SOWETO

Published in partnership with the Goethe Institut and Jacana Media in May 2010, Jodi Bieber’s most recent book is Soweto, which offers a celebration and portrait of life in the sprawling township today.

"The importance of Soweto in the collective consciousness is hard to overstate,” the Jacana Media press material. “It registers as a place born of resistance, perhaps even embodying the South African struggle for freedom. But the birth of Kwaito is attributed to Soweto too. And beyond the grand narratives, there is and always was a proliferation of dancing, art and fashion in this place defined by its energy and cosmopolitan nature."

In a casual conversation with her French/Swedish friend, Axel Gylden, who writes for L’Express, he drew her attention to the fact that there were very few contemporary photographic books on Soweto. This got her thinking.

“Soweto is on our doorstep and sometimes we take significant things and places for granted,” states Jodi Bieber in her opening, From Which Country Are You?. Early in her photographic career, she would ask Robin Comley, then-picture editor of The Star newspaper if she could go and take her own photographs in Soweto. “I remember as the light softened in the late afternoon,” she writes, “the gogos (grandmothers in Zulu) on the streets used to say: ”don’t stay too long, the tsotsis (criminals) will be out after dark”. Finally, they would ask me, “From which country are you?” “

The image of the limp body of Hector Pieterson being carried in the 1976 student uprising is arguably the most famous image of Soweto. Other stereotypical images are dusty streets, poverty and gang culture but Bieber set out to change these perceptions. Travelling 7,000 kilometres by car over three months, she stopped whenever her instinct told her there was a good photograph to be taken.

Author Niq Mhlongo (Dog Eat Dog and After Tears, both published by Kwela) offers Zwakal’eMsawawa, in which he shares his memories of growing up in Soweto. The foreword is written by Peter Anders and Cara Snyman of the Goethe-Institut.

Life in Soweto is based outdoors – on the pavements and in the streets and music is everywhere, different styles, different rhythms – and very loud! Fashion defies description, many humble shacks are decorated with dignity, pride and creativity and the variety of food on offer now even includes vegetarian.

The images in this book are fascinating and capture a unique vitality. Yes, indeed, there are dilapidated buildings, graffiti-ridden walls, rubble, tin shanties with stones holding down roofs – but there’s also a sense of style, individualism and a positive attitude. There are some heart-warming photographs of families – and a delicious picture of wide-eyed twins in 54 jerseys and brand new shoes! There’s also a strong sense of spirituality and faith alongside people in trendy gear. Each picture has a story to tell if you take the time to let it speak to you.

Soweto is available from leading book stores: ISBN 978-1-77009-806-0. More information on www.jodibieber.com – Caroline Smart

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? To live in or leave South Africa published by Two Dogs features articles by 16 authors on the subject of whether or not to emigrate. Apparently, it appears that more than a million South Africans have emigrated since the early 1990s.

The subject of staying or leaving gets bandied about on email, facebook and sms. Subjects such as corruption, crime, education, increased rates and an unreliable electricity supply, not to mention the rantings of Julius Malema, are in the forefront of public concern. Appalling driving and potholes also create a major irritation factor – although having spent three days in Kenya recently, I’m never complaining about potholes or taxi drivers again. They’re way ahead!

Edited by Tim Richman, Should I Stay Or Should I Go? sets out to provide some answers to those desperately wanting to leave – for whatever reason – but having no idea of where to go and how to go about it.

The authors include high-profile literary figures such as André Brink (And Yet I Wish to Stay), Jacob Dlamini Checking Out), and Kevin Bloom (I’m South African. I Live Maybe Fifteen Kilometres From Here).

Their pieces feature alongside Liz Butler (I Keep Going Back), Sarah Britten (How Not to Emigrate), Kerry Rogers (My People Have Moved), Ian Macdonald (I Want to Stay, I Need to Stay), Daniel Ford (My Torn Heart) and Ted Botha & Jenni Baxter (The Accidental Expat and the Voice of Reason).

Then there’s Sarah Penny (I am a Transnational), James Carolin (Going Home), Barry Levy (The Souls from Nowhereland), Gillian Tucker (For Better, For Worse, This is where I now Belong), Anne Townsend (Wasn’t I Meant to be Going to Japan?) and Louie Cowan (Anything’s Possible). Each has a story to tell – some humorous, some bitter, many poignant but always informative and well-written. In his Acknowledgements, Richman thanks the authors for “writing candidly and honestly on an often emotional topic”.

Major question: who could tear oneself away from South Africa’s weather? Ok, it gets hectic at times but where would you find sunshine most of the year? To quote the book: “… weather/climate has been proven to play an influential role in personal contentment. Its bearing on individual happiness is often overlooked by those looking to emigrate, and returning South Africans often cite weather as a primary reason for coming home”.

Also, how do you chose the country with the best education system, stronger crime control, a standard of living like the one you’re used to, vehicle/traffic issues …?

There’s a helpful section on the 14 most popular emigrant cities offering the Mercer quality-of-living ranking as well some salient positives and negatives, eg. London (“Anonymity can be depressing”); Dublin (miserable weather); New York (strong dollar and potential for earning); San Francisco (expensive, particularly property); Los Angeles (terrible traffic problems); Atlanta (tornados), Toronto (long winters “spent hibernating indoors”); Perth (”the snakes and sharks can freak you out”); Brisbane (very low crime rate); Sydney (people known to be quite cliquey); Melbourne (decent public transport) … and so it goes on. Quite a telling illustration is the map that shows where these cities are, with nothing in South America, Africa or Europe!

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? To live in or leave South Africa is published in soft cover (210mm x 148mm) by Two Dogs. Recommended Retail Price: R145. EAN/ISBN-13: 978-1-92013-730-4 – Caroline Smart

KZNPO CONCERT: OCTOBER 28, 2010

Soloist played with impeccable technique and poise. (Review by Michael Green)

The Korean pianist Young-Choon Park is one of those remarkable performers from the East who have made such an impact in the world of music in recent years.

She created a fine impression when she gave a recital for the Friends of Music in Durban about two months ago, and now she has appeared with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra at a symphony concert in the City Hall.

She played one of the major works in the repertory, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 566, dramatic, often dark and almost sinister music that shows the full range of Mozart’s genius. As the musicologist Eric Blom said many years ago, the first movement begins and ends with a shudder. There is gentle relief in the slow movement, and the final Rondo is a brilliant example of Mozart’s ceaseless inventiveness.

Young-Choon Park, a small, neat figure on the stage, played with impeccable technique and poise, though I felt that she could have been a little more assertive in the first movement. The lengthy first movement cadenza was most extraordinary, a puzzle for the listeners and, it seems, for the orchestra players. Apparently the pianist had a memory lapse and had to improvise until she reached the trills which enabled the orchestra to rejoin the action.

The slow movement, Romanze, was played with a beautiful cantabile tone, and the Rondo was taken at high speed and with an accurate perception of its contrasting moods.

In all this the conductor, Alessandro Crudele, retained an admirable calmness and control. He is a young man from Italy, a tall elegant figure who conducts with economical but fluent gestures.

The concert opened with Haydn’s Symphony No. 19 in D major, a delightful 12-minute work by the master who wrote 104 symphonies, and ended with Mozart’s great Symphony No. 40 in G minor.

Alessandro Crudele obtained very good results from the orchestra, and his dress, white tie and tails, was a pleasant change from the eccentric garb affected by some other occupants of the City Hall podium. - Michael Green

NPC–CIMPOR PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

Now in its second year, the NPC–CIMPOR Develop A New Angle On Concrete photographic competition attracted more than 400 entries from enthusiastic amateur and professional photographers across KwaZulu-Natal. This was a 100% growth on 2009. Photographers were required to capture images which feature concrete and cement predominantly in their design, whilst also being beautiful, interesting and striking!

Inspired by KwaZulu-Natal cityscapes, concrete bridges and a variety of innovative concrete structures, the judges were impressed by the extremely high standard of the submitted works. Commenting on this, Mo Hope-Baille of the Photographic Society of South Africa said, “We were looking for images that celebrated the art of cement and concrete; that told a story and delivered on brief. And, the extremely high standard of the entries we received made judging extremely difficult.”

The three award-winning photographs along with the top 50 finalists will be on display at the KZNSA Gallery with entrance free to the public.

The NPC–CIMPOR Develop a New Angle on Concrete Photographic Competition runs from November 2 to 7. (There is no opening function for this exhibition.) The KZNSA Gallery is situated in Bulwer Road, Glenwood. More information on 031 277 1705 or email: gallery@kznsagallery.co.za or visit www.kznsagallery.co.za

UNHINGED

Special performance from GeeJays at Heritage Theatre on October 29.

Aaron McIllroy's show Unplucked is currently running at The Heritage Theatre. However, due to personal commitments Aaron is unable to perform this Friday (October 29). So to accommodate Friday patrons, Heritage Theatre management has called in the ever-popular Gee Jays to entertain with a special compilation show of some of their finest material.

Gary McKenzie, Grant Bell and John Didlick will feature in a “one-off” performance of Unhinged, a show featuring all the best excerpts from their most popular shows down the years, re-visiting some of the most hilarious moments in their successful career.

With excerpts like Roy Orbison’s Crying and Not The Nine O’Clock News from their first smash hit show Not The Full Monty and I m Too Sexy For My Shirt from The Three Tonners, the show promises to have the audience in stitches. Also in the line-up are other memorable moments from their box office hits Swooners and Crooners, Stop It I Like It, Raising The Standards and others.

