South African online contemporary dance conference attracts global participation
Papers, digital engagements, and further dialogues open up important discussions around contemporary identity and how it relates to imagined and real histories as they intersect with culture and tradition in dance-making. The theme is set up as both a question and as a tipping point to think about our futures.
The annual online South African contemporary dance conference JOMBA! MASIHAMBISANE DIALOGUES, hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts’ JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, taking place from May 22 to 24, 2024, has attracted significant participation from around the globe.
This conference or academic colloquium, is now in its fourth edition and will feature dance-makers, academics, dancers, educators, and researchers from 11 countries including Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, France, Germany, South Africa, UK, USA, and Zimbabwe. The theme or ‘provocation’ this year is ‘(Re)Turn To The Drum’, looking at contemporary dance’s engagements with traditions, cultures, memory, hybridity, and contested identities
The conference, which is free and open to all interested, features keynote addresses, panel discussions, as well as ‘abstracts or paper’ presented by participants.
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An opening keynote address will be made by steering committee member, Dr Mbongeni Mtshali, a performance-maker, scholar, artist, and teacher based at the University of Cape Town, in dialogue with the rest of the steering committee that includes dance-focussed academics, researchers, and practitioners: Clare Craighead (lecturer at the Durban University of Technology), David Thatanelo April (director, teacher, choreographer, and dance lobbyist), Gift Marovatsanga (CEO and facilitator at Refined Images Studio), Dr Lliane Loots (lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal), Dr Sarahleigh Castelyn (associate professor/ reader at University of East London, UK), Thobile Maphanga (dance practitioner, scholar, creative collaborator, and reading for her MA at UKZN) and Prof Yvette Hutchison (South African reader/ associate professor at the University of Warwick UK).
Papers, digital engagements, and further dialogues open up important discussions around contemporary identity and how it relates to imagined and real histories as they intersect with culture and tradition in dance-making. The theme is set up as both a question and as a tipping point to think about our futures.
The conference will be streamed live on YouTube on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/jomba_dance. Participants will present on Zoom, and those who wish to apply to join in the ‘Zoom Room’, can contact Thobile Maphanga via email at [email protected]. For more information and news, as well as the schedule, visit https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/masihambisane-dialogues/
