Creative Feel Dec 2015/Jan 2016

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SA R36,90 (incl. VAT) - Dec 2015 / Jan 2015

25 YEARS OF MAQOMA MAGIC

Arts education - creative foundations

Our DNA tells us that we are all 99.9% alike because we all share one common ancestor.

Dig deeper and learn more at the ALL FROM ONE Exhibition.

Our DNA tells us that we are all 99.9% alike because we all share one common ancestor.

Dig deeper and learn more at the ALL FROM ONE Exhibition.

Our DNA tells us that we are all 99.9% alike because we all share one common ancestor.

Dig deeper and learn more at the ALL FROM ONE Exhibition.

WORlD SymPhONy SeRieS Summer SeASON 2016

making music together.

031 369 9438 • www.kznphil.org.za

WiTh

OuTSTANDiNg

SOlOiSTS

AND STAR CONDuCTORS, The KZN PhilhARmONiC ORCheSTRA Will PReSeNT The SummeR SeASON Of

iTS

ReNOWNeD

WORlD

SymPhONy SeRieS 2016 fROm 18 feBRuARy TO 31 mARCh.

ThuRSDAy 18Th feBRuARy 2016 Conductor: Wolfram Christ Soloists: Pieter Schoeman (violin) Anmari van der Westhuizen Joubert (cello) weber Oberon: overture Brahms double concerto Brahms Symphony no. 2 ThuRSDAy 25Th feBRuARy 2016 Conductor: Wolfram Christ Soloist: Olga Kern (piano) rachmaninoff ‘the rock’, op. 7 rachmaninoff Piano concerto no. 1 dvorák Symphony no. 7 ThuRSDAy 3RD mARCh 2016 Conductor: Alexei Ogrintchouk Soloist: Alexei Ogrintchouk (oboe) mozart Symphony no. 24 dvorák wind Serenade Bellini oboe concerto haydn Symphony no. 104 ThuRSDAy 10Th mARCh 2016 Conductor: James Ross Soloist: farida Bacharova (violin) Beethoven overture to Fidelio mendelssohn Violin concerto ives Symphony no. 2

Bongani Tembe, Artistic Director “The KZN Philharmonic is committed to enriching the cultural life of South Africa’s diverse audiences by presenting world-class concerts and implementing education and community engagement programmes.”

Single tickets priced from R55 – R220 are available at Computicket. All concerts commence at 7:30pm in the Durban City hall. Pre-concert talks are held in the Durban City hall at 6:15pm. The City hall precinct, including surrounding parking garages, is patrolled by a dedicated security team.

SuBSCRiBeRS eNJOy A 25% DiSCOuNT AND TheRe ARe fuRTheR DiSCOuNTS fOR PeNSiONeRS AND STuDeNTS

ThuRSDAy 17Th mARCh 2016 Conductor: James Ross Soloists: David Selleras (saxophone) Chris Duigan (piano) Stephane Pechaux (percussion) Gershwin American in Paris Gershwin rhapsody in Blue Yoshimatsu cyberbird concerto Gershwin Porgy and Bess: a Symphonic Picture ThuRSDAy 31ST mARCh 2016 Conductor: Daniel Boico Soloist: Daniel gortler (piano) mussorgsky Night on Bald mountain Beethoven Piano concerto no. 1 rachmaninoff Symphony no. 2

Subscription bookings are available telephonically from the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra offices on 031 369 9438

James Ross

Anmari v d Westhuizen Joubert

David Selleras

Olga Kern

Chris Duigan

Some of the artiStS featured in the KwaZulu-natal Philharmonic’S Summer SeaSon 2016

Wolfram Christ

The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra

Stephane Pechaux

Pieter Schoeman

Daniel Boico

EDITOR’S NOTE A Special Moment

A

t the recent Arts & Culture Trust Awards evening,

time. How Mekoa’s renowned band, the Jazz Ministers, was

I was privileged to hand over the Lifetime

repeatedly invited to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival

Achievement Award for Arts Advocacy, sponsored

in New York but Mekoa was denied a passport each year. In

by Creative Feel, to Dr Ramakgobotla John Mekoa.

While arts advocacy can be quite broadly defined, when

1976, sole parliamentary member of the Progressive Party and liberal South African anti-apartheid activist, Helen Suzman,

we originally had the award in mind our intention was to

personally got involved. That year, the Jazz Ministers played

recognise someone who has continually championed the

during the Bicentennial Celebrations of the United States.

Dr Ramakgobotla John Mekoa, ACT Lifetime Achievement Award winner for Arts Advocacy

Dingaan Khumalo, Dr Johnny Mekoa, Lore Watterson and Jayesperi Moopen. Photographs by John Hogg

support of the arts. We felt that the award should go to

In 1986, Mekoa became a full-time musician and started

someone who has ‘made the arts happen’ behind the scenes,

teaching at FUBA (Federated Union of Black Artists), the

someone who is not always recognised for the hard work

only school for young, talented musicians at that time. He

that they put in to make the arts happen. Someone who is

then headed to the University of Natal where Mekoa, already

continually giving back and making a real difference to the

a fully grown and family man, enrolled at the University of

South African arts scene. Someone who has a vision as to

Natal School of Music. Four years later, he became the first

how the arts can be sustainable, seeks support for the arts,

black person to earn a degree in music at the institution.

explores new avenues of expression and, most importantly, has a passion for the arts.

The inaugural Arts Advocacy Award was given to Mandie

Following this, Mekoa was granted a Fulbright Scholarship to study jazz pedagogy at the Indiana University School of Music. After completing his masters, Mekoa returned to South

van der Spuy in 2014 for her great support of all forms of the

Africa, where he established the Music Academy of Gauteng

arts. Who better to receive it in 2015 than Johnny Mekoa,

(MAG) on the East Rand. The Academy’s mission is to provide

a great jazz musician who has spent his life trying to teach

a stepping-stone for young people into tertiary education or

music to young people and who finally succeeded – in spite

the music industry. Today, MAG is one of the few remaining

of a very difficult, hostile environment for years.

community-based music education NGOs.

In his acceptance speech, Mekoa reflected on his life and

After a start in an old rundown building, support from

career; how he as a black musician was banned from playing

the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF)

in white clubs under apartheid. How the forced removals of

enabled the academy to move to a better facility in 2000 and,

black people from their homes, the shutting down of events

as Mekoa says, the rest is history.

and venues, all worked against a vibrant cultural scene at the

Lore

8 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

A Christmas Celebration B

ack by popular demand, The Playhouse Company wraps up the festive season with A Christmas Celebration, a star-studded Christmas extravaganza for the whole family that is set to

light up the Playhouse Opera Theatre stage for a bumper six shows from 19 to 24 December.

Choreographed by Sean Bovim, A Christmas Celebration stars multi-award winning international singer, Judith Sephuma, with Damon Beard from East Coast Radio as Master of Ceremonies. Featuring the full KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Playhouse Chorale and the dancers from the Playhouse Dance Residency, this Christmas variety spectacular stars over 150 of the cream of South Africa’s musicians and dancers, including Bongani Tembe, Andile KaMajola, Neville D, Raphael Vilakazi, Filipa

KZN Philharmonic Orchestra

van Eck and Nozuko Teto. The show is being directed by South African theatre giant, Ralph Lawson.

Promising even more sizzle and spectacle than last year, A Christmas Celebration will feature all your favourite Christmas songs, as well as stunning dance and even an acrobatics-dance display by Alex Ishchenko and Michele La Trobe.

Tickets for a special preview performance on Friday 18 December are R100 each. From 20 to 24 December, tickets range from R100 to R200 if pre-booked. Tickets are available from Computicket on www.computicket.co.za or from the Playhouse box office on (031) 369 9596/9540. Pre-booking secures cheaper seats. A discount of up to 20% is available on block bookings from Dawn on (031) 369 9407. Playhouse patrons receive discounted parking at The Royal Hotel Parking and at the Albany Grove Parkade. The Playhouse coffee shop offers a variety of light meals and drinks, while the Playhouse bar is open for every performance. CF

Andile KaMajola

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 9

T

We loved this!

E

A

M

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lore Watterson; lore@desklink.co.za COPUBLISHER & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Chris Watterson; chris@desklink.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR Tamaryn Greer; tammy@desklink.co.za FEATURES EDITOR Natalie Watermeyer; natalie@desklink.co.za

TOGETHER IN CONCERT FOR THE FIRST TIME!

& Making music together.

SALES AND MARKETING EXECUTIVES sales@desklink.co.za sales@creativefeel.co.za SPECIAL PROJECTS Noelene Strauss Kotzé; noelene@desklink.co.za MARKETING INTERN Oupa Sibeko; oupa@desklink.co.za DESIGN Mxolisi Gumbi; mxolisi@desklink.co.za FINANCIAL DIRECTOR Debbi Gregory; debbi@desklink.co.za RECEPTION Angelina Ramano DISPATCH Khumbulani Dube SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION Debbi Gregory; debbi@desklink.co.za

PROGRAMME

On 28 and 29 October, the KZN Philharmonic joined forces with the Johannesburg Philharmonic to perform Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. The sister orchestras brought passion and energy to the Linder stage for an evening of truly worldclass entertainment and artistic excellence, ending with a standing ovation from an enthralled audience. What a night!

Creative Feel eagerly awaits the future collaborations this new partnership will herald.

10 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Published by DeskLink™ Media PO Box 3670, Randburg, 2125 Tel: 011 787 0252 Fax: 011 787 8204 www.creativefeel.co.za www.desklink.co.za PRINTING ColorPress (Pty) Ltd © Copyright DeskLink™ Media The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

CONTRIBUTORS: Nondumiso Msimanga; nondumiso.msimanga@yahoo.com Ismail Mahomed; ismail@nationalartsfestival.co.za Michelle Constant; michelle@basa.co.za Indra Wussow; indra@syltfoundation.com

12877

Support the things that really matter in arts development, at no cost to you.