Tickets for Unhinged on October 29 come at a special pre-Halloween price of R150 pp which includes the show and a two-course meal! There is limited seating so booking is essential on 031 765 4197. Heritage Theatre is situated at the Heritage Market in Hillcrest.

MICHAEL GREEN’S WINE NOTES #244

Graham Beck, who died last July at the age of 80, made a large fortune out of coal-mining in Northern Natal and was well-known as a breeder of racehorses, but he is probably best remembered today for the fine wines that have emerged from the estate which he established nearly 30 years ago at Robertson, followed later by another at Franschhoek.

Graham Beck Wines now produces a wide range of about 30 different wines, and the establishment had the distinction of being represented by its wines at the inauguration ceremonies of both President Nelson Mandela and President Barack Obama. The cellarmaster, incidentally, is Pieter Ferreira, who was born and bred in Durban.

When our private tasting group met recently the host, Alf Sudheim, presented an interesting and most enjoyable selection of Graham Beck wines.

We began with the Graham Beck Rose Brut, a Methode Cap Classique sparking wine made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. This was a distinguished starter, a delicate pink colour with raspberries and cherries in the bouquet and the taste. It retails at about R80 a bottle.

For the tasting proper we were given three whites and four reds, all with the Graham Beck label. As usual, the tasting and scoring were blind, the order of the wines not being revealed until afterwards.

Identification was no problem with the whites; I think all eight of us named them correctly. Top marks among the whites, and indeed in the entire tasting, went to the Sauvignon Blanc, an outstanding example of this cultivar, herbaceous, grassy, with fig and gooseberry features. Price: about R57. The other whites tasted were the Chardonnay, matured in French oak barrels for nine months, with citrus and lime on the nose and palate (R76) and the Waterside White, an unoaked chardonnay, not as vivid as the other two but very pleasant, light easy drinking (R35).

The red wines were: The William, 2006 vintage, named after Graham Beck’s grandson, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, pinotage and petit verdot, full-bodied (14,5 percent alcohol), complex, with mulberry and plum flavours - price R110. The Game Reserve 2008, cabernet sauvignon, typical dark colour, blackberry flavours, excellent now but will probably be even better in two or three years’ time (R80). Merlot 2006, barrel matured for 14 months, berries and fruit cake (R77). Railroad Red, a very attractive blended wine, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Rich and spicy, 14,8 percent alcohol. It scored well in our markings. It is a big seller. You can buy it in Durban for R35, and at that price, or even a bit more, it is very good value. – Michael Green

22ND ANNUAL JAZZ JOL

(Marc Duby)

A highlight of Durban’s jazz calendar, the annual UKZN Jazz Jol is hosted by the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music in aid of the Ronnie Madonsela Scholarship which provides financial assistance to jazz students in the School of Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The Jazz Jol will take place on October 30, featuring former alumnus Karendra Devroop and Sthembiso Ntuli (saxophone), Marc Duby (bass) and Sbu Zondi (drums). They will be joined by local musicians and UKZN jazz staff Neil Gonsalves (piano), Debbie Mari (vocals), Mageshen Naidoo (guitar) and Susan Barry (piano). Also on the bill is the usual appearance of the UKZN Big Band and close-harmony jazz vocal group, UKZN Voices, as well as Johannesburg-based Afro-Jazz fusion band Four Fourty. The evening will end with the UKZN jazz programme’s senior student ensemble.

One of the first South African bands to perform at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, Four Forty has shared the stage with several local and international acts including the legendary Bheki Mseleku, Mcoy Mrubata and Abigail Khubeka and was the opening act for Kirk Whalum during his 2003 South Africa tour. The band has repeatedly been nominated for several South African music awards. Four Forty features Vee Sabongo (saxophones), Mvuzo Dimba (piano), Steven Mabona (bass), Jerry Dibakoane (drums) and Speech Khoza (percussion)

Bassist Marc Duby began his professional career as bassist in 1972, obtaining the first South African masters’ degree in jazz performance (cum laude) in 1987. A prize-winning composer of film music, and active as a performer, music educator and composer/arranger, in 2006 he completed his PhD on Soundpainting, the sign language for live composition devised by New York-based composer/improviser Walter Thompson. In 2001, he was appointed as the first director of the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band. In over 25 years as a music educator, he has taught and mentored many outstanding musicians who have gone on to successful careers as instrumentalists and/or producers. He has appeared on recordings with artists such as Darius Brubeck, Philip Tabane, Barney Rachabane, Tony Cox, Syd Kitchen, and Bruce Cassidy, to name a few. After 15 years at TUT’s department of jazz and popular music, he is now Professor and Head of Department of Music at Rhodes University. Marc Duby is married to the singer/composer Lydia vom Hagen.

The Jazz Jol starts at 19h30 on October 30. Tickets R80 (R35 students with valid student cards). Bookings through Angela on 031 260 3385. There will be a cash bar and plenty of prizes to give away during the evening.

QUATUOR CONNECTION

(Valerie Houssier, Maxine Matthews, Paul Richard and Cecile Dubois)

Diverse classical saxophone quartet for Phansi Museum on November 4.

Coming to South Africa for their debut tour of concerts and master classes from France is the classical saxophone quartet Quatuor Connection. All previous students of Cecile Dubois (soprano saxophone), this quartet was formed under her auspicious guidance at the Besancon Conservatoire. Having won her gold medal from the Paris Conservatoire, Cecile Dubois is one of the most acclaimed and sought-after saxophonists of her generation. Having won numerous international competitions she performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra member. It is under her excellent direction that this quartet will grace the soil of South Africa.

Quatuor Connection is made up of Cecile Dubois on soprano, Paul Richard on alto (France), Maxine Matthews on tenor (South Africa) and Valerie Houssier on baritone (France). Quatuor Connection envisages forming a link between South Africa and France by the sharing of their music and the inspiration of young talent.

Quatuor Connection will perform on November 4 at 19h30. Tickets R40 booked on 031 206 2889 or 083 450 3270. Phansi Museum is situated at 500 Esther Roberts (formerly Frere) Road in Glenwood, Durban. More information on 031 206 889, fax 0865 462482, cell 083 4503270 or email: info@phansi.com or visit www.phansi.com

7TH FESTIVAL OF ITALIAN OPERA

The Opera Studio and Choral Academy (School of Music) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in collaboration with Italian Institute of Culture in Pretoria and Consulate of Italy will present the Seventh Festival of Italian Opera as an evening performance on October 30. This operatic presentation by the students of OSCA marks the occasion of the Tenth Edition of the International Week of the Italian Language.

The concert takes place on the UKZN Durban campus at Howard College Theatre on October 30 at 18h30. Entrance is free and light refreshments will be served. For bookings contact Lori Barausee on 031 260 2380 or email: baraussel@ukzn.ac.za

STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTISTS 2011

Durban’s Neil Coppen among arts ambassadors of a new generation.

The 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winners are “a group of diversely unique individuals with distinctive artistic voices, who are bringing a fresh edge to their respective disciplines,” said National Arts Festival Committee Chairman Jay Pather at the announcement of the winners of the prestigious award in Johannesburg, hosted by Standard Bank.

The winners of the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards, are Nandipha Mntambo for Visual Art; Ben Schoeman for Music; Neil Coppen for Theatre; Bokani Dyer for Jazz and Mamela Nyamza for Dance.

Acknowledged as one of the most prestigious of their kind, these awards honour young South African artists on the brink of national acclaim by providing them with financial support and a platform for experimentation at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

“Based on artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement, the winners of the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Awards are five remarkable individuals who are on top of their game. Their creativity, talent and fortitude is making a significant contribution to the cultural vibrancy of our country,” said National Arts Festival Director, Ismail Mahomed.

The winners are also given various opportunities to represent South Africa on international stages as a result of their association with the award.

Mandie van der Spuy, Standard Bank Head of Arts and Jazz Sponsorship said, “As a bank we are committed to nurturing arts talent in South Africa, and we believe that the awards play a vital role in advancing the artists’ careers as well as our country’s cultural heritage. We are proud of the results that this award has delivered over the past 27 years as it forms a central part of Standard Bank’s committed role in developing upcoming South African talent.”

As part of their prize, each of the winners will be featured at the 2011 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown (June 30 - July 10) on the Main programme, where they will be given the opportunity to develop and première novel pieces of work.

“I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Standard Bank for their loyal and continued support of the arts, and in particular their great investment towards this award,” said this year’s winner for Music, pianist Ben Schoeman.

“It’s such a great feeling to be recognised in your country,” said 2011 Dance winner, Mamela Nyamza. “Thanks to Standard Bank and this award, I can now travel the world with confidence and carry the flag with me everywhere I go, hoping that I will make my country proud for this recognition,” she added.

“Winning this award is wonderful,” said Nandipha Mntambo, 2011 winner for Visual Art. “At this stage of my career it is a great affirmation of my achievements within my art practice.”

“Ismail Mahomed and the National Arts Festival team have taken risks to allow emerging theatre makers like myself to be seen on a national platform, and I cannot thank them enough for the exposure, encouragement and support,” said 2011 winner for Theatre, Neil Coppen. “I am in awe of the many talents, on stage and off, who I have had the fortune of collaborating with over the years. This award would not be possible without their considerable inputs and I share it with dozens of artists, collaborators and friends who make what I do possible.”

