Dance Umbrella 2013

The Birthday Celebrations continue!!!

 

Dance Umbrella 2013, celebrating its 25th anniversary, will be ‘dancing all over Johannesburg’, at various theatres, from August 31 to September 15.

Presented by Dance Forum in association with the Johannesburg Arts Alive International Festival this year’s programme promises exceptional contemporary dance and choreography from local and international choreographers. Five international choreographers and two international collaborative works are featured at Dance Umbrella 2013.

Three dancers from the William Forsythe Company in Germany, Ioannis Mandafounis, Fabrice Mazliah and May Zarhy, open Dance Umbrella 2013 with their work, Cover Up at the Dance Factory on August 31 and September 1 at 18:00.

Cover Up is a multi-media work that looks at impressions and how it affects people differently. It is set in the aesthetic landscape of a theatre and is a choreographed exchange of live images, creating a play on the mechanism of appearance production. Reflecting on what is under the surface, that which is appealing, that which is superficial, that which is available to the eye, which might be catchy, tacky or cheesy, is put into play. The piece guides the viewer’s attention to that which may be just outside the spotlight and pauses there for a moment of thought. In this work, the trio Mandafounis / Mazliah / Zarhy treat the stage as a field of connotations, giving the spectators a dynamic and visual engagement. Cover Up is presented in partnership with the Goethe Institut-Johannesburg.

Pro-Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council will present Another Chopstick Story/Swan by T42 Dance Projects, with choreography by Misato Inoue and Félix Duméril at the Wits Theatre on September 6 at 18:00.

Another Chopstick Story shows that the great success of Madame Butterfly is not difficult to understand. Madame Butterfly represents the stereotype of the oriental perfect woman, obedient, sweet, pure and faithful; however, a close examination of Madame Butterfly has profound implications and shows mistaken assumptions about our identity.

Another Chopstick Story explores the struggle in coming to grips with one’s own identity, and the misconceptions between East and West and between men and women. The second piece is Black Swan: is it possible that innocence, vulnerability and elegance can only manifest in one shape? We may see white, with its absence of colour, as purity; it has no memory; whereas black is the saturation of colour that is recurrent waves of pain and secrets. Yet if we look deep into this profound despair, fear, guilt and anger we will find a similarity to innocence. Such is the infinite field of unfolding possibilities.

I Feel Ya, the collaboration between Moving into Dance Mophatong, Zuluboy and the Cross Over Dance Company from the Netherlands, will be presented at the Market Theatre on September 7 and 8 at 18:30 and 15:00. These artists join forces to take one on an adventure into a world where no sound exists and bring Hip Hop and traditional African dance together with sign language. I Feel Ya is presented in partnership with the Fonds Podium Kunsten Netherlands.

Our Lady of the Flowers is presented by the Portuguese choreographer Francisco Camacho/EIRA on Sunday September 8 at the Wits Theatre at 18:00. The work, considered a milestone in European and Portuguese contemporary dance, is presented again in South Africa (20 years after its 1993 première and 40 presentations in different theatres and festivals in Europe and South America). It looks at obsession, love and dance as a movement of sensual pleasure.

Our Lady of the Flowers shares the title of Jean Genet’s piece, but just the title; this creation is a glimpse – in the dark – about the inauguration of subjectivity that is, and always has been, gendered. With a dress that can also be a religious habit, heavy, thick (despite the flowerings), the figure that Camacho inhabits or that inhabits him, is an ambiguous one. Sometimes, it can be even read as abject. With the eyes closed, that figure is born, reborn and gets done/undone several times. This piece is based on multiple “becomings”: a figure that becomes a man, a woman, a child perhaps, through an ongoing performance of gender. However, the relationship with the grapes, the gown in which the figure inhabits, allows an understanding of this piece through a critical reading based on ambivalence. It is presented in partnership with the Government of Portugal and the Secretary for Culture.

The critically acclaimed work of the USA-based choreographer Helanius J. Wilkins, C/lose/r is at the Dance Factory on September 10 and 11 at 20:00. The work navigates the artist from questions to answers while exploring his own personal new found revelations and marks a shift in Wilkins’ creative process – rather than beginning with choreography or the creation of set movements, he allows his own bodily actions and sensory engagements to guide the process as well as the performance. The result is an ever-changing and indeterminate journey that is different for each iteration. The performance not only gives the audience a glimpse into a new way of moulding movement, but also informs Wilkins’ own deepening of ways in which our senses guide knowledge production. Wilkins returned to the university setting in 2011 to pursue graduate studies, as an extension of his artistic journey. /Close/r is the culmination of his performance work for his MFA and is presented in partnership with the DC Commission on the Arts and

Humanities and supported by the National Endowment of the Arts USA. Nudity is featured in this work and is not recommended for children.

The internationally acclaimed Senegalese choreographer Germaine Acogny brings her new solo work called Songook Yaakaar (facing up to hope) to the Market Theatre on September 11 and 12 at 19:30.

With this new work Acogny speaks again with her body, her gestures, her dance – but not only that…she also talks and laughs and shouts and whispers. Acogny makes you meet her Africa: its leaders, its people and life today, showing that there is hope in spite of everything. After a long career as dancer, choreographer and teacher, Songook Yaakaar is presented in partnership with the French Institute of South Africa.

The collaboration between the South African Mcebisi Bhayi and Singaporean Joey Chua resulted in a work called Givers and Takers. This work, which explores the perennial themes in human relationships: love, sex and power, can be seen at the Barney Simon Theatre on September 13 and 14 at 18:00.

Also included in the jam-packed, two week long programme are commissioned works from South African choreographers, Stepping Stones, the popular Face-to-Face interviews, meetings, networking opportunities and Master Classes for dancers.

Dance Umbrella 2013 extends a thank you to its many partners, without whom the festival would not have been presented: Johannesburg International Arts Alive Festival, City of Johannesburg, Gauteng Provincial Government, Goethe Institut-Johannesburg The National Arts Council; Rand Merchant Bank; Business and Arts South Africa, French Institute of South Africa; French Consul; National Arts Council Singapore, Portuguese Government, Pro-Helvetia: Swiss Arts Council Fonds Podium Kunsten: Netherlands and media partner The Sunday Times.

Dance Umbrella 2013 takes place in Johannesburg at various theatres from 31 August to15 September. Tickets, from R60 – R100 are available through Computicket – 083 915 8000 / www.computicket.com or call 011 492 2033.

Please visit www.danceforum.co.za or Dance Umbrella on Facebook or @DanceUmbrellaSA on Twitter for further information.