Thanks to our Arts Affinity members, the Nedbank Arts Affinity Programme has, to date, donated almost R15 million to support more than 800 arts, culture and heritage development projects countrywide.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of talented young artists, open an Arts Affinity account and use it to create more opportunities for the arts. As you use your Arts Affinity current, savings, investment or credit card account, Nedbank will donate to the Arts & Culture Trust, at no cost to you.

Visit any Nedbank branch, call us on 0860 555 111 or go to nedbankarts.co.za.

#ThingsThatReallyMatter

Nedbank Ltd Reg No 1951/000009/06. Authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP16).

Cover image:

34

FUNDING: BEFORE AND AFTER

Gregory Maqoma. Photograph by Marijke Willems

Individuals and registered arts organisations

involved in theatre or musical theatre, dance or

choreography, music or opera, visual arts, craft,

literature and multidiscipline projects were

encouraged to submit their applications for

project funding to the National Arts Council (NAC)

between November and December 2014.

36

ARTS EDUCATION: A PRIORITY – NO QUESTION

The NEPAD Agency in collaboration with South

Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture, hosted the

NEPAD Regional Conference on Arts Education in

Africa for the SADC Region.

38

A PLAY FOR THE FUTURE

ASSITEJ South Africa will host the 19th ASSITEJ

World Congress and Performing Arts Festival in

Cape Town from 17-27 May 2017. Yusrah Bardien

and Alison Green spoke to Creative Feel about the

event and more broadly, why theatre is important

for young people.

48

PROVOCATIVELY POTENT

Theatre facilitator and creator Jade Bowers has

been recognised as the Standard Bank Young Artist

Award winner for Theatre 2016.

52

OPENING DOORS

Creative Feel met with James Ngcobo, the passionate

and articulate artistic director of the Market Theatre.

cover story 22

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EXTRAORDINARY DANCE

World-renowned dancer and choreographer

Gregory Maqoma has travelled from continent to

continent to sold-out shows and has garnered

a reputation of excellence for himself and his

Vuyani Dance Company (VDC). This, however,

is just one facet of his career as he is also a

successful arts administrator and businessman.

contents

arts and culture 28

TRIPLE-THREATS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT ACT SCHOLARSHIPS

Seeking out triple-threat performers, the Arts &

Culture Trust (ACT), Nedbank and DALRO (Dramatic,

Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation) awarded

three scholarships to deserving young candidates at

the end of October.

32

MASSIVE BOOST FOR ACT PERFORMING ARTS SCHOLARSHIPS

Along with funding from the National Lottery

Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), the Arts &

Culture Trust (ACT) will allocate an additional

14 performing arts scholarships in 2016.

12 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

56

ORESTEIA

76

HEARTLAND

Oresteia was recently shown on the West End

Deep South have announced that they will release

following a sellout run at the Almeida, where it has

their second album, Heartland, this November. The

been universally hailed as an astonishing, bold and

world music duo, comprised of Dave Ledbetter and

exhilarating theatrical feat.

Ronan Skillen, collaborated with some of Europe’s

58

ENTANGLED HEAD

most sought-after world music musicians on this

lyrical and fluid album.

At the end of 2014, Angus Taylor’s solo show From

Explicit to Implicit, held at Johannesburg’s Everard

Read Gallery, attracted the attention of Rand

Merchant Bank (RMB) and the Bank offered to

partner with the opening event and sponsor

the catalogue.

62

A TIME OF LIGHTS

In creating a stamp sheet celebrating 2015

as the International Year of Light, multimedia

artist Marcus Neustetter brings an extended

series of works into a cohesive whole.

68

A CELEBRATION OF MENTORING

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative was

created to assist rising artists in achieving their full

potential by pairing them with great masters for a

year of creative collaboration.

lifestyle and entertainment 82 85 86

BOOK REVIEWS CD REVIEWS CINEMA NOUVEAU

contents 74 SA-UK SEASONS: CEMENTING PARTNERSHIPS

contributors 16

ARTLOOKS & ARTLINES

Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column

by Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director of the

National Arts Festival.

18

BUSINESS & ARTS

Business & Arts is a monthly column by

Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts

South Africa (BASA).

20

LITERARY LANDSCAPES

Since the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre

in Cardiff in 2004, Cape Town Opera has been an

Literary Landscapes is a monthly column written

integral and strategic South African partner to

by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of

this national Welsh performing arts centre.

the Sylt Foundation.

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 13

As a new year looms…

W

hile the stores and shopping malls fill up with Christmas cheer around us, Casta Diva Boutique Hotel offers a hidden village in the northern parts of Pretoria

where you and a few friends can break away from the consumer-driven holiday season – retreat to 67 Albatros Street, Ninapark, Akasia.

With the five newest guest units, Casta Diva now boasts a total of 27 beautifully decorated, elegant guest rooms.

These newer units are aptly named ‘Las Terrazzas’ and the setting and decoration create a sense of ‘Africa meets Mexico’. With full-wall windows and spacious bathrooms, these rooms offer a wonderful night’s rest, as all the rooms do at Casta Diva.

Visit the Casta Diva listing on Tripadvisor.com to view some of the reviews and experiences of other guests who have found tranquillity at the hidden gem on the slopes of the Magaliesberg mountain. Their ranking is currently listed at number eleven of 324 hotels in Pretoria, but they are steadily making their way to number one as the listing changes almost daily.

Apart from four star accommodation, this boutique hotel also offers the culinary excellence of the Charisma Restaurant where the food is good, the ambiance is elegant and the experience is always memorable. Book a table for a romantic dinner, a small family function or simply just a special meal. You can view more details as well as reviews of the restaurant on Zomato.co.za where Charisma Restaurant is listed.

If you enjoy supporting local, up-and-coming artists, book tickets to one of the events hosted in the intimate Vissi d’Arte Theatre/Art Gallery on a Saturday evening.

You can visit Casta Diva’s Vissi d’Arte Facebook page for updates on events. Or, if classical is up your alley, visit the Casta Diva’s Charisma Facebook page and book for one of the Sunday afternoon concerts.

So, whether it be a break away from the Christmas madness or a rejuvenation at the beginning of the new year, just before work starts and life commences, why not find peace at an oasis in the city?

Take time for yourself and enjoy the peaceful beauty of the best-kept secret in Gauteng – Casta Diva Boutique Hotel, the place to … Enjoy life. CF

14 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 15

AFRICAN ARTS INSTITUTE AND NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL COLLABORATE ON 2015/16 SOUTH AFRICAN HANDBOOK ON ARTS AND CULTURE

A

new edition of The South African Handbook on

international agencies engaged in the creative industries

Arts and Culture is now available, published by the

in SA; competitions and awards; professional bodies

African Arts Institute (AFAI), with the National

and key media outlets. It also contains an introductory

Arts Council of South Africa (NAC) as the primary

chapter on Africa for those keen to establish relationships

partner. An indispensable resource for contemporary arts and culture practitioners, the 2015/16 edition is edited by

across the continent.’

NAC CEO Rosemary Mangope commented, ‘The NAC is

Mike van Graan, in association with contributing editors and

proud to be the primary partner in the production of The

researchers Mari Stimie and Kim Gurney.

South African Handbook on Arts and Culture, a much-needed

The publication offers invaluable insights and contacts

resource for our industry. As an organisation we encourage

across a wide range of disciplines, including craft, dance,

collaboration and partnerships so that, collectively, we

design, fashion, film, heritage, literature, music, theatre

can help to realise the dreams of those active in the sector.

and visual art. Executive director of the AFAI and editor of

Not only does the Handbook provide a wealth of practical

The South African Handbook on Arts and Culture, Mike van

information that will help readers to act, network and

Graan said: ‘The Handbook is a practical response to the

collaborate, the listings celebrate South Africa’s arts and

need for useful information within the arts, culture and

culture sector by pointing to the richness and variety of our

heritage sectors.

local artistic practice and innovation.’

‘Comprising nearly 400 pages, it gives a comprehensive

The South African Handbook on Arts and Culture retails

overview of key contacts across the creative industries in

at R295 (inclusive of VAT, but excluding packaging and

SA, including: government departments responsible for

shipping costs) and can be ordered from info@afai.org.za.

arts and culture at both national and local levels; public

Orders of 10 – 99 copies are eligible for a discount of 10%,

sector funding agencies and private sector sponsors;

while orders of 100 or more will receive a 15% discount. CF

16 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

#creativeintersections at ACT | UJ Arts & Culture Conference

T

he ACT | UJ Arts & Culture Conference is presented

plenary sessions, presentations and panel discussions

by the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) and UJ Arts &

that will activate practical engagement with the content.

Culture, with support from the SAMRO Foundation

Hosting a diverse spectrum of emerging and established

and Creative Feel. The conference will take place

industry voices, the conference hopes to provide unique

on the 16th and 17th of March 2016, based once again at the

platforms for engagement. This creative conference will

University of Johannesburg (UJ), Kingsway Campus.

once again present a valuable chance for individuals

The two-day conference aims to provide a forum for

working at different levels and in different canons to

developing and inspiring the creative community by

connect and collaborate. Leveraging the successful

encouraging creative collaborations across disciplines.

connections and relationships fostered at the previous

Titled #creativeintersections, the focus of the conference

conferences, ACT hopes to build and create tangible

is to construct a new, creative road map where academic

opportunities and outcomes that celebrate the value of skill

disciplines can physically and figuratively cross boundaries;

swaps and shared knowledge.

highlighting ‘intersections’ where new mediums, theories and connections can be identified and established. #creativeintersections will be an interactive experience comprising of structured networking events, workshops,

Planning for this exciting programme is well underway, with further details soon to be announced. Please visit the conference website www.creativeconference.co.za to join the conversation. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 17

Artlooks & Artlines Artlooks & Artlines is a monthly column written by Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival.

A

t the National Arts Festival in 2014, South

West End and on New York City’s Broadway. While in the

African actress Thembi Mtshali-Jones was

United States, she met Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba

presented with the Standard Bank Standing

and toured with them both throughout Europe and Africa.