“The Standard Bank Young Artist Award is a blessing. Being recognized as someone doing something worthwhile is encouraging,” said this year’s Jazz winner, Bokani Dyer. “I look at the previous winners of this award who are all musicians who I admire and respect, so to be a winner of this award is a great honour.”

Previous winners of this award include William Kentridge, Sibongile Khumalo, Johnny Clegg, Andrew Buckland, Sibongile Mngoma, Janice Honeyman, Sam Nhlengethwa, Richard E Grant and various other nationally and internationally acclaimed South African arts icons.

The Young Artist Awards were started in 1981 by the National Arts Festival to acknowledge emerging, relatively young South African artists who have displayed an outstanding talent in their artistic endeavours. These prestigious awards are presented annually to deserving artists in different disciplines, affording them national exposure and acclaim. Standard Bank took over the sponsorship of the awards in 1984 and presented Young Artist Awards in all the major arts disciplines over their 27-year sponsorship, as well as posthumous and special recognition awards. The winners feature on the main programme of the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown and receive financial support for their Festival participation, as well as a cash prize

“In its 27th year of sponsoring this prestigious award, Standard Bank enables the National Arts Festival to offer each of these artists a golden opportunity to create something special for Festival audiences the opportunity and the incentive to be showcased on the Festival's Main programme,” added Ismail Mahomed. “In this way, the Festival encourages these outstanding individuals to continue with their high level of practice as contemporary South Africa artists and, at the same time, to continue to inspire other artists of their own generation.”

BHAKTI

(Pic by Val Adamson: Ntombi Gasa, Pravika Nandkishore and Nomusa Ngubane)

Freshly returned from a highly successful Netherlands tour, the multi-award winning Flatfoot Dance Company is to present a uniquely created work. Artistic Director of Flatfoot, choreographer Lliane Loots, has joined forces with her Flatfoot company and some of Durban’s finest classically trained Indian dancers to collaborate on a seamless intercultural fusion of dance, spoken word, film and music.

Bhakti, also the Sanskrit word for devotion, is an hour-long dance theatre work that offers a unique journey into the meeting of Eastern mystical philosophy and African contemporary dance rhythms. Spoken word poet Iain ewok Robinson, blends his street-style word rhymes with the ancient wisdom of Rumi’s poetry, and the dancers begin the ancient whirling of the Sufi dervishes as they embark on the process of unlocking ‘the door’ - and so begins Bhakti.

Karen Logan’s inimitable film style offers close up images of hand mudras, of ancient texts coming to life on the stage; all of this blending in Loots’ layered choreographic award-winning style that offers audiences a ‘total theatre’ experience.

“This is a dance work that has been mulling in my head for a long time,” says Lliane Loots. “My own physical and spiritual journeys to the East, and my deeply embedded love of my home – Africa – all come together in this work which is really a long dance prayer or devotion offered to gods, goddesses and ancestors alike. I am delighted to have finally been able to gather together a group of dancers, musicians and artists who are able to journey with me in what is ultimately a collaborative creative process. More than anything else, this is a work about joy, light and the simple and yet deeply complex devotion of dance and theatre making. I would like audiences to come away from Bhakti feeling like they have emerged from being in the company of something really beautiful and sacred – and to feel transformed by it”.

Joining Flatfoot Dance Company in Bhakti are four of Durban’s most celebrated classical Indian dancers. Pravika Nandkishore, Evashnee Pillay, Kymmona Maharajh and Kajal Bagwandeen all have celebrated individual careers in dance, theatre and film. They come to Bhakti to share with Loots in this dance theatre vision and to be pushed into new directions as dancers. Also guesting with Flatfoot is Siwela Sonke’s Ntombi Gasa. An award-winning choreographer and dancer in her own right, Gasa renews a long-term working relationship with Loots. Being a skilled classical Indian dancer herself, she adds her expert presence to the creation of this groundbreaking work.

Adding the soundscape to this theatrical milestone is veteran musician Madala Kunene whose maskanda guitar echoes haunting rhythms for the dancers. Also joining him is master djembe drummer Mandla Matsha who has often collaborated with Flatfoot Dance Company. Completing the trio of musicians is tabla player Vishen Kemraj whose extraordinary drumming skills are known internationally. In a sound perfect fusion, these three musicians weave an original score for the dancers as they offer up theatrical devotions for the audience.

Bhakti has been made possible primarily by KZN DanceLink whose generous support of the creation of this work forms part of the organisation’s professional development platform for dance in Durban and KZN. Entrusting Loots with the creative process, KZN DanceLink has welcomed the exposure of dancers from all styles and training backgrounds being guided and nurtured into a creative process that grows and develops contemporary dance expression in KZN and South Africa.

Bhakti runs in the Playhouse Drama Theatre from November 4 to 6 at 19h30 and on November 7 at 15h00. Tickets R65 (R45 student/scholar/pensioner with group bookings of more than 10 tickets at R55 pp). Booking through Computicket or at the door (pending availability of tickets).

KZN DanceLink and Flatfoot Dance Company acknowledge the support of the National Arts Council of South Africa, HIVOS, and the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund.

SOUL REBEL

Flatfoot Dance Company invites dance lovers to share its dance education and development work as Flatfoot ends another successful year of dance programmes and projects run in KZN (urban and rural areas) over 2010. Flatfoot’s annual end of year concert has become an institution on the KZN dance calendar where audiences can share the work it has been doing with over 600 young KZN dancers.

This year features a special performance by the Flatfoot Training Company –a mellow and moving homage to the great Bob Marley and is entitled Soul Rebel (the signature work of the afternoon) with choreography by Lliane Loots in collaboration with Magesh Ngcobo, Sifiso Khumalo and Jabu Siphika.

Soul Rebel has one performance on October 30 at 14h00 in the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre and entrance is free!

Flatfoot Dance Company acknowledges the support of the National Arts Council of South Africa and HIVOS towards the realisation of its dance performance and dance education work.

TRIBUTE TO CELESTE LITKIE

By Themi Venturas

Seldom had I met a more driven, dynamic and dedicated individual as Celeste Litkie. We met as fellow students at the University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama. Along with Brenda Radloff (now Devar-Sakelarides), Mark Faith, Melanie Bowles (now Kettner) and myself, we studied and played together all the way through the early 80’s graduating in 1984 with Honours degrees in Drama. For the next few years, we all formed the innovative Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre Company during which time we honed our skills and became theatre professionals. Celeste gave a memorable performance of Sissy in Fugard’s People Are Living There. She was often the actress who was celebrated as the comedienne in our group often compared to Carol Burnett, who was popular at the time on TV.

When the EST company was dissolved, most of us carried on in our own way. Mark Faith went overseas, Melanie got married to an evangelist and also went overseas, Brenda started her freelance career, I joined NAPAC and Celeste - who had married her varsity boyfriend Paul Zaloumis - settled down to becoming a mother of daughter Stephanie, and a freelance performing artist. During this time she appeared in many NAPAC productions, moved to Cape Town to accompany her husband who was doing post graduate studies. She continued to appear in shows on a freelance basis, and did her Masters Degree and then her Doctorate at UDW with Dr Dennis Schauffer in which she recorded the contribution of SA Indians to the SA Theatre Industry. She moved to Johannesburg briefly, again because of her husband’s work commitments. While in Johannesburg she expanded her network and worked as a freelance performer both on stage and on television.

The family then emigrated to Australia for a while - again as a result of Paul’s work commitments. While in Australia, Celeste honed her writing skills and made work for herself worldwide on the internet. During this time she began doing writing work for VWV in the corporate sector. By now her second child, Thomas, was born. On returning to SA and because of her connection to VWV she joined them and specialized in Corporate Theatre work. Celeste worked her way to the very top of the Corporate Theatre world, becoming the Artistic Director of VWV and later of the O’Mage group and handling some of the biggest launches in the country including the five-centre launch of the Mercedes Benz ‘C’ class factory in East London.

The Corporate Theatre lifestyle took its toll on her marriage and Celeste and Paul were divorced, and soon thereafter her health took a turn for the worse as a result of ‘burn-out’. She never quite recovered completely. She married Andreas and together they formed another Corporate Theatre Company called Brown Paper Bag which continued to operate successfully. I last worked with them at the Durban ICC when, along with Combined Artists (Carte Blanche etc), Celeste directed the official 2010 FIFA draw in December of 2008. After that, apart from the Johannesburg work that she and her husband continued to do, her health took a turn for the worse. She was diagnosed with cancer and Bi-Polar disorder and could not recover. Finally, as a result of many complications she suffered organ failure and passed away.

Your passing has shocked many of us, Celeste, and reminded us all of our own mortality, and how ‘life’ has a way of driving us away from our old and close friends. We wish your family and friends all the best. – Themi Venturas

(It is understood that a Memorial Mass will be held in Durban shortly. Details to follow)

frequency, lumens, place

An installation by Dean Henning and Vaughn Sadie titled frequency, lumens, place will open at the Durban Art Gallery on October 28 to run for a month.

“'Our perception of space depends as much on what we hear as on what we see”. (Max Neuhaus)

This collaborative sound (Dean Henning) and light (Vaughn Sadie) installation aims to create a space using artificial light and sound generated in the gallery that relies on interaction with the audience. The initial sound and quantity light are determined by mathematical formulas based on the volume (length x breadth x height = cubic metres) and floor space ((length x breadth = square metres) respectively. The installation consists of several components: circuit bending, pulse generators, and light objects.

