(Val
Adamson who will kick off the dance festival with her exhibition of dance photography.
Pic by Chillies Zwane)
With the
Indian Ocean as a backdrop and the Durban beachfront as a stage, 245 young
performers will dance their hearts out in a celebration of the city’s cultural
kaleidoscope on July 28.
It’s Giyani Lusha 2013, KZN DanceLink’s
annual youth dance project which this year embraces a main performance by more
than 130 young dancers, as well as nine smaller works by rising stars from the
city’s major dance companies.
Kicking
off the dance festival on July 27 is the opening of Love Dance, an exhibition of dance photographs by the acclaimed Val
Adamson, which will also set the stage for the 2013 KZN DanceLink Durban Dance
Awards. Poet and storyteller Gcina Mhlope will open the exhibition at 18h00 at
the Old Pump House (next to the beach baths) and make the Dance Awards, which
salute the creativity, dedication and tenacity of the local dance community.
July 28
is dedicated to the city’s young dancers and their mentor companies. It starts
at 10h00 with the first site-specific work on the Dairy Beach stairs and moves
along North Beach to the Sunken Gardens, culminating in the main performance at
the Amphitheatre.
The
companies involved include Vusi Makanya’s KwaMashu School of Dance and his
students from K-Cap CreDance and God’s Golden Acre. Then there’s Musa
Hlatshwayo’s Movement Lab; Jarryd Watson’s Dance Movement; Bright Sparks; The
Young Ones; Pravika’s Kathak Kendra, Nateshwar Dance Academy and Surialanga
Dance Company. Also appearing will be students from Minette de Klerk’s Dance
Academy and iGugu Labasha.
The main
Giyani Lusha performance returns to
its old “home” at the beachfront Amphitheatre at 13h00 and the giant youth
dance performance project will be followed by some earth-shaking work from
uBuhle Besintu and Imvelo Traditional Dancers.
The
senior companies then take to the stage, including Flatfoot Dance Company,
Mhayise Productions, Dusi Dance Company, Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance Company,
Pravika’s Kathak Kendra teamed up with Surialanga Dance Company, Siwela Sonke
Dance Theatre and Nateshwar Dance Company.
Started
in 2002 by KZN DanceLink as a celebration of the province’s youth dance
culture, Giyani Lusha has had at its
heart a large-scale youth dance performance project. This year it is
choreographed by the prolific Flatfoot Dance Company under the title, Home.
The
expanded Giyani Lusha programme has
been made possible with funding from eThekweni Municipality’s Arts and Living
Cultures Department, the National Arts Council and the National Lotteries
Distribution Trust Fund.
“Working on Giyani Lusha this year has shown what strength is created by
networks and links and becoming a community, “ said KZN DanceLink chairman Lynn
Maree. “Everyone in KZN DanceLink has come together and we have been blessed by
the voluntary offer of an outstanding teacher, choreographer and dance sprite,
Nina Atkinson, from Loop Dance in the United Kingdom, who has choreographed
three of the site-specific pieces, as well as taught workshops and courses in
the region for six weeks. Nina’s offer
was inspired by our reputation!”
Tap into
the heart beat of the city with Giyani
Lusha’s free performances on July 28.
The Love Dance photographic exhibition is
open from the July 28 to August 28.
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