Ovation Award for her illustrious contributions

Returning to South Africa, she performed to acclaim at the

to South African theatre. At the 2015 Arts & Culture Trust

Market Theatre in works like Janice Honeyman’s Black and

Awards, this phenomenal actress was honoured with the

White Follies. Later, she again toured internationally with

Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre.

Malcolm Purkey’s Marabi.

In a career spanning over four decades, Thembi Mtshali-

More recently, she has been a crucial part of the

Jones has become one of South Africa’s most celebrated

success of Michael Lessac’s path-breaking work, Truth

theatrical personalities. Her performances have enchanted

in Translation – a drama that has also been performed

theatre-goers at home and beyond, demonstrating

around the world, including a run in the former extreme

South African theatrical excellence to global audiences.

conflict zone of Rwanda. Of her performance in Truth in

Beyond her unquestioned status as an award-winning

Translation, Time magazine said, ‘The raw gospel lament

performer on the live stage, her coauthored dramatic works

sung by Thembi Mtshali-Jones has extraordinary power,

have similarly garnered awards and audience acclaim

leaving the audience in pale shock as the interval lights

internationally. Along the way, she has created memorable

come up.’

characters for cinema and television as well.

Together with Gcina Mhlophe and Maralin van Reenen,

Thembi Mtshali-Jones first burst upon the stage in

she coauthored Have You Seen Zandile? and performed in it.

Welcome Msomi’s Umabatha. She then joined the musical,

Then, together with the late Barney Simon, coauthored and

Ipi Tombi, in the lead role of Mama Tembu, both on London’s

starred in Eden and Other Places and Women of Africa. More

Maureen Lahaud, Motshabi Tyelele, Thembi MtshaliJones (with ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre) and Lazarus Serobe. Photograph by John Hogg

18 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Mother to Mother featuring Thembi Mtshali-Jones at the 2012 National Arts Festival. Photograph by Jess Kriedemann

recently, she joined with Yael Farber to coauthor A Woman in Waiting, a one-woman tour de force commissioned by the Joseph Papp Theatre in New York City, based on Mtshali-Jones’ own life story. The work garnered accolades at the Edinburgh Festival, ran on the West End, and toured further in the United States, Tunisia, France, Canada, Azerbaijan and Bermuda.

Of this work, the Cape Times said, ‘Mtshali is simply masterful’, while the Star cheered, ‘A Woman in Waiting is Thembi Mtshali’s painful yet joyous journey towards herself.

She takes a whole nation with her.’ The UK’s Guardian added, ‘Theatre at its most powerful, the word catharsis was invented to describe such glorious work… The relish with which the story of her life is told is exhilarating, moving and above all, life affirming.’

Thembi Mtshali-Jones has received several Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards and an Mbokodo Award, and she has been given a Living Legend Award from her hometown and home province of Durban and KwaZulu-Natal. The governor of the American state of Kentucky has also conferred upon her the coveted title of an Honorary Kentucky Colonel for her contributions as an artist-inresidence at the University of Kentucky.

Beyond the live stage, Thembi Mtshali-Jones’ television career has included dozens of starring roles, including her well-loved character, Thoko, in ’Sgudi ’Snaysi, and as Hazel, the shebeen queen, in Stokvel. The latter series was nominated for an international Emmy Award. Among many other performances, her cinematic appearances have included the female lead in the path-breaking film, Mapantsula (awarded Best New Film at the Cannes International Film Festival), In My Country, Cape of Good Hope, The Wooden Camera and Themba – A Boy Called Hope. Ever versatile, besides concert touring with musical legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, Thembi Mtshali-Jones has recorded four albums in her own name, as well as recordings as lead vocalist with Sipho Gumede’s band, Peace, and with the African Jazz Pioneers.

Thembi Mtshali-Jones has often remarked that her favourite moment as a performer came when she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to President Nelson Mandela on his 80th birthday, sung in isiZulu and broadcast live on CNN. Thembi Mtshali-Jones has given a lifetime of creative energy to South Africa’s cultural life. Her contributions continue to give South African theatre a rich vitality. She is an inspiration for generations to follow. All that now needs to happen is for this remarkable artist to be awarded the National Order of Ikhamanga by the President. CF

Mother to Mother featuring Thembi Mtshali-Jones at the 2012 National Arts Festival. Photograph by Terrence Mtola

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 19

Business & Arts Business & Arts is a monthly column by Michelle Constant, CEO of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA).

R

ecently the importance of scaling was brought up

the resource narrative. In 2014 alone, Cape Town Opera did

with regard to the arts sector. Is your organisation

more performances overseas than in South Africa – 85 to

or specific programme easily able to scale; what

the local 62. In the seven countries that they visited, 120

stops the scaling and what needs to be addressed

000 saw their diverse productions including Mandela Trilogy,

in the process. Ultimately, the question that should also be

and the foreign income earned for the organisation was

addressed is whether or not the programme or organisation

nearly ten times more than that earned locally. Managing

is required to scale in order to remain successful and

Director Michael Williams attests the success to the power

sustainable. The question arises – does ‘to grow’, actually

of teamwork and indeed a ‘fantastic team’. He also talks

mean ‘to scale’?

to the long-term vision of diverse partnerships, amongst

With this in mind, it is always an enormous honour to

them the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF),

engage with organisations that are doing excellent work in

‘because of them, we are what we are today’, and corporate

rethinking what are sometimes inappropriate frameworks,

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). Most recently, the CTO received

with regard to this discussion. Over the last few weeks I’ve had

a massive individual bequest of R10 million, highlighting

the honour of spending some time with these organisations.

Williams’ suggestion that one ‘doesn’t go for the corporate

Cape Town Opera (CTO) is an anomaly in so many ways.

but rather the individual champion.’ Talking to Williams is

On the one hand it represents a genre of the arts that is seeded

a tonic; at times he is excessively chipper. But he has good

in Western culture – a culture that remains contested in South

reason to be, his strategy is one of local excellence and global

Africa. Conversely, it is an extremely successful company

reach, addressed by touring the successes of the company

that demonstrates organisational transformation (the SA

internationally – and given the current Rand exchange rate,

Rugby Board could learn from them), as well as renewed

it’s a mighty savvy strategy for a large organisation of this

ownership of the aforementioned contested terrain. It is the

nature. As a full-time opera company, the ability to generate

success of CTO that offers us insights into how one can shift

close on R16 million worth of employment in local and

20 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

the company had to shut up shop and downscale. Already the Centre has extended its reach to a Schools Programme in the district, to a residency at the Centre, and it demonstrates a re-framing of skills transfer and access. As Sabbagha describes it, they have encountered a ‘different kind of difficult’ in the shift, but in doing so have discovered a re-energised team, organisation and future. Perhaps what also makes the move exciting is the fresh opportunity to engage with diverse businesses and assets in the region. It opens the door to new partnerships and new ideas of cultural tourism, shifting the conversation from what Iain Harris of the award-winning Cape Town Coffeebeans Routes describes as ‘from a silenced economy to a storytelling economy,’ that is one that is exclusive to one that is more inclusive. As a dancer performed on the back of a tractor, and then what appeared to be a herd of antelope (student dancers from the area with large branches on their heads) traipsed delicately across a green Forgotten Angle Theatre Collective rural performance. Photographs by Christo Doherty

field, it became quite clear that, yes, through the arts we are indeed able to give a new ‘voice’ to our current economy. CF

international work in 2014 alone, deserves applause.

Moving from the Western Cape to Mpumalanga to the new home of the Forgotten Angle Theatre Collective (FATC), powered by the extraordinary PJ Sabbagha. Moving the dance company from Jozi, Gauteng to Emakhazeni in Mpumalanga to open the Rural Dance Centre is both crazy and thoughtful.

Or, as journalist Adrienne Sichel said, ‘It’s another defining moment in South African cultural history; an insane act of faith by PJ, his family and the FATC Company.’ Sichel is right on both counts, and indeed the move is almost counter-intuitive. In order to define a new scalable future,

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 21

Literary Landscapes Literary Landscapes is a monthly column by Indra Wussow, a writer, translator and director of the Sylt Foundation.

Dorothea Rosa Herliany at Frankfurt Book Fair on 15 October 2015

D

arkness surrounds us in the Indonesian Pavilion

written literatures. Some of them, like the Javanese

when a small man enters the stage. Humbleness

literature, have traditions spanning a thousand years. The

surrounds him, a quietness that betrays his

interesting question is how such an unlikely nation can

presence on stage.

build a national literature. The slogan ‘Unity in Diversity’

Afrizal Malna is one of the most important Indonesian

poets and one of many guests invited to present Indonesia as the guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year.

Malna’s journey to poetry was an unlikely one and his

is part of the Pancasila, the official state doctrine, and feels like a continuous call for nation building.

Indonesia gained independence in 1945 after many centuries of being colonised, mostly by the Dutch. To

struggle as a poet is also a struggle to find his roots, his

advance nation building a new language was introduced.

identity and – his mother tongue.

Bahasa Indonesia, the new language that was introduced

On the map, Indonesia looks like a huge, tropical swarm of fish that got lost between Asia and Australia. A country

shortly after independence, derived from Malay, the language of commerce in this area of the world for centuries.

that boasts 700 ethnic groups, five official religions and a

The Indonesians affectionately call their language

myriad of natural religions, even more colours, forms and

Bahasa, which means ‘the language’, and there are statues

scents, is an unlikely place to become one nation.

to honour the language and literature event emphasises the

Indonesia is a literary treasure trove. The many different cultures and languages have produced different literatures, some orally transmitted but also a dozen

22 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

importance of Bahasa in the forming of a national literature.

Poetry is the most popular form in modern Indonesian literature. Readings and performance often attract hundreds

of listeners. The secret of its success lies in its entertainment

also an act of sacrifice to serve their nation best in leaving

value, as pathos and music play a major role. Physicality

the past behind and with it, the words to express their

plays a major role in the performance of poetry.

inner self.

