FRENCH NOTE AT NAF

From the first note struck by the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra at the opening of the National Arts Festival (NAF) there will be a strong French presence across the 10-day Grahamstown event.

French music, theatre and dance productions at the NAF and Standard Bank Jazz Festival form part of the French Season in South Africa, the first leg of a two-way inter-country exchange, known as The France-South Africa Seasons 2012 & 2013.

“The KZN Philharmonic will be opening the festival with a programme consisting entirely of pieces by the French composers, Camille Saint-Saëns and Paul Dukas. We wanted to announce to festival-goers the exciting things to come as part of the French Season,” says Bongani Tembe, who wears two hats as chief executive of the KZN Philharmonic and South African Commissioner-General for the France-South Africa Seasons.

The Seasons is an initiative conceived and facilitated by the governments of the two countries to give the people of France and South Africa an opportunity to understand each other better through cultural, scientific, sport, education and business engagement. The French Season in South Africa runs from June to November 2012 and the South African Season in France will take place in the second half of 2013.

“The Seasons are not only an exchange but they involve very interesting collaborations between artists from our two countries,” says Laurent Clavel, French Commissioner-General for the Seasons. “Audiences in Grahamstown will be able to appreciate the special creativity that is generated by pooling French and South African talents and experiences.”

The Grahamstown line-up from the French Season will also feature:

Music: renowned French pianist and composer Carine Bonnefoy leading a New Large Ensemble of French and South African players; and the brass sound of the Big Time! project which brings together established French and South African musicians with young brass band members from Cape Town and Grahamstown.

Dance: a restaging of the first two works of the French choreographic duo, Mathilde Monnier and Jean François Duroure, and the stunning dance-theatre-piece, !Aïa, which premiered at Artscape last year and is a collaborative project led by Théâtre Taliipot from Reunion Island.

Theatre: The first performance of Ster City in South Africa, created and brought to life by Johannesburg actors and the travelling theatre laboratory Carnet Sud/Nord.

Additional performance art: Nounouche - The Side Show street theatre which will appear in unexpected places at unannounced times; performances by the acclaimed Non Nova Company, involving dance and choreographed ethereal puppets blowing in the wind – with a view to experiencing change and engaging with the unanticipated; and combined creative workshops-puppet shows-exhibitions by Les Grandes Personnes collective.

“Superficially it may seem that French and South African cultures are poles apart. But try out the productions at Grahamstown and you will be convinced that we really have a lot to explore together,” says Tembe.

“The French Season presents a face of France that is real and modern – and much more diverse than many people think,” emphasises Clavel.

For information about the France-South Africa 2012 & 2013 Seasons and programme for the French Season 2012, visit www.france-southafrica.com