It is through these components, and the intervention of the audience, that allows the space to be in constant flux. The initial state of the space changes and responds to the movement of the audience members who continually alter the composition of the room.

frequency, lumens, place opens on October 28 at 18h00 and will be on view until November 28. The Durban Art Gallery is situated on the 2nd Floor City Hall, Anton Lembede Street (former Smith St) – opposite the Playhouse.

PULLING

Superbly written, directed and acted, Pulling is a BAFTA nominated series that will premiere on BBC Entertainment (channel 120 on DStv) on November 4 at 21h40 and the remaining five episodes will continue every Thursday at this time.

Pulling takes a long, hard look at sex, love, friendship and the loneliness of having too much fun, living in London’s zone three but with zone one aspirations.

On her hen night, as she watches Louise stage dive into a crowded dance floor and Karen recreate the Bacardi ad on the club bar, Donna realises with absolute drunken clarity that single girls have more fun. In this state of inebriation, she declares her wedding off. Karl responds by running into the kitchen wall and begging Donna not to leave him. Donna moves in with Karen, and so life begins.

The single girls get into a few scrapes when Louise falls in love with Karen’s conquest from the previous night, Donna persuades Karl to set her up with an elite employment agency and Karen gets stalked by Mark. But the real problem arrives when Louise's mum, Eileen, turns up and announces that she's moving in, after having been dumped by her toy boy.

YOUNG-CHOON PARK FOR KZNPO

On October 28, talented South Korean pianist Young-Choon Park makes her debut appearance with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in the penultimate concert of the season.

Choon-Park began the study of the piano at the age of four. She gave her first full recital when she was seven and played the Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra at the age of nine. She then went on to study at the Juilliard School in New York, later gaining a masters degree at the Hochschule in Munich.

She has toured extensively in Europe, Scandinavia and the United States and performed at numerous major concert venues including the Birmingham Symphony Hall. She has broadcast for radio and television in many countries and is currently recording the complete Mozart piano concertos. It is only fitting that she will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor for the KZNPO, a work that is amongst the most celebrated pieces of music ever composed and, as critic Charles Rosen wrote, is “almost as much myth as work of art”.

The programme also features Haydn’s Symphony No. 19 in D Major and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. Leading the evening’s programme is the young Italian conductor Alessandro Crudele who is establishing himself as one of the leading conductors in Europe. Crudele has already conducted the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Symphony, the Melbourne Symphony, the Israel Symphony and the Orchestra Sinfonica Arturo Toscanini.

This concert will take place at the Durban City Hall at 19h30 and booking is through Computicket. To enrich the audience’s concert experience, pre-concert talks are held from 18h15 to 19h00 at the Royal Hotel, hosted by the Friends of Music in association with the KZNPO. The lecturer for this week is Bobby Mills. Tickets R30 include light refreshments. Patrons have access to safe and subsidised parking at the Royal Hotel and extra security guards contracted by the KZNPO will be placed in the surrounding areas of the Durban City Hall for the security and safety of concert patrons.

For more information, contact 031 369 9438 or log onto www.kznpo.co.za or click on the KZNPO advert at the top of this page.

FIRST GRADER

The First Grader, co-produced by Videovision Entertainment, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival recently as well as at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival. The film has captured the hearts of critics and audiences. Shot in Kenya, it is directed by Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) and stars Naomie Harris and Oliver Litondo, Vusi Kunene, Tony Kgoroge and David Chege. Written by South African born Emmy winner Ann Peacock, it is produced by David M. Thompson, Sam Feuer and Richard Harding and executive produced by Anant Singh, Helena Spring, Joe Oppenheimer and Norman Merry.

Based on a true story, The First Grader is set in a remote primary school in the Kenyan bush where hundreds of children are jostling for a chance for the free education newly promised by the Kenyan government. One new applicant causes astonishment when he knocks on the door of the school. He is Maruge, an old Mau Mau veteran in his 80’s, who is desperate to learn to read at this late stage of his life. He fought for the liberation of his country and now feels he must have the chance of an education so long denied - even if it means sitting in a classroom alongside six-year-olds. Moved by his passionate plea, head teacher Jane Obinchu supports his struggle to gain admission and together they face fierce opposition from parents and officials who don’t want to waste a precious school place on such an old man.

Executive Producer, Anant Singh said, “The screening of The First Grader at the Toronto Film Festival with the director, Justin Chadwick and lead stars Naomie Harris and Oliver Litondo and myself in attendance, was a resounding success. It screened at the prestigious Elgin/Wintergarden Theatre, and received an enthusiastic standing ovation. It is very satisfying to see an African film embraced by Canadian and American audiences and we are optimistic that the film will have a strong life in these markets. We are delighted with the rollout of the film from Telluride and then onto Toronto and that additional screenings had to be added at both festivals due to the demand from audiences.”

The First Grader is a BBC Films and UK Film Council production in association with Videovision Entertainment, Lipsync and ARTE France. It will be released at cinemas in South Africa early next year through United International Pictures.

ADVANCED ACTING COURSE

Applications are open for the Advanced Acting Course offering students the opportunity of working with industry professionals in Cape Town and Grahamstown.

2011 promises to be a bumper year for the Cape Town-based CityVarsity’s AAC. Negotiations are underway with prominent stage and film directors, some from as far afield as Russia and New York, who have been approached to facilitate the four major productions:

Short Film: The short film will be shot on location in HD. It will be directed by a feature film director who will facilitate the development of a screenplay to suit the talents of the individual actors. Cast members will have the opportunity to help shape their own characters and story lines, creating an ensemble work along the lines of Crash or Short Cuts. The final product will be made available for show reel purposes.

Live Theatre - National Arts Festival: Every AAC student will travel to Grahamstown to take part in a stage performance which will be performed at the National Arts Festival. An original stage play will be workshopped with the director and cast, offering the performers national exposure to the cream of the arts fraternity in South Africa. Negotiations are underway with an acclaimed Russian theatre director who has expressed an interest in heading up this production which will feature on the Main Festival.

Site Specific Physical Theatre Production: Danish theatre director Jori Snell, whose Baba Yaga Theatre is renowned throughout Holland, France, Italy and Denmark, will once again facilitate this project.

Stunt Showcase. Sensei Thulani, award-winning actor, choreographer, dancer, martial arts expert and one of the country’s leading stunt co-ordinators, will conduct an intensive four week training programme which will culminate in a stunt-based performance.

While many training institutions focus primarily on live performance, CityVarsity teaches the specific techniques required for both theatre and film and the success of graduates bears testimony to the professional level of training offered in both disciplines.

Among the CityVarsity alumni who have been making waves on local and international stages and screens recently are Marguerite Wheatley (Clint Eastwood’s Invictus); Ambrose Uren (Disney’s ‘High School Musical in Hong Kong); Anele Matoti (M-Net’s League of Glory and Mike van Graan’s Is it Because I’m Jack?); Kungeka Mose (Penguin Films’ drama series Kululeka); Richard Lothian (Amelia), and 2010 AAC student Nicole Bailey who has just landed a role in the forthcoming Judge Dredd, to be shot at the new Cape Town Film Studios.

Applicants should have completed two years of training in the performing arts or should be in possession of a diploma or degree in a related field. Exceptions may be made for candidates who have had professional experience. All applicants will be considered on their own merits.

Early birds will qualify for a 10% reduction if fees are paid before November 30.

For more information contact 021 466 6800, e-mail: Werner.marx@cityvarsity.co.za or Shirley.johnston@cityvarsity.co.za or visit www.cityvarsity.co.za

AR RAHMAN IMPRESSED BY LOCAL FILM

Pic: Raeesa Mohamed, lead actress of “For Better For Worse” with A R Rahman

There was excitement and some scepticism at the SABC last week when local radio personality and lead actress of the film For Better For Worse, Raeesa Mohamed, received a call from a colleague advising her that Oscar winning music maestro A R Rahman requested to see her while he was at the Lotus FM studios. She was delighted when she went down to the studio and discovered that it really was the living legend himself !

Rahman had seen clips of Mohamed’s film, For Better For Worse on a television programme about Indians in South Africa and was impressed by what he saw. While interacting with the Lotus FM presenter, he asked where he could get a copy of the film and when he was told that the lead actress worked at Lotus FM, he immediately asked to see her.

Mohamed was thrilled to meet Rahman and said, “I was so surprised when I realised that he had actually asked to meet me. He was so humble and friendly and he asked me if he could get a copy of the movie and if I was working on anything else. I said to him that I would love to work with him, especially if he had a few million dollars to invest!

“For me, appreciation on this level, by an Oscar winner, is just added validation for a film that has already been received so well,” added Mohamed. “I am so honoured!”

For Better For Worse is a delightful, romantic comedy which tells the story of Anisa Khan’s (Raeesa Mohamed) search for the perfect husband. Anisa is an ambitious 30-year old lawyer who, due to a bad experience in the past, is wary of men. However, she is pressured by her family and friends to get married. They set her up with men they believe to be suitable and this leads to disastrous consequences. She meets these dates at a coffee shop. Zak Ali (Simon Morgan), the owner of the coffee shop, is attracted to her but the two are at odds with each other from their very first meeting.

For Better For Worse was released for rental and retail on DVD on October 18 by NuMetro Home Entertainment and is currently available from most major DVD stores.