While oral forms are doing well, printed forms are

So Afrizal Malna never learnt his mother’s tongue and,

struggling. The literacy rate is higher than 90% but books

though growing up with Bahasa Indonesia, he has always

are too expensive for the majority of the population, which

been very conscious about the limitations and ambiguities

totals up to 250 million. Andre Hirata’s novel The Rainbow

of language. Malna has doubts in language, and he elevates

Troops has been the most successful book so far and sold no

working on and with language to make it his strongest weapon

more than five million copies.

to repeatedly question Indonesia’s long journey into modernism, which is accompanied by social and political rejections.

His is an appellative poetry to be interpreted. A poetry that is splintered and unending at the same time, a poetry that looks directly at the fragmented present-day society of contemporary Indonesia.

Afrizal Malna calls the Indonesian language a language without a native country. President Suharto’s New Order doctrine of the mid-1960s aimed to shape a united nation but also resulted in the destruction of land and the uprooting of those who could not find a place in it… According to Malna, the Indonesian language famously resists all forms of domestication. This makes him search for a Bahasa Indonesia that is able to reflect the neglected history of his native country with its dispossessed peoples. It is crucial to him to work out these losses and negations with its new common language that on the other hand is still a major construction site. Therefore his poems remain outraged statements against his country’s intolerable social and political conditions. They denounce the widespread lack of work and perspective, denounce the rampant corruption and the government’s ‘dead-body politics’. Environmental destruction and daily violence matter to Malna: ‘People are being raped.

‘Indonesians do not like to read,’ says Anies Baswedan, Minister of Culture and Primary & Secondary Education.

The land is being raped. The earth is being raped.’

Malna transformed his language into an extremely flexible

This is why the ministry launched an initiative to promote

body, one that puts up a fight against bureaucratisation and

reading in schools. Fifteen to 30 minutes of every school

despotism, against over-shaping and uniformity, against

day should be dedicated to books to instil the desire to read

dogmas and banning: ‘Young people know their bodies are

among pupils and students. Education is a very important

unnumbered ice blocks. They melt in order to hump. They melt

factor of this G20-country with more than 60% of its

in order to scavenge a job. They melt in order to buy shoes.

population being under 29 years old.

And they become ice blocks again. They become ice blocks in

Afrizal Malna is a child of the modern Indonesia and its

order to melt. They become ice blocks in order to enter the

new language, Bahasa, marked his childhood. He was born

house. They become ice blocks in order to go to school. They

in 1957 to parents who came from the island of Sumatra to

freeze and melt like the water shoved into the freezer’ (from:

the city of Jakarta because they, like so many Indonesians

The Active Activities of Ice Blocks).

of that time, believed in the new country and the promise of a better life.

Arriving in the capital, they decided to leave behind

Afrizal Malna is one example of the literary diversity that tells us about the fierce fight for excavating the traditions of this unlikely island nation, tells us of the many victims the

their past and abandon their native language. From that

modern state has claimed. Indonesian literature offers us an

point on they only used Bahasa Indonesia – even in their

image of a faraway region, where extremes are clashing like

private space. An act of hope and an act of rebirth, but

nowhere else in the world. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 23

Lulu Mlangeni and Julia Burnham of Vuyani Dance Company.

Photograph by Marijke Willems

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS of Extraordinary Dance World-renowned dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma has travelled from continent to continent to sold-out shows and has garnered a reputation of excellence for himself and his Vuyani Dance Company (VDC). This, however, is just one facet of his career as he is also a successful arts administrator and businessman. Creative Feel spoke to Maqoma about the business behind dance.

24 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

//

“When I go to funders I say, ‘give me this much in order for me to make this much so that I don’t come to you again with the same request year after year. Let us build a sustainable investment [together].’” \\

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 25 Gregory Maqoma. Photograph by Marijke Willems

G

regory Maqoma’s exceptional talent is augmented by noteworthy business savvy as the founder and director of Vuyani Dance Company (VDC). Passionate about dance and desiring to create a space where people of his generation could ‘come together and realise

their dreams and ambition through movement and choreography,’ Gregory Maqoma formed Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT), now Vuyani Dance Company, in 1999. Funding for the company’s first production, Rhythm 123, was generously awarded by the Embassy of the Netherlands and with that, Vuyani Dance Theatre came into being. According to Maqoma, he did not start out with much business knowledge: VDT ‘was not even a formal dance company at the time.’

Rather, it operated from project to project, being formalised as a non-profit organisation (NPO) in 2002. ‘As a NPO, obviously there is no business model… and we didn’t create a business plan. We were passionate about giving back to the community, asking: “how do we expand dance into our communities? How do we start creating a legacy and nurture young talent?”’

//

“We were passionate about giving back to the community, asking: ‘how do we expand dance into our communities? How do we start creating a legacy and nurture young talent?’” \\ Around 2004, the company managed to establish a core of full-time employed performers, who all required salaries. Critical support was required and the company was awarded funding from the National Arts Council (NAC). At the same time, Maqoma began to realise that there were other, more innovative ways, of sustaining a dance company – for example, selling their productions and collaborating with international theatres and festivals, with whom he’d developed relationships over the years, to coproduce work.

This business model proved successful until 2009 when the economic downturn caused international invitations and funding to dry up. The company reached a crisis point. Maqoma approached Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) CEO Michelle Constant for advice.

Constant suggested that he begin with his board: replacing one board comprising primarily of friends with one made up of experts able to provide critical insight, strategy and advice.

With the new board in place, the company began working on a Gregory Maqoma. Photograph

by Marijke Willems

26 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

business model and identified its strengths and weaknesses. While Vuyani Dance Theatre produced work of a soaring, international

standard, the brand was virtually unknown. Gregory Maqoma, however, as a former Standard Bank Young Artist and dancer and choreographer of global repute had himself become a hallmark of exceptional South African dance. The question then became: how to capitalise on his success, create a sustainable company able to flourish beyond Maqoma’s time and shine as ‘the best in the country, the best on the continent’?

Moreover, the company began to think about how to ‘influence change, from the funder’s point of view, and also from our audience’s point of view,’ adds Maqoma. VDT increased their emphasis on quality in all aspects of their productions, ensuring that audiences came back for more. They also focused on accessing bigger spaces and festivals, including the likes of the Joburg Theatre, the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the Lyon Biennale, and the New York City Centre, among others.

The company set out to have a ‘reciprocal conversation’ with funders, allowing those backing them to genuinely understand their needs, while seeking in turn to understand the funder’s investment and their desired return on investment. ‘Instead of me just having to fill in forms,’ explains Maqoma, ‘we started to speak their language, the business language.’

‘When I go to funders I say, “give me this much in order for me to make this much so that I don’t come to you again with the same request year after year. Let us build a sustainable investment [together].” And so, when they look at the business model, they are more likely to say, “we like this, because it shows growth, development and that you are thinking beyond just the funding cycle.”’

During the critical period of 2009, the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) provided substantial support of VDT’s tenth anniversary programme, allowing the company to survive. In addition, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) provided a three-year funding grant, as apposed to the regular year-long grant.

This proved to be crucial in allowing the company to increase its sustainability and Maqoma remains a vocal advocate for the pressing need for longer-term funding.

‘When we got the three-year funding from the Lottery, we said, “let’s use this three-year funding in order for us to focus on all these key elements in the sustainability of the company – getting its image out there, creating a marketing model and developing audiences…” That started in 2010 and we’re here now, without a big funder behind us, because we started working on those critical elements… I could see the change. We are a perfect example of what long-term funding is able to do. Freeing you up to focus, to think about the business model, the system.

A year-to-year thing is unsustainable in itself. Every year you go back because you haven’t had time to develop and test the ideas and see if things will work.

‘We’re also aware that we will never be fully self-sustainable…

But what is important for funders to know is that, as a company,

Gregory Maqoma performing in Beautiful Me. Photograph by Val Adams

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 27

Gregory Maqoma performing in Beautiful Me. Photograph by Val Adams

we are thinking about ways in which their investment can

on accountability. ‘Go to the shows, have those kinds of

really go a long way, so that even when they are not there,

conversations – are audiences attending and if not, why?

we can still continue to function and the results of the

Those are critical conversations that we should be having

investment can have a greater impact than what the money

with funders because there might be something else within

was intended for… For instance, Full Moon, which was a big

the whole cycle that we might be able to solve together. The

production for us: how do we take elements of it and start

funding model might be a problem in itself. It happens a lot.

selling those elements to corporates?’

Lots of communication should take place. We should all have

Maqoma further emphasises the vital need for close

a business model in terms of what the implication of funding

cooperation with financiers whose feedback can help the

is – the funders need to understand it and, as the receiver,

company to deliver on (and exceed) expectations and focus

we need to understand it.’

28 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Vuyani Dance Company certainly is everywhere at

have access to our spaces. Our target is the black middle-class,

present, performing at every event, pitching to production

because that is our future and to tap into that – in order for

companies and, as of late, directing events themselves.

them to be conscientised about the value that the arts bring

‘We keep expanding all the time and we think about other

within a community – space is critical.’

ways we can fundraise that are not the usual,’ reveals

VDC’s community outreach programme offers children the

Maqoma. ‘For instance, we have Greg and Friends on 3 and 4

opportunity to pursue dance – be it as a hobby or a possible

December, and we’re using that as a big fundraiser towards

career – while also encouraging future audiences. This also

building our new company home in Soweto.’

ensures the dance company’s own sustainability down the line.

The company snaps up opportunities and has made a

The company has also recently started a relationship with

conscious effort to collaborate with household names from

the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, aiming to address a

all sectors of the arts – from Hugh Maekela to David Tlale

critical gap between the ages of 18 and 24, with many youths

and Black Coffee. ‘It’s about diversification of audiences,’

having dropped out of school. ‘It’s critical for us to give them

explains Maqoma. ‘For example, the work that we did with

opportunities to develop skills,’ considers Maqoma. ‘Not to

Erik Truffaz took us to jazz festivals in France, with 7 000

focus on maths and science as the only option because, for

people watching us performing after George Benson at

some people, those are subjects that are intimidating – they

02:00 in the morning.’

struggle and drop out.’

