PinnedVISCERAL, EXCITING, COMPELLING AND EMOTIONAL — “SHE POEMS” DELIVERS CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE AT ITS BESTBy Louise Buchler (Guest Writer) — Returning to this year’s JOMBA! is Spanish recipient of the Pina Bausch fellowship 2021 for dance and choreography, and for her lifetime commitment to the dialogue on decolonization: Aïda Colmenero Dïaz, with She Poems. Described as a collection of dance pieces/short films and photographs, She Poems is a multimedia feast…3 min read
Oct 3, 2021I-“Open Horizons” isinikeza ukubuka okungaphezulu kwesiteji njengoba abenzi bomdanso befinyelela esikrinini sonkeNguTammy Ballantyne (Umbhali Wezivakashi) Ukuhunyushwa nguLisa Goldstone — Ukubuka amafomu amade akhethiwe ayishumi asebenza ohlelweni olwenziwe kabusha lwe-JOMBA, i-Open Horizons, imicabango eminingi yagcwala emqondweni wami — yini esiyitholile kuCovid mayelana nokwenza umdanso? Yini esilahlekile? Ingabe lo msebenzi uyajabulisa futhi uyaheha? Ngingakunakekela kakhulu kangakanani ukubukela kwesikrini? Ngabe abadansi abancane abasina bazosinda ekuhlukanisweni nokusebenza bodwa? Phusha bese udonsa, Phusha bese…2 min read
Sep 27, 2021Ukuze uthule lapho uyophumula khona “Neverland!”NguLebogang Tswelapele Chauke Kuhunyushwe nguLisa Goldstone — Izinkinga eziphathelene nokugula ngengqondo zivame ukuphenduka izindlela zokuhlekisa ngabantu, kuyilapho ukongiwa kwemvelo kuphila ezindebeni zabantu kuphela. Angikwazanga ukuhlala esitulweni sami ngesikhathi sokuhlolwa kwemisebenzi yokubambisana kuhlelo lwe “JOMBA! and Crossings”. Kulolu hlelo kwakukhona iNEVERLAND kaSylvester Thamsanqa Majela eyayithonywe uPeter Pan kaJM Barrie noLeaving Neverland kaMichael Jackson, bobabili babephenya ukuthi ukucabanga kukuthinta…2 min read
Sep 26, 2021Limon Dance Company travels back in time from the presentBy Slindile Mchunu — The Limón Dance Company (New York, USA) integrates the old with new on their platform at the 23rd JOMBA! Dance Experience with two works from Jóse Limón (co-founder of the dance company) that are two of the 20th century’s greatest works of modern choreography, together with a contemporary piece from…2 min read
Sep 5, 2021Catching waves in “ONDA — into the unknown”By Lebogang Tswelapele Chauke — ONDA — into the unknown is a collaborative piece by Hannah Ma and Sebastian M. Purfürst with the hannahma dance company (Germany) featuring on the “European and American Crossings” platform, forming part of the 23rd JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience. The performance was inspired by their research into human interconnectedness and…2 min read
Sep 5, 2021Exploration of the in-betweenness of imaginary space and reality in Pickle Factory’s “I m/Material”By Boitumelo Makousu and Siphumelele Gumede — Moving between fiction and reality, the eight films in I m/Material, presented on the Indian Crossings platform on JOMBA!, use space to evoke emotional experiences through dance. Through the blending of Mudras (hand gestures) and Naad (sound) with contemporary dance movements, all the dance films seek to explore in-betweenness and…4 min read
Sep 5, 2021“She Poems”: GIVING VOICE TO THE BODY SO THAT IT MAY SPEAKBy Marcia Mzindle (Guest Writer) — Begun in 2013, She Poems is a Contemporary Art project inspired by poems written by women and created and produced in Africa. The series is created by Aïda Colmenero Dïaz (Madrid, Spain) in collaboration with a diverse range of female African artists from across the continent including Khadija Nasibu and…2 min read
Sep 5, 2021Exploring Africa through embodied poetry in “She Poems”by Vicki Galloway-Place — The dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable. Dancing is poetry with arms and legs - Charles Baudelaire When I read the programme for the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, the performance She Poems immediately stood out…3 min read
Sep 4, 2021Mesmerising dance explores themes of devotion and mental illness at JOMBA! 2021By Georgia Kingsman — Through both Unhinged and Al-Kitab the themes of religion, mental health, and freedom are explored through the medium of dance, spoken word and movement on screen. Both an inspiring pleasure to watch; enhanced by the change of scenery, use of visual effects, and enchanting, tense soundscapes. Al-Kitab draws on South…2 min read
Sep 4, 2021Manuel’s “Al-Kitab” and “Unhinged” use the body to confront the perpetual internal conflict of multiplicityBy Siphumelele Gumede — The 2021 Mellon Artist in Residence, Yaseen Manuel, presented two films on the digital JOMBA! stage in collaboration with the Flatfoot Dance Company. Al-Kitab and Unhinged document the inner discord of transgressive identity and contending with alternative realities. Manuel’s choreography sustains tension and embodies the perpetual internal conflict of multiplicity. …3 min read
