MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Shukuma Provincial Dance Festival

By

The Shukuma Provincial Dance Festival is once again coming to the Port Elizabeth Opera House kicking off on Wednesday 04 March. Groups from all 8 Districts of the Eastern Cape will be battling it out to be crowned the best in the Province.

The performances will take place from 10:00 until 18:00 on Thursday 05 March and Friday 06 March at the Main Stage PE Opera House.

The Districts will be represented by the following groups:

  • Alfred Nzo – Pantsula Kings
  • Amathole – TZK Dance Group
  • Buffalo City Metro – Emonti Revolution Entertainment
  • Chris Hani – Stage Burners
  • Joe Gqabi – Sterkspruit Community Arts Centre
  • Nelson Mandela Metro – Ikusasa Performing Arts Company
  • OR Tambo – Top Dog
  • Sarah Baartman – Dogg Unity

Also featured in this year’s Shukuma Provincial Dance Festival will be four Hip Hop Dance crew’s from East London under Dance to the Beat by Lwazi Mene.

Mquma
Mquma

Nelson Mandela native Xolisile Bongwana will be staging his majestic piece ‘Mquma’ on the evenings of the 5th & 6th of March:

During the initial conceptualization of this piece Xolisile Bongwana and David April sought to uncover their personal narratives and to explore where they intersected as far as dealing with their totems, connecting with their cultural roots in order to trace and have a deeper understanding of the past in order to have a clear sense of the future. The piece has now subsequently evolved into Bongwana delving into his personal journey and truly connect with his ancestry.

The movement aesthetic of the overall production borrows from both Bongwana and April’s cultural backgrounds, that is, traditional Xhosa and Tswana dance forms. ‘Mnquma’ is strongly married with original music compositions by Bongwana and No-Finish, a traditional Xhosa musician who achieved much recognition throughout her lifetime and regarded as the master of “uhadi” music.

Nelson Mandela Bay native Xolisile Bongwana joined Uphondo Lwe Afrika in 2005 Port Elizabeth before spending several years with the Dodgy Clutch Company, touring the United Kingdom and the United States. During his career Xolisile has collaborated with renowned international choreographer, Robyn Orlin. A seasoned performer, Bongwana has worked extensively with choreographers Gregory Maqoma and Luyanda Sidiya of Vuyani Dance Theatre and theatre director James Ngcobo. In 2016 he was nominated for Mail and Guardian 200 Young South African award. More recently, he toured Western Australia and performed in the Perth International Arts Festival 2017. Having taken his work to numerous international theatre and dance festivals, Bongwana is today production assistant for Vuyani Dance Theatre.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.