Nurturing relationships – with funders, collaborators,

Vuyani Dance Company has also been taking on university

theatre and festival directors, audiences, the media, you

dance graduates, beginning a kind of apprenticeship

name it – plays a key part in Vuyani Dance’s success, as does

programme in 2014. The company selected 15 apprentices to

Maqoma’s ability to co-opt everyone that he meets as an

take part in their production of Full Moon, which enabled the

ally. ‘I speak quite openly about my dreams and aspirations

students to fully grasp the elements that they had been taught

for the company, where we are and where we’re going,

at university. ‘Now, about 80% of those are working all over in

because when people know what you’re thinking, what your

other productions,’ declares Maqoma. ‘And some we kept!’

vision is, they become your feelers out there,’ he says. ‘And

With an eye towards the future, the company has also

when I don’t know something, I’m not shy to go and ask for

sought to identify leadership within the organisation. Luyanda

assistance and advice.’

Sidiya was selected as artistic director of the company as

With their first five-year plan drawing to a close, Vuyani

part of their growth and succession plan. Sidiya, mentored

Dance has excelled in some aspects and less so in others.

by Maqoma, is in turn mentoring Lulu Mlangeni as another

They have succeeded in diversifying their income streams,

future leader. Maqoma himself remains an avid student of

bringing in revenue from open classes, international performances and corporate events. On the other hand, the brands visibility still needs work. Above all, they have not only survived, but flourished, and are now looking towards 2020, with a new ‘vision’ in place.

The company is set to break ground on a state of the art dance facility in Soweto with land provided by the City of Joburg. As most of the company’s outreach programmes are run in Soweto, and many of the dancers live there, the move from

//

“I speak quite openly about my dreams and aspirations for the company, where we are and where we’re going, because when people know what you’re thinking, what your vision is, they become your feelers out there” \\

Newtown makes considerable sense. Moreover, such space is necessary for producing high-quality, large-scale productions, as well as for establishing a school of dance recognised for its

all things business and, in 2013, took a year-long course in

potential to produce world-class dancers.

social entrepreneurship, presented by the Gordon Institute

At Maqoma’s instigation, the interior of the building will

of Business Science (GIBS), with a scholarship provided by

be visible from all sides so that ‘people can stand there in the

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). ‘Vuyani thanks RMB due to their

street and watch dancers practising or doing classes. There will

continued support via the Starlight Classics,’ adds Maqoma.

always be a sense of activity within the building. And for me, that means it speaks directly to the public.’

‘If we want to tap into the community, we need to be centred around the community itself, in order for them to

Vuyani Dance Company has come a very long way from its origins, when it survived seemingly on passion, a wing and a prayer. But the love of dance and the desire to leave a lasting legacy, remains at its heart. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 29

Triple-Threats Take Centre Stage at ACT Scholarships Seeking out triple-threat performers: those who are skilled actors, dancers and singers, the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), Nedbank and DALRO (Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation) awarded three scholarships to deserving young candidates at the end of October.

2015 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships Award Winners at the Market Theatre – Carla Smith, Caleb Heynes and Andiswa Mbolekwa. Photographs by Debbie Yazbek.

30 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

2015 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Scholarships finalists left to right (back) Emelda Mothelesi, Andiswa Mbolekwa, Masego Moloto, (front) Carla Smith, Jacques Mouton, Caleb Heynes

H

ard work is rewarded: this is the light that ACT

Students know, from the tender ages of their late

shines in the eager eyes of young people who

teens, that hard work does not necessarily equal success

want to pursue their dream of a career in the

when one cannot afford to put their hard work to the test

performing arts.

at a university. School-leavers today are faced with great

For the first time, in 2015, the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT)

responsibility and sobering realities but when the call to be a

cast their net wider by holding auditions in every province of

performer has sounded through a young person’s bones it is

South Africa in the search for performance hopefuls who could

crushing when that person feels forced to tell themselves to

rise up to the challenge of being a triple-threat performer

stop dreaming. This is where the works of ACT, Nedbank and

and stand a chance to win one of the revered ACT | Nedbank

DALRO (Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation)

| DALRO Scholarship Awards. The awards add up to R315 000

become critical in maintaining the positive pulse of the

for the three winners but the reward to both the awardees and

nation’s heartbeat. They bring hope.

their parents is incalculable. More so, the opportunity that this

Raymond ‘Mond’ Motadi, who hosted the showcase at

award provides to would-be-performers across the country is

the Market Theatre, opened the show with a heartfelt note

the gift of dreaming, and this is inestimably precious.

on the importance of the scholarships to a young dreamer.

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 31

Carla Smith, 1st place winner, performing Laughing Wild at the 2015 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships Awards at the Market Theatre. Photographs by Debbie Yazbek

He won the position of Master of Ceremonies through a

danced and acted their hearts out on the John Kani stage.

competition that runs concurrently with the showcase

The evening began with a group song whose harmonies sent

preparations – offering yet another ‘break’ to a talented

goosebumps running up the arms of every audience member.

student. In 2015, ACT showed that they have a deep

The nerves of the family members in the room were palpable

understanding of the needs addressed by the award and

and so was the sheer hunger of the performers. Carla Smith

provided even more qualitative development opportunities

set herself apart from the first note of ‘Seasons of Love’. She

through the showcase presentation. Previous winners

shone in the lights and she moved as though she were alone

were given the chance to gain professional experience

onstage in front of only her parents, doing what she’s been

by choreographing pieces and mentoring the finalists;

doing since she was born: performing!

providing the previous winners with an audience and further, media attention.

The weight of the pressure was on the finalists. The six, who were selected from 200 candidates nationally, sang and

32 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

When she was announced as the winner of the R150 000 prize it was no surprise. Her monologue emanated a mad, yet quiet, humour and her song radiated pure joy throughout the auditorium. She had audience

Caleb Heynes showcasing his talent in Ugly NooNoo. Heynes is the 2nd place winner of the 2015 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships Awards

Andiswa Mbolekwa, 3rd place winner of 2015 ACT | DALRO | Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships Awards, singing I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn’t Know How to Howl

members in a kind of call-and-response-thrill as she sang

too lit up on the stage. Heynes’ family had never seen

her plea for them not to tell her ‘mama’ where they had

him perform before this auspicious night. While the fun-

seen her. And whilst the dance technique of all finalists

loving head boy, who had the audience in stitches during

did leave much to be desired, hers was a dance of such raw

his rendition of The Ugly Noo Noo, took funny-faced selfies

emotion that she soared. In her ecstatic state, after being

with his trophy his family was almost uniformly holding

announced as the winner, she said that she was relieved

their hands to their chests. Hailing from what his family

for her parents because this would take such a load off

calls ‘very very humble and difficult beginnings,’ they

their shoulders, financially. She also said that they had

swelled with pride because all they asked for was for him ‘to

told her it doesn’t matter what the outcome is ‘”you must

win, obviously, and he did.’ Mbolekwa’s family was simply

just enjoy yourself,” they said.’ And this enjoyment of her

stunned. And while the participants all received something,

performance was her winning formula.

it was obvious just how vital this award is for the dreamers

The runner-up, Caleb Heynes, as well as the third prize winner Andiswa Mbolekwa, shared this key aspect; they

to afford to keep dreaming when the other finalists welled up at the end of the night. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 33

Massive boost for ACT Performing Arts Scholarships In his thank you address at the 2015 Scholarships finals on Monday, 12 October 2015, ACT CEO Pieter Jacobs announced that in 2016 the careers of more than 14 young performing artists would be fast-tracked through a massive fund injection from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF).

Carla Smit. Photograph by Debbie Yasbek

34 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

J

acobs shared his thoughts with the audience saying that, ‘art is the manifestation of our social fibre’ and that it is ‘integral to the human identity’, and just on that basis it is vital to

support the arts. He further thanked the NLDTF for their hand in giving others what he believes is the greatest gift of all, ‘the gift of education’. Jacobs also stressed that opportunities granted to the youngsters will help bolster the quality of output in the arts sector in the long run.

This will be the largest number of scholarships the organisation has allocated annually since the programme’s inception in 2009. ACT, together with the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) and Nedbank Arts Affinity, has invested more than R1.5 million in young performing artists’ careers over the last seven years.

Caleb Heynes. Photograph by Debbie Yasbek

An exciting detail that has been added to the existing format is that the 2016 programme will see ACT cater for performing arts students in their first and second year of undergraduate studies, in addition to Grade 12 learners who are interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts in South Africa.

A range of Dramatic Arts, Singing, Acting, Dance and Musical Theatre Scholarships between R30 000 and R60 000 will be allocated to reach a combined value of R750 000.

National auditions will be hosted from June to August 2016 and participants will be given a six-month period Andiswa Mbolekwa. Photograph by Debbie Yasbek

to register for the programme as of December 2015, with registrations set to close on 31 May 2016. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 35

Funding: Before and After Individuals and registered arts organisations involved in theatre or musical theatre, dance or choreography, music or opera, visual arts, craft, literature and multidiscipline projects were encouraged to submit their applications for project funding to the National Arts Council (NAC) between November and December 2014.

SLED St Vincents School teaching practice

A

Umcebo palm-nut vulture Sculpture

t the same time, post-graduate students and

South Africa’s creative industries. Key to this transformation

registered education and training institutions

is not only supporting SA’s existing centres of arts

that are involved in studies or provide tuition

excellence, but also identifying and fostering emerging

in the fields of theatre, dance, crafts, literature,

talent nationwide – those organisations and individuals

music and visual arts were also asked to submit applications

that will be our future standard-bearers for the arts, both

for bursary funding. That invitation extended to students

nationally and internationally.

applying for Bachelor of Technology degrees in the arts.

‘In our on-going efforts to ensure the arts are as

Applications invited were for individual post-graduate

inclusive as possible, we are particularly keen to encourage

studies and block institution bursaries for undergraduate

funding applications from arts organisations and individuals

students who will be studying in South Africa during 2016.

that support the involvement of women, youth and those

Projects should be of national significance, focusing on

living with disabilities. We also welcome applications from

the creation of new works, capacity development, and arts

students who are not only interested in studying abroad, but

promotions – and on overall arts development. Those that

also committed to returning to SA to share the knowledge

have a strong community base and have been conceived

and experience they have gained with their peers.’

in collaboration with others working in similar fields were also encouraged to apply.

