(Luyanda Sidiya. Pic by Adam McConnachie)
Born in the Vaal
Triangle, South of Johannesburg, dancer, choreographer, teacher and mentor-
Luyanda Sidiya (31) -has been named by the National Arts Festival as the2015
Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance.
His interest in
dance started as early as primary school when he saw a drama production
presented to the community by an outreach programme. Already at that early stage
he knew this was his calling. Being a dancer was firmly seeded in Sidiya as he
joined the group and gained insight into modern and traditional dance. A few
years later, the interest within the group grew and in 1996 they were
introduced to contemporary dance and choreography at The Dance Factory in
Newtown, Johannesburg. Through weekend and holiday classes Sidiya learned about
choreographers who were heading up the Moving Into Dance Mophatong group and he
reflects: “My world was now dance and choreography and that fulfilled me deeply
as this was a discovery and a realisation that this it is no hobby to certain
individuals but a life, career and work.”
From there, Sidiya
went through many auditions to be part of various dance schools and his
persistence, perseverance and dedication paid off when in 1999, he was selected
to do an intense teachers training course at the 2000 Community Dance project
at Moving Into Dance Mophatong. His works are largely influenced by
socio-political issues and he allows the works to shape him through his
choreographic process.
When Sidiya is not
choreographing, he spends his time teaching, pitching on new projects and
planning for festivals and performances. He has always emphasised the
importance of giving back to the community which has played a consistent part
in his career, and goes as far back as 1998 when he gave classes at Groenpunt
Juvenile Prison with the hope of giving the young boys a new perspective in life.
He now shares his experience as a dancer and a choreographer with dance
students, which in turn motivates his career.
Sidiya has
travelled extensively with his work to places including; Botswana, The United
Kingdom, The United States, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Italy and Luxembourg.
While working abroad for Moving into Dance Mophatong he facilitated workshops
through a range of dance companies and universities, specifically in the
Afrofusion style, and went on to become the rehearsal director, working on dance
pieces with professionals and students alike.
Among the works he
has performed in, a solo work choreographed by Vincent Mantsoe in 2004 for the
Kuopio International Festival in Finland was one of his most memorable. Sidiya
spent three years in the UK working with ACE Dance and Music Company as a
dancer, and went on to become a rehearsal director for the company. Following
this, in 2007, Sidiya won the award for the Most Outstanding Dancer in the
Contemporary Style for the Dance Umbrella Festival.
Since then he has
worked on a number of pieces for the festival. Among some of his most esteemed
accolades, Sidiya was a dance captain for the 2010 World Cup FIFA Opening
Concert. In 2012 he choreographed the work Umnikelo
which was part of the double bill Mayhem
winning the Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival in
Grahamstown that year.
Between being a
dancer, choreographer and running a business, Sidiya spends evenings and
weekends with his wife, who is also a dancer, and his two daughters.
The Vuyani Dance
Theatre Artistic Director had his latest production 7 pillars premiere at the 2014 Dance Umbrella Festival as part of
the Johannesburg Arts Alive International Festival and has begun working on his
debut piece for the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown for 2015. Sidiya has
fond memories of performing at the Festival that extend back to 2008 where he
says he had the most exciting experience performing with the ACE Dance and
Music Company after being away for three and a half years. “I performed a
production titled Skin which had great reviews in the CUE
newspaper,” he recalls.
Sidiya expresses
his gratitude to Standard Bank by adding:“I am happy to be one of the
recipients among giants that have carried this award. This award to me epitomises
the excellent work that young artists are doing and I take it as recognition,
yet a key to open a door of possibilities.”
The other
recipients of the 2015 Standard Bank Young Artist Award are Christiaan Olwagen
(Theatre), Kemang WaLehulere (Visual Art), Musa Ngqungwana (Music), Athi-Patra
Ruga (Performance Art), and Nduduzo Makhathini (Jazz).
This year’s National
Arts Festival will take place in Grahamstown from July 2 to 12. For more
information click on the banner advert at the top of this page to link you to
the website.
Posts
