The Theatre–St Anne’s College will present its annual Funk season at the Hexagon Theatre in
Pietermaritzburg. Participating schools are Carter, Epworth, GHS, Hilton
College, Howick High School, MCS, Maritzburg College, Russell Girls’ High, St
Anne’s, St John’s, St Nicholas and TWC.
“Funk continues to generate tremendous excitement
and has been a firm favourite on the annual school production calendar now for
17 years! This year we have found a new home at the Hexagon Theatre, a specific move to generate greater community
involvement in the production,” says director Lynn Chemaly.
“Funk evolved as an
idea to create a dance programme for schools with very specific aims. Firstly
to unite schools in working towards a common goal; secondly to give Drama
students and their teachers the opportunity to create and rehearse pieces of
dance theatre for public performance; thirdly, to enable young people to see
that movement, dance and dance theatre is accessible to them and not only in
the hands of professional adult dance companies; and finally, and perhaps most
importantly of all, to generate meaning and artistic integrity through dance
choreography whilst challenging young people to work outside of their comfort
zones,” she adds.
The task for each
school remains constant: to create a six-minute piece of dance choreography
integrating any type of musical or textual accompaniment. The programme
accommodates a range of choreographic and performance possibilities and
provides the perfect opportunity for schools to experiment with new forms. It is
also important to emphasise that this platform is not a competition, and should
not be seen in the same light as a sports festival or inter-house competition.
The highlight of the production is always the mass group Finale which
incorporates all the schools together on the stage.
Funk is produced by The Theatre–St Anne’s
College, directed by Lynn Chemaly, with the Finale created by Arum Bydawell and
is technically managed and administrated by the Hexagon Theatre.
Funk 2016 has performances on May 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11 at 19h30 at the Hexagon Theatre on
the University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg campus. Tickets R70 booked at Computicket.
Posts