Says NAC CEO Rosemary Mangope: ‘At the National Arts Council we are committed to changing the landscape of

36 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Artists and students interested in applying for similar funding can find application forms online at http://nac.org.za/funding/calls-and-results/ or from the National Arts Council office (Tel: 011 838 1383).

Recent NAC-funded success stories include Ifundiso Trading, whose Hlengiwe Dube – a jewellery designer, crafter and educator – served in early 2015 as Visiting Scholar at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Visiting Artist at the School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University. She has also been able to exhibit her work in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Houston, Texas.

Elsewhere, the Bulwer Park Community Public Sculpture Project is building a large sculpture – from all-recycled materials – for Bulwer Park in Glenwood, for a planned installation in mid-December 2015. It’s a vulturine fish eagle, a.k.a. palm-nut vulture, wings spread, soaring over seven metres high among the tree tops in this beautiful park which, following a major makeover by eThekwini city, is a popular outdoor recreation space for locals.

Recycling and upcycling is a sustainable alternative to using traditional sculpture materials. Leading the charge is Umcebo Design, one of the NAC’s beneficiaries. Robin Opperman, Ujala Sewpersad and a group of local crafters, working from their studio over the road from Bulwer Park, have constructed the eagle sculpture.

Sign Language Education and Development (SLED), a local organisation eagerly supported by the NAC, is turning the tide in granting access to South Africa’s mainstream arts scene for deaf people. They are achieving this by creating a rich collection of works in South African Sign Language (SASL), to make sure that the history and heritage of South Africa is accessible to the deaf community, in a way that allows it to be transferred from generation to generation.

SLED has been awarded funding to develop a wide range of signed SASL literature for Deaf learners, including educational materials in signed poetry, children’s stories in SASL and in print, historical and contemporary biographies, descriptive narratives and SASL non-fiction.

The process will involve research to identify Deaf poets, artists and narrators before creating these unique Deaf community resources.

Another project going from strength to strength is Lefika La Phodiso (‘The Rock of Holding’), Africa’s first psychoanalytically informed community art counselling training centre. The centre facilitates 16 arts counselling groups in Gauteng and Limpopo, collectively reaching almost 750 beneficiaries, receiving over 800 hours of intensive art counselling. Their mission is to build capacity for empathy by training groups of community art counsellors dedicated to psychosocial transformation through the creative arts and their vision is to provide safe spaces in which creativity and containment nourish emotional development and build healthy relationships. CF

SLED LTSM development Term 1-2 artist at work

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 37

Arts Education: A Priority

– No Question The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency in collaboration with South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), hosted the NEPAD Regional Conference on Arts Education in Africa for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region.

Magnet Ekhaya, Kiddies College

T

Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra Music Investment Project

he three-day Conference, under the theme

Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, which controversially

‘Advocacy for Arts Education in Africa’, took place

ranked the quality of South Africa’s mathematics and

from March 11 to 13, 2015 in Johannesburg, South

science education last out of 148 countries, there has been

Africa. The aim of the conference was to develop

much debate about the need to improve performances in

an advocacy and policy framework for Africa with specific attention to the SADC region in order to strengthen and

these important subjects.

While the Basic Education Department has correctly

harmonise arts education and training policies, as a strategic

taken issue with the WEF report – it was not an accurate

intervention and contribution in regional integration, social

reflection on the state of education in South Africa, merely a

cohesion and sustainable development in the continent.

reflection of the opinion of ‘business leaders’ – the concern

‘Arts education, as a transformative strategy in Africa,

about mathematics and science nevertheless remains valid.

seeks to address the imperatives of peace and stability, human rights, social justice, gender equality, diversity, creative and

It is here that the arts could play a vital role.

Art, to paraphrase the Polish sculptor Magdalena

innovative skills and cultural identity. That is why it has to be

Abakanowicz, may not solve problems, but it will make us

given greater prominence within African education systems,’

aware of them. An arts education, on the other hand, will

said Professor Mzobz Mboya from the NEPAD Agency.

solve problems. An arts education is fundamentally linked

So-called conventional wisdom suggests that the

to almost everything that we want for our children and

arts are a luxury in an education environment where

expect from our schools: academic achievement, social

resources are stretched and budgets slashed. Since the

and emotional development, civic engagement, equitable

publication last year of the World Economic Forum’s Global

opportunities. The whole nine yards.

38 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

identified as such at UNESCO’s first-ever World Conference on Arts Education in Lisbon in March 2006.

It would be naïve, however, to ignore our own history and its effect on the various and diverse cultures of our country. The South African landscape is one that still bears the ravages of apartheid. The inequalities thrown up by our divided past remain with us. Family structures, once dissipated by migrant labour and rapid urbanisation, went on to suffer the scourge of HIV/AIDS, which gave rise to childheaded households. Artistic practices within the context of a family environment became ever more difficult.

So there are challenges. But an arts education would provide for a more fruitful and dynamic foundation with which to face these challenges. It is critical that learning

Magnet Theatre Educational Trust

Involvement in the arts – be it music, dance, drama, fine

environments develop emotional as well as cognitive skills.

art – is directly linked to gains in not only mathematics

Often, too much emphasis is placed on the latter and this

and science, but reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking

comes at the expense of the development of emotional

and verbal skills. It improves motivation, concentration,

processing, which is an integral part in decision-making and,

confidence and team building. The innate pleasures and

more importantly, a conduit for sound moral behaviour.

stimulation of the arts do more than provide enjoyment

For too long now the arts have been relegated to some

to an individual: they lay the foundation to build social

Cinderella status in our schools, and it will take years and

cohesion and strengthen communities.

considerable investment and effort to turn things around. But

The National Arts Council (NAC) takes the position

the way ahead seems clear. At that 2006 UNESCO conference

that arts education is not merely important for

in Portugal an arts education ‘road map’ was drawn up

appreciation alone, but must be seen as a means to

to emphasise the three primary aims of arts education:

enhance learning in other subjects. This aspect cannot be

to develop human capabilities, to improve the quality of

over-emphasised.

schooling, and to promote the expression of cultural diversity.

Arts education is critical if we are to improve the overall standard of education.

Such an education is perceived as a universal human

In a nutshell, it is simply this: there are three purposes to education – one, we’re preparing our children for employment; two, we’re preparing them for citizenship; and

right for all learners, including those who are unfortunately

three, we’re preparing them to be human beings who can

excluded from mainstream education – a right enshrined

enjoy deeper forms of beauty.

in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further

The third is just as important as the other two. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 39

A Play for the Future The Lost Couple, Daniel Buckland performs at the Bodibe Childrens Festival 2014.

Photograph by Yusrah Bardien

ASSITEJ South Africa will host the 19th ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts Festival in Cape Town from 17-27 May 2017. Yusrah Bardien and Alison Green spoke to Creative Feel about the event and more broadly, why theatre is important for young people.

T

he International Association of Theatre for

Yusrah Bardien, Communications and Marketing Manager

Children and Young People (more commonly

of ASSITEJ SA, describes the Congress as a ‘massive Olympics

known as ASSITEJ), which is funded by the National

of children’s theatre’. This eleven-day feast of theatre from

Arts Council (NAC), is dedicated to the promotion

across the globe will have days dedicated to each of the

and development of theatre for young audiences. Every three

association’s many networks, which include the International

years, the association holds a World Congress. The next one,

Theatre for Youth Research Network (ITYARN), the Small Size

in partnership with the NAC, will take place in Cape Town

network, dedicated to the production of theatre for babies to

during May 2017, the first ever to happen in Africa in the 50-

four-year-olds, the Inclusivity Network, which creates work

year history of the association. This is an achievement largely

catering for a full spectrum of disabilities, and Write Local

due to the energy of Yvette Hardie, now in her second term as

Play Global, which brings together playwrights for young

the first African president of the global ASSITEJ.

audiences, among others.

40 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

While part of the Congress is geared towards association

‘People ask why theatre is important when there is so

members, the event will also bring scores of theatre

much need for houses, hospitals, food... But nothing in

productions for youth to the country. Thus locals will be able

any of those things addresses the poverty of hope. And

to experience some 50 shows presented by ASSITEJ’s many

that is what theatre addresses – the poverty of the soul,

worldwide members, with a strong focus on productions

the need for inspiration and hope. Live performance,

from African countries. The Congress will take place in Cape

that immediate experience of a human exchange –

Town, but ASSITEJ SA is hoping to extend happenings to

that’s where it happens, and after the performance the

Durban and Johannesburg.

experience lingers on. Theatre can offer the ability to

Bringing the event to Africa, and increasing the work

be transformed in some way... A lot of charity addresses

of ASSITEJ locally and across the continent is important,

the symptoms of poverty, whereas theatre can address

says Bardien, who notes that a huge percentage of Africa’s

a cause. If we address this aspect, then someone may be

population are children. ‘The current capacity of performing

inspired to use what they have and empower themselves,

arts in South Africa won’t meet the need for theatre for

whereas you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be

children. Currently, at the National Arts Festival there are

helped, because they’re depressed.’

about 15 – 20 theatre pieces for families, out of about 500.

Alison Green, Gauteng Coordinator for ASSITEJ SA’s

That’s a small percentage,’ she says, adding that some of

Kickstarter Creative Arts Project, echoes the ability of

the pieces presenting themselves as adult theatre are in fact

theatre to affect transformation, also pointing out its role in

for families, ‘but there’s a stigma against making work for

developing important aspects of personality and community.

children in South Africa, when actually it’s so important.

‘If you are observing a piece of theatre, you immediately

That’s arguably where the forefront of theatre is... but some

have empathy for the characters in the show,’ she says. ‘You

artists are still reluctant to do it.’

can understand other situations, which you yourself are not

ASSITEJ International gathering of participants at Augenblick Mal, May 2015, Germany

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 41

necessarily part of. I think that allows for growth and change and understanding, as well as empathy, and compassion within a community.’

