Via Katlehong Dance – Via Kanana: February 16 to March 6, 2022

Danse Danse presents

Via Katlehong Dance – Via Kanana

Pantsula, gumboot, traditional dance… Via Katlehong Dance and choreographer Gregory Maqoma present an electrifying work bursting with passionate energy, based on popular South African street and protest dance forms.

Founded in 1992 in Johannesburg, Via Katlehong Dance takes its name from Katlehong township, a disadvantaged neighbourhood where the protest culture of Pantsula was born. Like hip-hop, it has its roots in the street. In the 1990s, as a multi-ethnic South Africa slowly took shape, Via Katlehong Dance continued the protest struggle through shows and performances that combined the acrobatic dance movements of Pantsula and gumboot, named after the rubber boots that miners wore and that they struck with their hands as they danced.

For Via Kanana, the company invited the great South African creator Gregory Maqoma—head choreographer for the 2010 FIFA World Cup kick-off concert—to combine the communicative energy of Via Katlehong Dance with his physical language in search of humanity and spirituality.

Dancer, choreographer and teacher, Gregory Maqoma is considered to be one of the most talented artists of the new generation in South Africa. Born in Johannesburg in 1973, he began his career with Moving into Dance, a company founded by Sylvia Glasser, an artist who has done much to promote exchange and dialogue between artists from different cultures.

In 1994, his first creation for the company won the FNB Vita Pick of the Fringe award; a year later, he was awarded a prize, this time in the Stepping Stones category. In 1998, he received a grant to create Layers of Time, his last work with Moving into Dance. In 1999, he founded the Vuyani Dance Theater.

A choral piece, luminous and filled with hope!

The performance will be preceded by a short documentary about the work Via Kanana and the origins of the Pantsula culture

On Demand webcast
Streaming available from February 16, 2022 at 12:01 am to March 6, 2022 at 11:59 pm.

To purchase your ticket visit: www.placedesarts.com