(The Keeper of the Kumm from Namaqualand)
Unity in diversity –
The Playhouse Company’s INGOMA competition adopts social cohesion theme
The Playhouse
Company’s 5th INGOMA competition is this year set to be even more
than an exciting annual Zulu dance competition; it has adopted the themes of unity
in diversity and social cohesion for what is set to be an exhilarating day-long
explosion of culture.
Taking place at the
SJ Smith (eWema) Stadium in Lamontville on March 19, the competition will see
not only Zulu dance groups from far and wide competing for prizes, trophies and
prestige, but also a diverse selection of performers from many of South
Africa’s different cultures. The total
prize money offered is R129,600.00
“We at The
Playhouse Company celebrate the performing arts traditions of all of South
Africa’s many and diverse cultures. But while we may come from diverse groups,
we also wish to emphasise the importance of social cohesion and unity, in which
we wish to play a significant role. To that end, this year, The Playhouse
Company’s INGOMA competition will see a wealth of talent from not only Zulu
dance groups, but also from a number of other cultural groups, all of whom will
be engaged in celebrating our differences while fostering unity among our
people,” said The Playhouse Company’s CEO and Artistic Director, Linda
Bukhosini.
The event will see
colourful, dedicated, energetic Zulu dance groups competing in the various Zulu
dance style categories, as well as special featured performers from different
cultural origins such as Indian dance group, Nateshwar Dance Academy, The Congo Kwasakwasa Dancers, The Keeper of the Kumm from
Namaqualand, Burundian drummers, with whom the Kumm dancers will collaborate,
and other popular artforms from the African continent.
The Keeper of the Kumm is a novel (being published later this year
by Tafelberg), a feature documentary and a musical theatre adaptation of an
epic story. “Kumm” is the word for “story” in the now extinct /Xam language of
the Bushman people. The story follows the journey of a sceptical city
journalist who is forced to follow the ancestral call of //Kabbo, a 19th
Century Bushman rainmaker. In recent times, there has been a revival of the
traditional cultures of the Khoe and the San, South Africa’s First Nations. The
Kumm dancers echo the essence of this revival with dance that combines modern
passion with ancient art-forms like the Rieldans and Nama Stap.
At this year’s
INGOMA competition, the Kumm dancers will make their international preview
performance debut with a dance piece choreographed for The Keeper of the Kumm
by acclaimed choreographer, Alfred Hinkel, winner of the Arts & Culture
Trust (ACT) Lifetime Award in 2015. The dancers are members of Hinkel’s and
John Linden’s Garage Dance Ensemble of O’Kiep in the Namaqualand. INGOMA
audiences can look forward to an extremely exciting and fascinating performance
from the Kumm dancers. The Keeper of the Kumm musical theatre project will open
at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in June this year, and then go on
to tour South Africa.
The Congo Kwasakwasa
Dancers is a group formed by Congolese refugees living in Howick in KZN in
order to pass the time and entertain their friends. Kwassa kwassa (or kwasa
kwasa) is a music sub-genre of soukous, and a dance rhythm from the Democratic
Republic of Congo that started in the 1970s where the hips move back and forth,
while the hands move to follow the hips. It was very popular in Africa in the
late 1980s. The words ‘kwassa kwassa’ are said to perhaps have come from the
French quoi ça? (what is it?). The dance was created by Pepe Kalle and
popularized by his soukous music videos, as well as the videos of Kanda Bongo
Man, Viva La Musica, and other Congolese musicians.
In isiZulu, the
word “ingoma” literally translates as “anthem’’, but nowadays tends to refer to
the many and varied dance styles that exist within Zulu culture, particularly
in the competitive arena. Groups who enter the competition will be judged on
their performances in the following six dance style categories: oMama
Besigekle, uShameni, Ingoma Yesinsizwa, Ingoma Yezintombi, Ingoma Sekhuze and
Indlamu.
Traditionally, each
particular dance is performed by specific people of a particular age, gender
and status, and at a particular time or period such as a season or a month or
an event such as a wedding. Body position and movements are highly specific to
the particular dance style and region. In fact, even within a region such as
KZN, dance styles may vary from village to village. Dance among Zulu people is
said to operate similarly to language and as a medium through which to
communicate history.
The MCs for the day
will be Zimiphi ‘Zim Dollar’ Biyela and Mdu Jali. Admission to the event is free.
The Playhouse
Company’s 5th INGOMA competition takes place at the SJ Smith
(eWema) Stadium in Lamontville on March 19 from 09h00. For further information
call Khulekani Kunene on 031 369 9440 or visit www.playhousecompany.com