‘The arts also allows for a fuller scope, or more holistic engagement with the world,’ she adds. ‘There are different ways of thinking about things, different ways of appreciating, ways of making different decisions – which I think is part and parcel of the experience of seeing theatre, or going to a gallery and observing art.’

Introducing children to quality theatre productions is also an essential aspect of audience development, a critical part of sustaining the industry going forward. It is the people who went to the theatre in their youth who attend the theatre as adults: ‘It becomes an experience that they want to share with their children and families,’ says Green.

Vrygrond Family Festival 2014

Annabel Morgan and Nadia Woodward in Fishy Flippers

ASSITEJ SA at the Catalina Theatre in Durban

Partly through its ability to convey a firsthand, ‘lived’

‘Access to the creative arts is not a privilege. Everyone

experience to its audience (in a way that film and television

deserves the opportunity to be captivated, have their

arguably do not), theatre can serve as a richly illuminating

imaginations unleashed and to free their thinking through

aspect of education. This was demonstrated recently

the power of the arts.’

when Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) called on ASSITEJ SA to

Hence one of ASSITEJ’s priorities has been to convince

initiate a series of workshops accompanying the production

theatres that productions aimed at young audiences can

of War Horse in South Africa. Working with facilitators from

benefit from elements of education. They advocate for the

the UK, ASSITEJ SA designed a series of workshops aligned

use of learning materials to accompany performances, as

with the national curriculum, connecting the production to

well as workshops, Q&A sessions, and discussions with the

themes from English, history, life skills and the arts. When

performers and director. These tools can extend the impact

the pupils finally came to the show, ‘you could almost feel

of the performance.

the education landing,’ recalls Green. ‘The impact was

Performances aimed at very young children (particularly

just overwhelming – the letters, and the artwork, and the

four-year-olds and younger) bring an important benefit:

responses we had from the teachers and the learners was

they strengthen the attachment between a child and

incredible.’ Of the value of ASSITEJ and their work on War

accompanying parent or caregiver. ‘If very young children

Horse, Head of the RMB Fund, Yvette Nowell, has said,

are exposed to something happening in front of them, when

42 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

they react, they will laugh or giggle, or scream, and then look to see the reaction of the caregiver,’ says Green. ‘There has been quite a lot of research done about that bond, and what happens during the experience of watching a live show.

That has been very important in the development of creating children’s work: how do you provide the opportunity for those bonding experiences?’

According to Bardien, productions targeted at this age group – i.e. ‘theatre for babies’ – are relatively new to South Africa. In Europe, the idea has been around for some 30 years, spearheaded by practitioners such as Robert Frobetti.

ASSITEJ SA has been instrumental in its local development, with new work being created by, among others, Magnet Theatre, Nicola Elliot, Kyla Davis, and Joanna Evans, whose production Patchwork has received rave reviews.

Theatre for babies, Patchwork. Photograph by Merryn Carver

The Magnet Theatre’s Every Year, Every Day, I Am

The Lost Couple by Daniel Buckland. Roberto Pombo and Kyla Davis perform in the village of Bodibe, South Africa

Jori Snell with children from Vrygrond

thirteen. That’s a steady growth, and a number of these

Walking, directed by Mark Fleishman, is another example

shows are created by practitioners who have come through

of a hit production aimed at teenagers. ‘That show has

ASSITEJ’s programmes, like Richard Antrobus, Jayne

not stopped touring,’ says Bardien. ‘It’s been to virtually

Batzofin, Herbert Mokoena, Jenine Collocott, Elliot Moleba,

every continent. It’s one of the Magnet Theatre’s most

Jon Keevy, Lereko Mfono...’

successful shows. Through touring the play to ASSITEJ

Securing the bid to host the ‘Cradle of Creativity’ as

festivals, they encountered and were inspired by theatre

19th ASSITEJ World Congress in Cape Town will be called,

for the early years, so they are now teaching a group of

is therefore a big step. ASSITEJ SA is already at work

young artists to make work for babies, with input from

implementing a series of projects aimed at developing work

leaders in the field globally.’

leading up to Congress in 2017, with productions spanning

ASSITEJ continues to advocate for the importance

a number of performing arts. Amongst other things, the

of theatre (and the arts in general) for children, and

Congress should highlight the power and range of such

furthering its presence in South Africa. ‘The movement is

productions, and bring about greater and deeper connections

growing,’ says Bardien. ‘When we first started our family

and collaborations between local and international

festival at the National Arts Festival in 2012, we had eight

practitioners, thereby ensuring a vibrant role for theatre in

shows; then we had nine, then ten, and this year (in 2015)

the lives of local children in future. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 43

The questions may not even exist yet, but we’re preparing our kids to answer them.

With a solid grounding in creative thinking in Art, Dance, Drama and Music, our graduates will go on to become not only the country’s leading visual and performing artists, but will also find creative solutions to critical issues like energy, the environment, urban planning, food and water security and civil society. Creativity breeds radical solutions through critical thinking and at the NSA, we’re committed to advancing the lives of our children and transforming the way society answers the tough questions.

To find out more, visit www.artschool.co.za, contact us on 011 339 6539 or send an email to admin@artschool.co.za or 44 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 pro@artschool.co.za

Arts are steaming ahead

Renaissance scholars knew what today’s educationalists are just cottoning on to.

Arguably the greatest artist of all time, ‘Renaissance Man’ Leonardo da Vinci, also made countless scientific discoveries in medical science, botany, civil engineering, architecture, astronomy, ichnology, optics and hydrodynamics, and conceptualised inventions from helicopters, parachutes and armoured tanks to concentrated solar power, an adding machine and even the humble bobbin that makes so much manufacture and production possible.

Da Vinci epitomised balanced left/right brain thinking, combining extraordinary levels of creativity with profound logic and analytical thinking, wrapped up in an insatiable curiosity and a feverishly creative imagination. He was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter Andrea del Verrocchio. An arts education.

Educationalists have, for decades, been obsessed with punting the more left brain studies of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), while relegating the arts to the rubbish bin. Well, move over STEM because STEAM’s the new hot kid on the block. (A for Arts, of course.)

Finally, the Arts are being recognised not just as one of the critical subjects, but arguably as the most critical. For leading corporates and organisations in all sectors worldwide, people with an arts education are increasingly prized recruits. Because it’s acknowledged that it’s the creatives who will provide the new ways of thinking, problem-solving and innovation necessary to meet the challenges of our future world.

Take a bow, right brain.

No one knows this better than the National School of the Arts, the continent’s leading arts school and incubator of the country’s creative leaders and luminaries. Yes, almost everyone who’s anyone in the country’s performing and visual arts studied at the NSA – Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, Robyn Sarah Scott (Best Actress at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival), Karl Beukes, Jeannie D, Lorna Maseko, “21 Icons” Kitty Phetla, Bianca le Grange, Dada Masilo, Angela Malan;

Laura Pauna, Dan Patlansky, Samson Diamond, Karen Zoid, Snotkop, Vincent Bones, Kai Losgott – to mention a few. The creative industries also burst with NSA Alumni – Professor Freschi, head of UJ’s Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA), New York fashion designer Marc Bouwer, local designer Thula Sindi, an Emmy-nominated costume designer, the curator of the 2014 World Design Capital, the lead animator of Harry Potter and several Hollywood blockbuster movies, several multi award-winning movie directors and ad agency creative directors… the list goes on.

But NSA Alumni also forge brilliant careers way outside the arts – bringing their curiosity, creativity and discipline of their arts education to fields as diverse as medical science, law, the environment, energy, civil society, astrophysics and beyond. Take Rhian Touyz, Director of Glasgow University’s Faculty of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences Research and Chairperson of the British Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences Research Foundation. Then there’s the extraordinary young NSA Alumnus, Linda Olangunju, who – with an LLB and LLM in Oil & Gas – is Special Adviser to the Minister of Energy, is ranked ‘One of the 50 Most Important People in Energy in Africa’, and has received the rare title granted by the World Economic Forum of ‘Global Shaper’.

Unlike other schools, NSA’s corridors ring out with music and song, the floors tremble with the rhythmic beat of the dance classes, the learners are immersed in all forms of the arts every day, whichever art subject they study (art, dance, drama or music). Principal Leon van Gent believes that this, the intense discipline needed to excel in the arts and doing something they really love and are inspired by every day, improves NSA learners’ academic results – borne out by the school’s impressive 15 successive year 100% matric pass rate.

Charlize Theron

Kitty Phetla

Professor Freschi

Rhian Touyz

Linda Olangunju

“With NSA’s focus on academic excellence together with intensive practical and theoretical arts tuition,” says van Gent, “we are stimulating curiosity and creativity in academics and arts, and actively developing our learners to go out and shape the world, in whatever career they pursue.”

Samson Diamond

THE JOHANNESBURG

Youth Ballet Celebrating 40 years of nurturing young dancers

46 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

www.jyb.co.za

Image credits: Mark Wolhuter

N

ext year the Johannesburg Youth Ballet celebrates its 40th anniversary. In 1976, the most tumultuous year in the history of the youth of South Africa, the late Audrey King – a highly respected dance teacher and choreographer – was invited to

present a work at the annual International Festival of Youth and Performing Arts in Aberdeen, Scotland. A fearless crusader for artistic excellence and racial equality, she overcame political opposition and selected the first completely non-racial youth dance group to represent South Africa overseas. The performance of her newly choreographed ballet Waratah at the Festival was a resounding success and to capitalise on the experience of performing within a ‘professional atmosphere’, the Johannesburg Youth Ballet (JYB) was formed, with the late Dame Margot Fonteyn as its President.

From its early foundations the JYB has offered opportunity, hope and the possibility to achieve and it still remains at the forefront of Youth Ballet in South Africa. The Johannesburg Youth Ballet is extremely proud of its history and it is remarkable that this has been achieved without the benefit of a long-term sponsor or benefactor. Albeit at some times with great difficulty, continuity over the years has been achieved by the sheer power of enthusiasm, energy and hard work on the part of the artistic management, committee and parents of dancers of the day. The occasional one-off sponsorship, fund raising exercises and ticket sales helped along the way and it must be remembered that everyone involved, including teachers, worked in a voluntary capacity, without any remuneration.