For Better For Worse stars a host of popular local personalities including Afzal Khan, Suria Govender, Rahul Brijnath, Eubulus Tracy, Kajal Bagwandeen, Kogie Naidoo, Juanita Leopardi, Pranesh Maharaj and Clinton Marius. Marking Naresh Veeran’s directorial debut, it is written and executive produced by Raeesa Mohamed with Ross Garland as Line Producer.

AR Rahman will bring his Jai Ho World Tour to South Africa from November 20 to 26 and will appear in Durban on November 26 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Booking is at Computicket

JUST FUNNY COMEDY FESTIVAL

Gear up for a dose of stereotype-busting entertainment when 4 Cornerz Entertainment presents the nationwide tour of Just Funny Comedy Festival. Featuring Riaad Moosa – aka “the Comedy Doctor” - as well as fellow South African laughter merchant Joey Rasdien, this groundbreaking laughter extravaganza will also star international comedians Azhar Usman, Mo Amer and Preacher Moss.

Dispelling the common Western perception that Muslims do not have a sense of humour, these comedians will be lifting the veil and revealing the humorous truth of what it’s really like to be a Muslim in America – and in South Africa.

Amer, Usman and Moss are the stars of the original Allah Made Me Funny – The Official Muslim COMEDY Tour, which enjoyed great success and spawned a movie. During their South African tour they will poke fun at themselves, their communities, the government, human nature and the tricky predicament of living in post-9/11 America. Instead of sweeping issues under the carpet, they bring them out into the open, resulting in an evening of rollicking good fun that gives audiences of all cultural backgrounds an opportunity to laugh heartily, drop their guard and open their minds.

MC-ing the comedy tour is Riaad Moosa, who has become one of the hottest properties on the local comedy circuit with recent one-man shows such as Strictly Halaal and Riaad Moosa for the Baracka, as well as 3 Wise Men alongside Marc Lottering and Nik Rabinowitz. One of South Africa’s best-known and most versatile comics, Joey Rasdien has recently lent his voice and support to the Scrutinize youth HIV/Aids awareness campaign and animated adverts. He appears frequently on TV, in films such as Bunny Chow and on stages around the country. Azhar Usman was born and raised in Chicago to Muslim immigrant parents from India. Interested in “waging peace through humour”, he performed the first official stand-up show in Egypt’s history, and regularly performs a Jewish-Muslim comedy show with fellow comedian Rabbi Bob Alper, as well as a Hindu-Muslim comedy show with Rajiv Satyal called Make Chai, Not War.

Originally a Palestinian, Mo Amer fled Kuwait with his family during the Gulf War when he was nine years old, eventually settling in Houston, Texas. At the age of 19, he became the first Arab-American refugee to perform overseas for US and coalition troops. Preacher Moss, the tour’s founder, uses humour to engage audiences in contemporary issues facing society, and has written material for the likes of Damon Wayans and George Lopez. This African-American’s comedy tickles the funny bone while challenging the intellect.

The Just Funny Comedy Festival ends its tour in KZN on October 30 and 31 at tghe ICC Durban. Tickets ranging from R160 to R250 booked through Computicket.

THE HAPPY CLAPPER

Pic: Aaron McIlroy

Durban actor Aaron McIlroy’s latest show speaks to those who follow other beliefs as well as to members of the Christian faith.

What are people’s perceptions of Biblical characters? Are they Charlton Heston, coming down a mountain in a dodgy outfit? The intervention of the media has long played a role in skewing people’s perceptions of Christianity, says Durban actor Aaron McIlroy, who cites movies such as Steven Spielberg’s The Prince of Egypt, and a host of others, as creating a glossy but fictitious perception of the people who populate the Bible.

“The Bible is full of many of the greatest stories ever told. Often enough they have been told badly, so I thought: why don’t I have a shot at telling them badly, too?” quips the popular entertainer.

Benignly entitled The Happy Clapper, McIlroy’s latest show speaks alike to those who follow other beliefs, as it does to members of the Christian faith, offering a broad scope of perspectives that aim to enlighten and entertain while treating religious matters in a robust if sometimes tongue-in-cheek light.

“We need to lighten up, and not be so judgemental in dealing with our fellow humans,” says McIlroy. “We can do this by bringing a sense of integrity to our dealings with each other, while at the same time looking at the subject matter that preoccupies us in our worship. We think we are ‘in the know’, while often we are actually clueless. There is so much more than we think there is to gaining a true depth of knowledge. Seen from the outside, there is a stigma attached to being a so-called ‘Reborn Christian’. But how weird is it, actually?”

The Happy Clapper sets out to defuse the myths surrounding charismatic Christians. The first half of the show opens with a run through the Old Testament, courtesy of Mr McIlroy donning the persona of a well-honed Rabbi who is on home turf, sharing elements of his own personal history, so to speak. Following this, the actor morphs into Bluff inhabitant, Gary van Vuuren, who’s comfortable he’s a fundi at unlocking all matters pertaining to the New Testament. Trying to put across a complex concept such as The Trinity, he assures us ‘it’s more than just a girl’s name’.

“Gary’s the perfect example of fools rushing in where angels fear to tread,” says McIlroy. “Only, he cracks it more often than he knows. Just when you think he’s heading for the rocks, he nails it right in the centre.”

After interval, McIlroy’s ubiquitous alter ego, the ever-popular Veejay, surfaces to offer a guiding hand on how to negotiate your way around the potential hazards of traversing the evangelical Christian world. In his inimitable fashion, Veejay deals with the application of Christianity. As ever, he keeps things really grounded, commenting on those critical taboos that preoccupy charismatic Christians: Sex, Booze and Money.

In a nutshell, The Happy Clapper, aims to share with the broader theatre-going community what Christians believe and why, through invigorating doses of comedy. “We’re not saying it is simple, but rather is it real, is it worth considering?” says McIlroy.

Co-written and directed by Patrick Kenny, Aaron McIlroy’s The Happy Clapper, previews at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on November 9 and 10 and runs from November 11 to 28. Performances Tuesdays to Saturdays at 19h30 (Sundays at 15h00). Tickets R85 booked through Computicket on 083 915 8000. Block booking discounts are available.

KZNPO CONCERT: OCTOBER 21 2010

Most enjoyable concert as Italian pianist scores another triumph in a memorable performance. (Review by Michael Green)

The extraordinary 28-year-old Italian pianist Mariangela Vacatello, who had created something of a sensation in her Friends of Music recital earlier in the week, scored another triumph when she appeared with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in the Durban City Hall, playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major.

This was music very different from the Liszt and Stravinsky with which she had dazzled her earlier audience, and she revealed a new dimension to her musical personality. The technical brilliance was there, certainly, but it served the poetry and lyricism of this wonderful concerto, one of the great masterworks.

From the quiet opening phrase for solo piano to the final flourish, it was clear that here was a pianist of exceptional gifts. She displayed a lovely lightness of touch and total accuracy in the glittering yet graceful piano figuration, and the slow movement, one of the most original ever written, was played with absolute control over its subtle dynamics.

The orchestra, conducted by Robert Maxym, played its part fully in a memorable performance.

In response to foot-stamping applause, Mariangela played a lengthy encore, a formidably difficult and spectacular Liszt etude (study). I think I would rather have been left with Beethoven’s music in my ears, but there was no doubting the excitement generated by the Liszt piece. And it is understandable that the pianist would want to show what she can do. If you can play like this, why not?

The concert began with Beethoven’s grand Consecration of the House overture, written for the re-opening of a theatre in Vienna in 1822. The opening staccato chords were excellently timed, thanks to the conductor, setting the tone for an imposing performance.

Dvorak’s melodious and spirited Symphony No. 6 in D major ended a most enjoyable concert. - Michael Green

SPICE ‘N STUFF

(Pic by Val Adamson: Dhaveshan Govender, Shika Budhoo and Rory Booth)

A seamless ensemble of equal skill. (Review by Clinton Marius)

Like a good curry, Ashwin Singh’s play, Spice n’ Stuff is a varied mix of appealing ingredients, perfectly flavoured, with a bit of a kick ... and a pleasant aftertaste that remains long after one has left the theatre.

Described by Singh as “a celebration of life, here, now and always”, this window into the lives of the Grey Street community revolves around spice shop owner, Rita, and the colourful folk in her orbit. Images of Grey Street, past and present, are projected onto two large screens, and serve to distinguish the various locales in which the story unfolds. Love, betrayal, fear and friendship all play out in this fine balance between comedy and drama.

Under the deft direction of Themi Venturas, the six talented cast members fill out every inch of the stage, and every inch of the characters they portray. From the subtle and nuanced performance by Shika Budhoo in the principal role of Rita; Rory Booth’s measured and consummate portrayal of her son, Vijay; Ashwin Singh’s convincing and engaging turn as Shahid; Dhaveshan Govender and Kajal Maharaj in the delicious dual roles of Ajith and Sagren, and Tiny’s mother and Rani; to Ntando Mncube’s comical Thulani ... the cast deliver warm and memorable performances.

Singh’s beautifully crafted play is rich in humour and in sadness, peppered with witty one-liners and moving insights. Here is a microcosm of the endearing foibles and extraordinary resilience of a community under threat from all angles.

It is difficult to pull out any particular performance or part of this play for particular mention, as Venturas has inspired a seamless ensemble of equal skill, but the highlight of the play is a gripping stand-off between Budhoo as Rita, and Govender as Ajith. I’m certain that not even a bomb threat in the theatre at this point would have convinced the audience to leave.

