Cut2Black, the events company awarded with the three-year contract to run the Joburg City’s Arts Alive Festival, are pleased to announce that Dance Umbrella, the internationally acclaimed contemporary dance festival, will become an integral part of the event for the duration of the contract.

Chant by Nhlanhla Mahlangu. This work honours all the women in my life.

The backdrop for Opera for Fools depicts the Shebeen lifestyle that was lived in the South African townships of Johannesburg, where it framed the centre stage for some of the dramatic events that took place between the 1970s and 1990s.

Dada Masilo is currently fascinated by tragic heroines in dance and literature – the lack of motivation (as authored by men) for their madness and/or suicides; and historically, the misogyny of formal religion.

Moya Michael, international dancer/choreographer of note, has lent her personality and skill to renowned choreographers Anna Teresa de Keersmaecker and Akram Khan. Now she is to offer the public a uniquely, innovative solo work - a raw, intimate study and deconstruction of her identity used as a mirror to humanity’s struggle to define itself in a shapeless, fragile and always boundless reality.

Homodryer Choreographed, Performed and Video Designed by: Kieron Jina. As a child I was told stories by my elders and I consequently developed a passion for telling my own stories through my performance art.

A dance performance about a girl.

We get to follow Faith on the journey of her life, from obstacles to possibilities… a young girl who resembles any other girl in the world, with dreams of love, happiness and a safe future.

Gates of Hell by Fana Tshabalala, uncle stans jane and john doe by Mari-Louise Basson, Imbokodo by Mdu Mtshali & Unknown Equation by Ivan Teme.

Qaphela (Beware) Caesar! is both a warning to Caesar as well as of him. A mixed media work based on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and installed in several spaces, the production looks at political and personal betrayal within a momentum of rapid, epic change. Part thriller, part dance theatre, part satire this is a work of episodes that examine prophesy, patriotism, ambition, greed and the incessant, dark thirst for power.

“I am of mixed race. Black and White. I do not know how much of each. All I know is that I am me and that is what I would like you to see. Not your version of what you think I should be or an image of me that is comfortable for you to accept.”

Desiré Davids

 

The More… by Sifiso E. Kweyama & Just we by Moeketsi Koena.

Dirty laundry should be dealt with immediately otherwise it piles up, becomes overwhelming and ends up becoming everyone’s problem.

Inter.Fear by Athena Mazarakis and Hansel Nezza, Cellardoor by Alan Parker and Canvas by Louise Coetzer: Company: Darkroom Contemporary

This multimedia contemporary dance theatre experience, is a provocative exploration of the many ways we are “infected” on a daily basis, the many viruses that invade our lives and take charge of our bodies.

Daddy, I've Seen This Piece Six Times Before And I Still Don't Know Why They're Hurting Each Other...

This is the story of Emmanuel Bugen born in Matjieskloof, at a Roman Catholic mission station, a few kilometers from Springbok in the Northern Cape.

The core of this piece is memory; rephrasing the notion of existence and the notion of simply existing in order to exist. Exit/Exist takes a moment to pause; to look back; to rewind the tape to the days when the tapestry of South Africa was about the collision of biographies.

An interactive dance/video collaboration between Nelisiwe Xaba and Mocke J van Veuren.

The Reed Dance is a colourful, cultural celebration that promotes respect for young women and preserves the custom of keeping girls as virgins until marriage.

Uncles, kings, big men, presidents, powerful men, VIP men, old women, strict aunties, young girls, purity, respect, heritage, tradition…