news & developments
Movement architect: Litchi HOV (real name Lee-ché Janecke) has built a reputation for crafting visually striking, emotionally charged performances that move seamlessly between stage, film and global pop culture. Photo: Supplied

Litchi HOV on dance, inheritance and refusing to quit

A deeply personal portrait of Litchi HOV, the award-winning choreographer turning movement into a language of memory, resilience and generational change

Full on: The world’s most demanding musical lands in South Africa,
guided by veteran performer Matt Krzan (centre), whose passion and precision
keep Cats alive. Photos: Jesse Kramer

The new cats’ meow

South Africa’s new Cats cast learns the brutal beauty behind a musical defined by sweat, stamina and sheer ensemble brilliance

Art of protest: Vaal Generationperformed at Artists Against Corruption’s show. Photo: JS Design

Fighting corruption through the arts

United by poems, plays and passion, artists tackle corruption head-on at a Joburg performance

Wheel fun: Whether you’re a petrolhead or just love a good vibe, the Auto Fest promises to be a day of ente

Diary: Auto festival, Live jazz, Contemporary dance

Your essential dose of art and culture

Ballet gave runner-turned-dancer Jerome Barnes purpose, strength and the power to defy limits

Defying gravity: Jerome Barnes’ story of dance, determination and destiny

Ballet gave runner-turned-dancer Jerome Barnes purpose, strength and the power to defy limits

Opening: Siviwe James’s exhibition Ubuhle Ngaphaya Kwameva.

Diary: Siviwe James goes solo, Una Rams and Muneyi release ndi a mufuna, Lorin Sookool at Artscape

Your essential dose of art and culture

Striking: Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero was choreographed by Gregory Maqoma.

Diary: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero, BMW Art Generation, live scores to silent films

Your essential dose of art and culture

Take that: Siyabonga Mhlanga and Lehlohonolo Sigaba were the first Africans to be invited to the Le Cinéma, Cent Ans de Jeunesse festival for young filmmakers in Lisbon, Portugal.

‘We killed it with our doccie’

Youngsters’ film about Thokoza gets an enthusiastic reception at a festival in Portugal

Memories: A scene from Dreamscape, a play about the life and death of
teenager Tyisha Miller, who was shot by police in California.

Play moves between dreaming and escaping

American play Dreamscape finds parallels in South Africa

Bright: Work by Sam Nhlengethwa at last year’s FNB Art Fair.

Basha Uhuru under the theme 30 years of creative freedom, Dates for Joburg Art Fair, With-Out Limits at UJ

Your essential dose of art and culture

Footloose: Whether it’s whirling dervishes or stadiums filled with people dancing to their favourite bands, movement is joyful medicine . Photo: Mireya Acierto/Getty Images

Lose yourself in dance and music to heal

People often rely on antidepressant medicine alone, when the power of collective song and dance is a neglected channel for increased endorphins, dopamine and lowered cortisol

In the spirit: Greg Maqoma says spirituality is important to him because it is closely linked to dance. Photo: Arthur Dlamini

Gregory Maqoma says farewell at the top of his game

Fit and fabulous at 50, Gregory Maqoma is leaving the stage but he is still a force in dance

Big step: Greg Maqoma is retiring as a dancer but he will continue to teach and choreograph. Photo:  Arthur Dlamini

A new stage for Gregory Maqoma, a dancing great

Artists and friends describe Gregory Maqoma as a selfless and kind-hearted person who contributed a great deal towards their success

Duet: The Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience will be presented in Durban and Johannesburg.

If there’s one thing you do this week …

A roundup of entertainment that is worth going to

Loaded with meaning: ‘The Head & the Load’ by artist William Kentridge, with choreography by Gregory Maqoma, and music by Philip Miller and Thuthuka Sibisi, is about the plight of black African porters in World War I.  Photos: Stella Olivier

Gregory Maqoma and William Kentridge: Exploring the violence done to African bodies

Choreographer Gregory Maqoma navigates grief and trauma through tradition and dance in his collaboration with artist William Kentridge, The Head & The Load

Music producer Evens Radebe works on a song with his partner Augustine Mbatha as dancer Jayden looks on.
Photo: Oupa Nkosi

The evolution of amapiano

Sound that has taken the world by storm is in danger of dying out in a lacklustre industry

The healing dance of SA’s “choreographic shaman”

Legendary dancer-choreographer Vincent Mantsoe is being honoured as the 2022 legacy artist at the 24th Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience

South Africa has made strides in ensuring access to primary school education for children despite their socio-economic status or geographic location, according to a global study. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Thuli Dlamini)

Why art and creativity is a crucial part of (in)formal education

Arts education is critical, because it has the capacity to liberate learners from economic, social and political forces. What’s needed is funding, training and political will

Local kuduro event in the neighbourhood of Sambizanga, Luanda, 2015. (Photo: Anita Baumann)

Hums and buzzes: From semba to kuduro in Luanda

Kuduro, an urban dance music style, pays post-apocalyptic tribute to Angola’s capital city

Young leader: Lisakhanya Mathiso (in red) believes that educating members of her community about the climate crisis helps them to understand that it affects everyone. (David Harrison/M&G)

Meet the young activist from Mitchells Plain who’s fighting for a greener world

Climate activist Lisakhanya Mathiso, 18, from Tafesig uses dance to educate people in her community about the climate crisis