I hope that Spice n’ Stuff will be presented again in Durban and further afield, because it deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. In the meanwhile, as the final production in the Playhouse Company’s New Stages Festival, it will be on for only three more performances, so make the effort and go and see this gem.

Spice ‘n Stuff runs in the Playhouse Loft until October 23, with two performances on Saturday. The duration of the show is one hour. Booking is through Computicket on 083 915 8000 or Playhouse Box Office on 031 369 9596 (office hours). Pre-booked tickets R60 (R70 at the door). There is safe discounted parking at the Royal Parking and Albany Parking. School bookings through Margie Coppen on 083 251 9412. – Clinton Marius

BARNYARD THEATRE FIRE

Pic: Antwyne Magnussen (senior fireman), Katarzyna Florys (Barnyard manager), a relieved Debbie Davidson (Barnyard owner) and Dominic Ogle (firefighter).

It can be said that The Barnyard Theatre at Gateway’s year-end show, The Absolute 80’s, set the venue alight when the opening night’s success was marred by a fire after the theatre had closed.

The fire appears to have been caused by a cigarette that set light to one of the leather couches in the venue’s smoking lounge. Gateway’s control room was alerted to the fire when the smoke detector’s alarm sounded around midnight after the venue had been locked up and, upon inspection by centre security, they found thick smoke coming from the venue and water from the theatre’s sprinkler system. The Umhlanga Fire Station were immediately called in to respond and were able to control the fire, extinguishing it before extensive damage was done.

While fire damage to The Barnyard was confined to the smoking lounge on the mezzanine level, there is extensive water and smoke damage, not only to the theatre, but also to other Gateway tenants. The necessary assessments and reports are still awaited, but it is anticipated that total damage caused from the fire could run into millions of rands.

Theatre owner Debbie Davidson was called to the site by Gateway centre management, where she assessed the situation with Ethekwini Fire’s Division Commander Kanniappen and his team. “This is obviously a very unfortunate incident but, all things considered, I am very relieved that the fire was contained and relatively little damage done to the venue. It is thanks to swift action taken by Gateway’s services and the Umhlanga Fire Department that the venue was saved and the centre was not more severely damaged,” said Davidson. “While a full assessment of the damage done to electrical and other equipment will be undertaken this morning, cleaning up operations are well underway, and it is anticipated that we will only need to cancel two nights’ shows – Thursday and Friday.”

The Absolute 80’s, due to run at The Barnyard Theatre at Gateway until January 9, is expected to return to the stage with the normal schedule of shows resuming on Saturday. Patrons who have booked to see the show on the weekend can expect business as usual, but the venue will keep them informed of any changes due to damage, or they can call The Barnyard on 031 566 3045.

EVITA

(Pic: by Pat Bromilow-Downing)

Entire season of 12 weeks has sold out!

Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece, Evita will return due to huge demand to Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre from February 25 to March 27, 2011. Bookings for the return season open October 25 at 09h00. More information from e-mail mark@montetheatre.co.za

BHEKANI BUTHELEZI PUBLIC RECITAL

Bhekani Buthelezi will present his final Honours Choral Conducting Recital on October 29, 2010, at the University of Zululand Chapel at 19h00. He will be conducting the University of Zululand Choral Society and will be accompanied by Prof David Smith. Entrance is free.

A WINK AND A SMILE

(Pic: Evan Roberts, Lisa Bobbert and Anthony Stonier)

Laid back, fun, easy listening and a laugh … That’s A Wink and a Smile, a new music revue which combines the talents of three of KZN’s most popular entertainers as they take a musical road-trip looking at Love, Life and Laughter!

Lisa Bobbert, Evan Roberts and Anthony Stonier, all multi-award winning artists, combine their talents for the first time ever! Acclaimed jazz pianist Evan Roberts has devised new and exciting arrangements to some well-known as well as lesser-known classics. Songs include I’ve Still Got My Health, Here’s to Life, Otto Titsling, All by Myself, The 12 Daze of Christmas, and a marvellous medley entitled Songs We Heard which, in itself, might explain why this trio go together like a wink and a smile!

Hosted by Music Revival there will be one performance of A Wink and a Smile on October 23 at 19h30 at 35 Montgomery Drive, Pietermaritzburg. Tickets R130 pp. Bring your own dinner and drinks – the show starts approximately 21h00. Booking at tables of four or more. There is secure parking. Booking essential on 033 342 3051 or email: booking@musicrevival.co.za

THE 60'S REVISITED

Centrefold are fast becoming known for their versatility, tight vocal harmonies, humour and easy performance style. Their shows are highly entertaining and The 60’s Revisited, coming up shortly at Rhumbelow Theatre, has proved to be an audience favourite.

“What was it about the 60’s that made it so memorable?” asks Centrefold. “Not only in South Africa, but worldwide. History was made, wars were declared, Presidents assassinated and we developed a youth culture that was unique and still impacts on our lives today. The music industry was creative and diverse, no two bands sounded the same and with some of the most progressive sound engineers Rock and Roll had indeed arrived and was here to stay.

“Centrefold are about to remind you why it was so special – featuring some of the best music, fashion statements, and historical trivia from what was undeniably the most exciting decade of the 20th century.”

The cast includes Jane and Paul Candow, Cheryl Wigmore and Belinda Dolphin and the song list features Downtown, I’m A Believer, Baby Love, Da Doo Ron Ron, Build Me Up Buttercup and lots more.

Shows take place on October 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 20h00 and on October 24 and 31 (Sundays) at 18h30. The venue opens 90 minutes before show for picnic dinner.

Tickets R100. Take along food picnic baskets and braais will be available. There is limited secure parking and booking is essential. A cash bar is available (no alcohol may be brought on to the premises). Rhumbelow Theatre is situated in Cunningham Avenue off Bartle Road.

Booking is through Computicket or contact Roland on 031 205 7602 (h) or 082 499 8636, email roland@stansell.za.net or visit www.rhumbelow.za.net

ANCORE

Their highly impressive brochure produced by the recently-launched classical music ensemble, Ancore, gives an idea of the style and elegance of the services they offer. They provide symphony music for weddings, entertaining light classical music for the reception as well as dance music and Broadway musical hits.

The initiative of enterprising and gifted violinist Ralitza Cherneva, Ancore also provides an “exceptionally unique event with a touch of Classical Brilliance” for corporate events such as the opening of business conferences or launches and other events.

Private Parties can enjoy two hours of “sparkling show programme from Baroque to Rock – from Bach to the Beatles” – the list even includes house warming parties and baby showers! In their attempt to bring top quality classical music to a wider audience, they also perform for lifestyle and sports events.

For information about Ancore’s wide ranging programmes, including a variety of fun theme concerts, contact 082 495 4236 or visit www.ancore.co.za

ORIGIN GOES HOLLYWOOD

The Origin in Glenwood goes Hollywood when international DJ & VJ Short-e (US) films live from the Clark Road venue to New York on October 22, Short-e will interview patrons on the Red Carpet before tearing up the decks. To be part of this amazing experience, look out for broadcasts on 5Fm and SABC forums. Supported by Sam Boylan, Martin McHale, Dax Tucker, Green Jnr and Allistair Lundall. Also featuring the KZN Hip Hop champions (Ryan, Jeff & Erwin) on the roof terrace.

Entry is R50 for girls and R80 for guys and the doors open at 21h00.

JACKIE HORNER MUSIC

The Jackie Horner Pub and Grill hosts its popular Open Mic night from 19h00 on October 20. Entrance R10 and patrons get to show off their musical prowess on stage in front of an audience. Call 031 202 9192 to book.

Durban rock band 33 will perform on October 22 from 19h00 t0 21h00.

Singer/songwriter Fiona Tozer takes the stage on October 10 from 13h00 to 15h00 for an afternoon of laid-back folk. The stylish pub also offers a great Sunday roast special for R49.

The Jackie Horner Pub and Grill is situated at 47 Helen Joseph (Davenport) Road, Glenwood. For bookings contact 031 202 9192.

PRE-CONCERT LECTURES

In association with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic, Friends of Music organise pre-concert lectures before the KZNPO concerts of the season. Three Thursday night symphony concerts are still to come in the Spring Season of its World Symphony Series and three more pre-concert lectures.

The lectures are given in the Royal Hotel, Durban at 18h15 and end at 19h00, in good time for those attending to walk to the Durban City Hall for the concert beginning at 19h30. These talks have proved highly popular with concertgoers. The purpose is to introduce the compositions being performed that night and thus increase the enjoyment of those attending.

The speakers for the remaining lectures are: Ted Brien on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6 in D major (October 21); Cecile Levin on Haydn’s Symphony No. 19 in D major, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor and Mozart’s Symphony No 40 in G minor (October 28), and Michael Green on Offenbach’s Concerto Militaire for cello and orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor (November 4).

Tickets for the lectures are R30 each and include tea, coffee and sandwiches, which are available from 17h45.

FOM: MARIANGELA VACATELLO

(Pic: Mariangela Vacatello)

One of the best distinguished pianists of the year. (Review by Michael Green)

The Friends of Music organisation has presented a dozen distinguished pianists at the Durban Jewish Centre this year and the latest, Mariangela Vacatello, is one of the best. She is Italian of course, born in Naples, and at the age of 28 she has a technical dominance and an interpretative insight far beyond her relatively tender years and her slender physique.

Her programme was exceptionally challenging. The opening item, Bach’s Italian Concerto, proclaimed clearly that here was a pianist of unusual gifts. She demonstrated absolute clarity, good tonal balance and a total grasp of the contrapuntal subtleties of Bach’s music.

Then she turned from the cool elegance of Bach to the extravagances of Franz Liszt. Liszt’s Sonata in B minor is a massive work that reflects the contrasts in the composer’s own personality, the extrovert show-off and the rather self-conscious mystic. Modern opinion on the sonata, which runs for about 32 minutes without a break, is, I suspect, somewhat varied, but it is undeniably a great virtuoso work.

Mariangela handled Liszt’s thundering double octaves and big chords with absolute confidence and sureness, and she extracted a huge sound from the Kawai piano of the Friends of Music. Many members of the audience expressed amazement afterwards that so slight a young woman could play with such power. And she produced a beautiful cantabile tone in the sonata’s lyrical passages.

Chopin’s Rondo in E flat major, Op. 16, came almost as light relief. This is one of the Polish master’s lesser works but, as always with Chopin, it was delightful to listen to, with the pianist showing a delicate touch, a complete contrast to much of what had gone before.

Finally there was an astonishing display of keyboard pyrotechnics in Srtravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka. These three pieces are arrangements of music from Stravinksy’s ballet Petrushka. The composer wrote the piano versions in 1921 for his friend Arthur Rubinstein, the famous pianist. They are among the most difficult pieces in the entire piano repertory, which is probably the reason why they are seldom played in public. Mariangela Vacatello gave a performance that was as exciting to see as it was to hear. Rapid runs, startling leaps of chords, glissandi, swift crossing of the hands – they were all there, handled with poise and assurance. The music is splendid, I think, and the performance was brilliant.

In response to enthusiastic applause the pianist gave an encore, Liszt’s transcription of Schumann’s song Widmung, Devotion.

The prelude performers of the evening, funded by the National Lottery, were Nosipho Ntuli (soprano) and Bheki Ngwazi (tenor). Together and separately they sang arias from Verdi operas, accompanied at the piano by Andrew Warburton. They both have very good, well-trained voices. Nosipho Ntuli showed accurate intonation and some powerful top notes, and Bheki Ngwazi has a strong, full-bodied tenor voice. Both have a good stage presence and they were correctly dressed for the occasion. They gave the audience a good deal of pleasure. - Michael Green

(Mariangela Vacatello performs with the KZN Philharmonic on October 21 at the Durban City Hall at 19h30)

MYSTERY GHOST BUS FOR DURBAN

Ex-magician and illusionist, Mark Rose-Christie, who performed magic for none other than President George Bush Sr., ventured onto the London Ghost Tour n 1988 with his cousin, Paul Williamson. He immediately thought that his own country (SA) needed something just as good.

He launched the Mystery Ghost Bus Tours to South African audiences in 2001 at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. These were an immediate sell-out, prompting Rose-Christie to begin opening tours in major cities around South Africa. Rose-Christie will now add Durban to the list, with the first tour opening to the public on November 6.

Rose-Christie has had an interest in the paranormal since a very young age, having lived in two haunted houses. He carefully researches each case that he comes across or is presented, ranging from haunted schools to hospitals, houses to old hotels, and back again.

"However, there are several different types of ghosts" Rose-Christie said "which most people are not aware of. For instance, it is really only the Interactive ghost that will interact with people, whereas Replay ghosts are like videos which merely replay themselves in the great cinema of time, and will therefore not interact with you at all. In fact they are not aware of time or place, and they follow their same old pathways repetitively. Therefore, if you bricked up a door to make it a wall, the Replay ghost will simply continue to walk along its same old path, and to the viewer it looks like the ghost walks through a wall. Replay ghosts do not therefore walk through walls deliberately; it is because there was once a door there. Poltergeists are one of the only ghosts that are not ghosts at all, and are generated by the minds of human beings, usually adolescents undergoing puberty, when their mental energies spill off onto the environment in this time of insecurity. There are also Single apparitions, Crisis ghosts, Revenge ghosts, Doppelgangers and Vardogers, which are also explained on the tours".

Some of the haunted venues on the Durban tour include a sailor ghost who did not emerge alive from Rosey Dry's brothel at Point Road; the various ghosts (including a spectre of an old nurse from days long gone) at Addington Hospital; the extremely nasty Revenge ghost of Winder Road; the outcast little boy ghost at the art deco-styled old Victoria Mansions; the apparition at the Playhouse Theatre (seen by famous actor Joseph Clarke); the tantalising Doppelganger at the Supreme Court, and notorious poison murderess Daisy de Melcker's story at the Berea Nursing Home where she began her career as a nurse. There are also several playful phantasms at the old Durban City Police and City Engineers Department; the eerie White Lady of 'The Spookhouse' of Musgrave Road in all her Victorian splendour; several school ghosts at Durban Boys High; the old Haunted Houses of Florida Road and Campbell Road; the mischievous poltergeist at the Warrior’s Gate Moth Museum; with the with an eerie and climactic ending at the Old Fort.

"As a degreed sociologist, I am somewhat of a hard-nosed scientist, and it took me a long time to accept that ghosts might exist,” emphasises Rose-Christie. “The most convincing explanations I've heard for their existence are those of the Replay Ghosts and Poltergeists, as both have sufficiently scientific explanations to my mind. This led me to adding a great deal of science to the tours, and we tell our audiences why ghosts could exist, using such explanations as Quantum Physics and how unseen energies and force fields work. In fact, we even introduce some audience participation on the tours, during which the public are handed dowsing rods to detect the force fields around water, using their own body's energy, which most people know very little about. Like the audiences themselves, I have found this a very convincing way to investigate unseen energies and force fields. More than this, when we explain the Law of Conservation, even non-believers have to accept that energy is never created, never destroyed, but only transferred - so something must happen to our energies when we die, no matter what we do or don't believe. And that is hard science telling us that".

On Rose-Christie’s version of the London Bus tours, audiences get off at various stops and enter places like dark rooms, even haunted pub & grub stops. There are also recorded stories with eerie sound effects, amidst all the live stories told by the tour guides. The audience participation factor appeals to everyone from historian to scientist, to those who simply want to be entertained to those with a deep interest in the paranormal ie: 'Para-Psychology'.

"The tours are not frivolous, they are informative, historical, scientific and entertaining - and so they are not like a 'ghost train' type ride at a carnival, nor a 'theme-park' haunted house ride - but there are two clever scares along the way", Rose-Christie stated. "Of course, we can not guarantee that a ghost will be seen on every tour," Rose-Christie pointed out, "however, if our patrons do not see one, we make sure they see something else, but I do not want to say what that is, as it is a surprise. Digital cameras are the best in picking up ghosts, and the public are told on their tickets to bring a camera. There are several photographs of ghosts recorded by audiences on our tours, which we have posted on our website. We make sure that we publish only the most credible ones, after consulting experts overseas".

The tours run from 19h00 to midnight. Tickets R295 pp, with the starting/meeting venue printed on the tickets. Bookings for Opening Night on November 6 at Computicket 083 915 8000 or any Checkers / Shoprite. There will only be one other public tour this year, which is likely to be in early December. However, companies and private groups wishing to book year-end functions and parties on the bus, can contact Mark Rose-Christie on 079 193 7536, email: tour@mysteryghostbus.co.za or visit www.mysteryghostbus.co.za

SAWC COMPETITION

The South African Writers' Circle is hosting its Annual Short Story Competition and the deadline for entries is October 31, 2010.

The first prize is R1000, a SAWC Pen and the winner's tale published in the SAWC newsletter, Write Now!. Second prize is R500 and a SAWC Pen while third prize is R250 and a SAWC Pen.

Entry fee R40 (R30 SAWC members) and there is a 2,500 word limit on the unpublished short story. This should be posted to SAWC, Suite 522, Private Bag X4, Kloof, 3640 or emailed to bsimpson@pbhs.co.za

Each entry must be accompanied by an entry form. For further informtion and the entry form, contact Mrs Simpson on bsimpson@pbhs.co.za or phone 083 590 0840 (Mrs Simpson is a teacher-librarian and sometimes might not be able to take a call so prospective entrants should be persistent).

PHUZAMOYA FILM FESTIVAL

Dr Ian Player's Phuzamoya Dream Centre will host a two-day film festival in Durban on October 30 and 31 which will feature a feast of exclusive films and talks on controversial author and philosopher Laurens van der Post and his understanding of Jungian theory and Bushmen stories.

It will also deal with van der Post’s courageous engagement with the Japanese while he was a prisoner of war during WWII, in Java. This inspired the cult movie Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence starring David Bowie in the lead role.

Illustrious speakers include: Dr Ian Player, outstanding conservationist, founder of the wilderness movement in South Africa and the international World Wilderness Congresses, and co-founder of the Phuzamoya Dream Centre with his wife Ann Player.

Also to be featured will be Peter Ammann, the Swiss Jungian analyst and filmmaker who has compiled these historic films, many rarely shown as well as Thabathini Tshaka, knowledgeable self-taught guide, researcher and conservationist of San/Bushmen paintings in the Transkei.

NB: change of venue: This will now be the Conference Centre, Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve, WESSA, Howick. Off Main Road, Howick, take Karkloof Rd at traffic lights (Supa Quick on corner). Travel 1 km up steep hill. Turn right opposite Amber Glen retirement village.

Cost R150/day including teas and a light lunch or R40 for a movie/talk + tea. Contact Sheila Berry: sheila.bee@gmail.com or 082 295 7328.

TWISTERS FOR HOLLAND

(Pic: Bhekani Shabalala, Sphindile Miyeni, Sean de Klerk and Menzi Mkhwane)

Four Durban actors to perform in Holland.

Four actors from Durban have been selected to perform in an international theatre production of TWIST, based on Charles Dickens’s classic tale, Oliver Twist, and are set to jet off to Rotterdam at the end of October.

The production is to be staged by the Theater Groep Siberia, in the Netherlands, and will run throughout December and January in Holland and Belgium. This updated musical, directed by ground-breaking Dutch director Joland Spoel, is set in a modern-day nameless city, which could as easily be Rotterdam or Johannesburg.

The four Durban actors who auditioned earlier this year are Bhekani Shabalala, Sean de Klerk, Sphindile Miyeni and Menzi Mkhwane.

Shabalala is an actor with local industrial theatre group The Problem Solving Theatre (PST) Project, and also has a host of TV and movie credits to his name, appearing recently in the award-winning film My Little Black Heart and SABC 1’s Durban beach drama, Bay of Plenty.

Sean De Klerk is one of Durban’s top young actors, nominated for a number of Durban Theatre Awards, a regular in Kickstart productions, and seen recently on stage in Othello and in the children’s production of David and Goliath.

Sphindile Miyeni has just returned from the stage in Johannesburg, where she appeared in Jerry Pooe’s vibrant production of King Dinizulu, the last warrior king at the Windybrow theatre.

Menzi Mkhwane is the son of renowned actor Bheki Mkhwane, and is a final year student in the Department of Drama at Durban University of Technology. A very talented young actor in his own right, this will be Menzi’s first professional role, as he finishes his final drama exams just days before leaving for Holland.

The four actors will spend three months together in Rotterdam, as guests of Theater Greop Siberia, and will give a number of workshops as well as performing. This cultural exchange project is a result of the partnership between the exciting new Durban-based group Twist Theatre Development Projects and Theatre Groep Siberia. The project is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa.

For more information contact Emma Durden on 082 673 6662 and for details on the Twist Theatre Development Project visit www.twistprojects.co.za

BHAKTI

KZN DanceLink, in collaboration with Flatfoot Dance Company, will present Bhakti in the Playhouse from November 4. Joining forces under the direction of Lliane Loots and her Flatfoot company are some of Durban’s finest classically trained Indian dancers performing a unique one-hour intercultural fusion of dance, spoken word, film and music.

Bhakti runs in the Playhouse Drama from November 4 to 6 with performances at 19h30 and on November 7 at 15h00. Tickets range from R45 to R65 and booking is at Computicket.

IMBUMBA

Imbumba, KZN DanceLink’s youth dance performance, takes place this year at the Playhouse Drama Theatre on November 5.

Called Dance Fireworks, it features dances from some of Durban’s top schools and development programmes. The family show is at 14h00.

SPICE ’N STUFF

(Pic: Shika Budhoo and Kajal Maharaj)

Ashwin Singh’s Spice ‘n Stuff is to be presented as the final leg of the Playhouse Company’s current season of New Stages.

A tantalising mixture of comedy and drama, the play traces the last days of a group of Grey Street traders as they deal with escalating crime, failing businesses, friendships across racial and cultural denominations, entwined with family relationships.

It showcases a female trader, Rita, in the central role. The pressures of dwindling business preoccupy Rita but it is the fear of her secret which threatens to unravel her, as she undergoes an emotional journey of self-discovery. The actions of the street and the poignancy of the store becomes increasingly sensitising as the piece plays out to a dramatic finale.

Described by Singh as “a celebration of life, here, now, and always”, Spice ‘n Stuff is directed by Themi Venturas. The production stars award-winning actress, Shika Budhoo, as Rita, with Rory Booth as her son, Vijay, a trainee attorney who is nearing the last days of his training but is uncertain whether he will be retained as a qualified attorney.

The ensemble cast also includes Ashwin Singh, Dhaveshan Govender, Kajal Maharaj and Nthando Mncube, who play a variety of roles in this richly populated piece which vividly evokes the life and times and the many-sided dynamics of the community it describes. The revival of this third play by Ashwin Singh is especially appropriate in the context of this year’s 150 year celebrations of the arrival of the first Indians in South Africa.

Spice ‘n Stuff runs in the Playhouse Loft from October 21 to 23. The duration of the show is one hour. Booking is through Computicket on 083 915 8000 or Playhouse Box Office on 031 369 9596 (office hours). Pre-booked tickets R60 (R70 at the door). There is safe discounted parking at the Royal Parking and Albany Parking. School bookings through Margie Coppen on 083 251 9412.

DEATH OF CELESTE LITKIE

Former Durban actress Dr Celeste Litkie died in Johannesburg yesterday (October 17) after a long period of illness.

An honours graduate from the Drama Department of the University of Natal (now UKZN), she was among the five performers who started the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre Company. Also comprising Melanie Bowles, Mark Faith, Brenda Radloff and Themi Venturas, the company was created at the same time as NAPAC’s Loft Theatre Company.

At the University of Durban Westville under Dr Dennis Schauffer, she completed her doctorate which dealt with the role of the Indian community in the history of South African Theatre.

She leaves her husband Andreas and children Stephanie and Thomas. The funeral will take place on Friday, October 22 at 15h30 at the Roman Catholic Church in Rosebank - 16 Keyes Avenue, Rosebank. In lieu of flowers, donations will be welcomed.

Tribute to follow.

KIZO END OF LEASE SALE

Kizo Art Gallery, one of the largest galleries in Africa, will not renew its Gateway lease at the end of November 2010. Kizo’s collection of original artwork is extensive and the auctioneers have been instructed to clear the entire stock of trade.

“Despite a good result from the first auction, we have so much stock to clear that we have instructed the auctioneers to hold another auction to clear the balance of stock,” explains a Kizo representative. “There are still over 350 original artworks so don’t miss this chance if you were away for the last auction.”

Over 350 original paintings, sculptures, collectibles, 2010 Fine Artworks – Official Licensed Products of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, limited edition signed lithographs by Nelson Mandela, the largest collection of paintings by Anthony Wakaba Mutheki, Willie Bester spades, Keith Calder bronzes and various others. This collection has been gathered over 15 years of trade.

This Auction will be held at Kizo Art Gallery, Shop G350, Palm Boulevard, Gateway Theatre of Shopping , La Lucia Ridge. On October 16 at 10h00 and October 17 at 10:30. More information on 083 777 1802 or visit www.kizo.co.za

MTN NEW CONTEMPORARIES WINNER

At a prestigious event held at the KZNSA Gallery, the overall winner of the MTN New Contemporaries Art Award 2010 was revealed as Kemang Wa Luhelere. Runners up were Donna Kukama, Stuart Bird and Mohau Modisakeng.

Held every two years since 2001, this much celebrated art competition identifies four emerging South African artists as the new stars of the South African art world, and elects a winner among them.

The MTN New Contemporaries Award is distinctly different from conventional art competitions in South Africa as it is entirely unsolicited by the artists it honours. The competition also discards old stereotypes about art and foregrounds the country’s artists as a source of new ideas and media.

Says Nontobeko Ntombela, the 2010 New Contemporaries Award guest curator: “This year’s finalists were an exciting line-up. Their work consisted of diverse exhibition that mixes traditional and new media within a contemporary context, and that might variously be described as critical, socially-engaged or ironic”.

One of the MTN SA Foundation’s most renowned projects, the MTN New Contemporaries Award is a competition designed to promote talented, cutting-edge artists who have not yet received critical acclaim but who are positioned to be the next leaders in the art field.

Eunice Maluleke; Head of MTN SA Foundation says: “MTN SA New Contemporaries Award affirms our responsibility to encourage creative thinking outside the business arena and allows the opportunity for young South Africans to be heard. These awards are also aimed at promoting young artists who have not yet had the opportunity for appropriate exposure. The concept of the MTN New Contemporaries Award contributes to the development of South Africa’s rich cultural and artistic practice. Held every two years, this year is different in that it is the fifth year running meaning that we have had ten years invested in the emerging contemporary art field.”

SA ART IN PARIS

South African Tourism in France has decided to organise an exhibition of contemporary South African art in Paris and other major cities in France titled The South African Arts Route 2010-2012 – France. This exhibition will last one year, and will make its debut in Paris on April 27, 2011.

The deadline for entries is November 30. For more information visit www.vansa.co.za/the-south-african-arts-route-2010-2012-france/

IVAN MAZUZE

(Pic: Ivan Mazuze)

The Centre for Jazz & Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal presents Ivan Mazuze & Band on October 20.

The winner at the Old Mutual Jazz Competition for Best Composition, 2001, South Africa, he was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz album of the year 2010 at the SAMA awards (South African Music Awards). He was finalist of Debut'09 for Best World Music Group at the Oslo World Music festival in Norway in 2009.

Mazuze is currently promoting his debut album, Maganda, which was released in South Africa in 2009. The album is a reflection of Ivan’s musical journey and experiences in jazz and African "worlds" of music. Maganda also portrays the saxophonist’s influences of various Southern African cultures as well as his continuous jazz studies. He incorporates chopi and muthimba rhythms, the maskandi and marrabenta styles with the stylistic features of jazz.

The performance takes place at 17h30 on October 20 at the Centre for Jazz & Popular Music, UKZN. Tickets R25 (R10 students) at the door. More information on 031 260 3385 or email: luthulia1@ukzn.ac.za