The company is currently about forty strong with ages of the dancers ranging from eleven-year-olds to those in their early twenties. The outreach component is crucial to the ethos of the JYB, which sponsors in the region of 20 dancers from under-resourced areas at any given time. This covers needy members’ fees, their weekly transport costs to and from classes, their dance gear and costumes and JYB endeavours to raise further sponsorship for them should there be a tour scheduled.

Artistic Management aims to give young dancers of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds an opportunity to develop their art and skills, to work and perform in a professionally run company and to become, in time, educated audiences.

Over the years a number of JYB alumni have given generously of their time and experience, returning as guest artists, guest choreographers or to assist as repetiteurs, lending the young dancers artistic and creative support.

Included in the works from classical repertoire that JYB has presented at various times in the past are La Sylphide, Coppelia Act 1 and 3 and Sleeping Beauty Acts 1, 2 and 3, to name a few. Guest choreographers are also invited to work with the company.

Most recently the JYB presented a programme – Peter and The Wolf and Other Ballets. Peter and The Wolf was produced by Jean Beckley and featured the original choreography of the late South African choreographer Frank Staff. Included were two works by Kate Martin: ‘Butterfly Lovers’, a work choreographed to the exquisite ‘Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto’ by Chen Gang and He Zhanha, and ‘Here You Are’, which received critical acclaim at the recent Dance World Cup in Romania.

Johannesburg Youth Ballet – the place where fledgling dancers spread their wings and learn to fly…. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 47

Dance Umbrella: 28 Years Later The first Dance Umbrella was funded by Vita Promotions Director, Philip Stein. From 1990 to 1992, AA Life stepped in, followed by IGI Life in 1993 and then long-time funder First National Bank (FNB) took over from 1994 until 2010. This committed sponsorship ensured the development and extension of Dance Umbrella.

‘When FNB came on board, we could play,’ says the Director of Dance Umbrella since 1997, Georgina Thomson. ‘We started commissioning new work when Dance Umbrella turned ten; we started residency programmes; we started collaborating nationally and internationally and the future looked rosy.’

By the time FNB determined to withdraw their support from Dance Umbrella, Vita Promotions had already closed due to cancellation of FNB funding for most of Vita Promotions projects – the National and Regional Theatre Awards, the Vita Art Prize and the contemporary dance awards, among others – and the retirement of Philip Stein.

In 2012, Dance Umbrella became part of the annual Johannesburg International Arts Alive Festival on a three-year contract. A budget for the Dance Umbrella was then allocated by the City of Johannesburg and, although a quarter of what had been received from FNB,

The longevity of Dance Umbrella has been extraordinary. From the initial, small, three-day event, it has grown to a 15-day long festival. It now features commissioned new works from South African choreographers and carefullyselected international works.

D

Dance Umbrella continued ‘in two tiers,’ as Thomson explains. ‘A small presentation in the traditional calendar slot of February/March and then a ten-day event during Arts Alive in September.’ During this three-year period, Dance Forum (the administrators of Dance Umbrella) also received funding from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), resulting in a 15-day event in September 2013.

With the conclusion of the Arts Alive contract, Dance Umbrella had to find other means of survival. Fortunately, funding was received from the NLDTF. This enabled the

ance Umbrella had its beginnings in 1989 when

presentation of an 18-day long event in 2015, featuring

Vita Promotions, responding to a suggestion

work from grassroots to international companies.

by two journalists, created a contemporary

Securing funding on a year-to-year basis proves to be no

dance platform called the Vita Dance Umbrella

easy task and, while funding from the Department of Arts

in Johannesburg. At the outset, the majority of companies

and Culture (DAC) and the Gauteng Department of Sport,

presenting works were white. This, of course, was the effect

Recreation, Arts and Culture has been secured for Dance

of apartheid. However, as one of the main aims of the

Umbrella 2016, nothing is yet in place for 2017.

Dance Umbrella was to bring everyone in the contemporary

The Dance Umbrella has, over the years, become an

dance industry together, programmes featuring mainly

important and essential conduit for emerging, young

mixed-bills with works from PACT Dance Company, Soweto

artists. ‘If we can continue to keep the Umbrella going,

Dance Theatre, traditional and hip-hop/pantsula dance and

even just a piece of it, that would be of value,’ says

afro-fusion, were presented.

Thomson. ‘I would hate to see it go away entirely.’ CF

48 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTIST AWARD WINNERS NEVER STOP MOVING FORWARD

Black and Blue: An Epitome of Democracy and Moving On

F

ollowing an eleven-year break, legendary play Black and Blue returned to the Market Theatre in October to sold-out performances.

The long-awaited hit story about loss, love, healing and gardening

stars Standard Bank Young Artist Sylvaine Strike (The Travellers, Coupé, The Table, The Miser) and Atandwa Kani (Hayani, The Island, The Miser), with direction by James Cuningham.

Performed in a detailed, heightened style, every second of Mrs Swart’s (Sylvaine Strike) existence is alarmingly magnified. Paranoid of life beyond the four walls of her blue house, and stifling in the blue fog of her grief, she eventually succumbs to the persuasive knocking at her door. The angelic arrival of Jackson Siboiboi (Atandwa Kani), who seeks to work as a gardener in her abandoned garden, initiates a relationship that blossoms through fragility and a change of heart.

Black and Blue was revived in 2014 at the 40th anniversary of the National Arts Festival, where Strike served as the Festival’s featured artist. The position is offered to an artist who is ‘prolifically producing work’, with a significant focus on interdisciplinary and collaborative work. As a result, the Festival featured

//

“I was asked to return Black and Blue to the festival as an homage to how my work started. It made a massive impact on the fringe when it was created [in 2004]. It was a firm favourite and launched my signature and me as an artist” \\ four pieces directed by Strike: Cargo: Precious, On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco, Agreed and The God Complex and saw her returning to the stage for the first time in seven years to star alongside Atandwa Kani in Black and Blue.

‘I was asked to return Black and Blue to the festival as an homage to how my work started. It made a massive impact on the fringe when it was created [in 2004]. It was a firm favourite and launched my signature and me as an artist,’ says Strike.

According to Strike, this amusingly bleak piece is viewed as ‘an epitome of democracy and moving on’. It was never intended as a political play, but it’s always been perceived as one.

‘It seems like a very naïve piece of work,’ says Strike, ‘but it still holds its ground really well. In terms of our democracy it had a really strong Black and Blue featuring Atandwa Kani and Sylvaine Strike

voice then, and the challenge is to keep the story and make that voice even stronger.’ CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 49

Provocatively

Theatre facilitator and creator Jade Bowers has been recognised as the Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Theatre 2016. The talented young artist is known for producing cutting-edge works and has amassed some of South Africa’s top theatre awards in the past couple of years. Creative Feel’s Nondumiso Msimanga spoke to Bowers about the Award.

50 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

S

itting for tea with Jade Bowers is like visiting an old friend for the first time. She slightly rocks the chair as she quips about Joko being a really good tea now that the price of Twinings has gone up.

She must be the most unassuming person yet to take the coveted title of Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre.

The 2016 winner of South Africa’s most hankered after theatre award puts her hands to her face and says with bright eyes that ‘It feels wrong!’ Her surprise is attributed to the fact that she does not do ‘what I’d call commercial work’. She creates her meaningful output by this simple philosophy: ‘People must either love it or hate it. It must either be fantastic or horrific!’ There is no median with Bowers’ work. She has been experimenting with the most authentic ways to tell the stories that move her. These narratives speak to her from the underbelly of history and are tied by a need to answer the questions ‘How do you define yourself?’ and ‘What do you stand for?’

Bowers stands for the acknowledgement of individual stories within the grand narrative of being a South African during a time that she terms the post-post-apartheid era.

‘There are always stories to tell. It’s ingrained in our South African culture. I think it’s a calling in a way,’ she leans back in her chair and swings. The call to find and articulate the stories that she seeks seems to simply pour out of her as instinctively as her breaths. Bowers does not even call herself a director; she prefers to think of herself as a facilitator who guides her actors’ stories. And the story that most concerns her in this post-post-apartheid time is that of individual history.

‘Identity, it’s something I find with most coloured people that are doing research at this time. As coloured people we find a lack… If I look back in my history there’s Malay and Indian and “Coloured” that comes from a history that’s not written down,’ she states. Her Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award-winning work What the Water Gave Me (2014), performed by Cherae Halley, catapulted her particular mode of storytelling into the spotlight, gaining her a Naledi Award nomination for Best Cutting Edge Production. In that year she was also recognised with an ImpACT Award for Theatre and has seen the awards continue to roll in this year. She recalls working with Halley and says, ‘We had an intense moment. I was scared I broke her. It changed from there and we both had that moment at the same time.’

The facilitator similarly created the provocatively potent iHamlet, written by Robin Malan and performed by Ashraf Johaardien. She has established a unique ability to craft the one-person show, culminating in the Standard Bank Ovation Award-winning Tin Bucket Drum in 2015. Bowers nearly gave

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 51

birth to her son during rehearsals. She recalls smilingly, ‘He

Chamberlain have made her sets and ‘everything’. Bowers

was two weeks old and he was in rehearsals for Tin Bucket

says, ‘I would not be able to do what I do without them. It

Drum: Mackenzie Bowers-Chamberlain.’ Her team is her

would be impossible.’

family. Even Johaardien, who isn’t related to her, is her

Impossible, is what she thought when she got the call

creative soul-mate with whom she watches far too much

from the National Arts Festival artistic director. ‘I was sitting

Grey’s Anatomy and so calls him ‘my person’. But having

at home breast feeding my baby and you never NOT pick

rehearsed the Neil Coppen play in her garage whilst caring

up a call from Ismail Mahomed,’ she smiles. She is excited,

for her newly born son, she truly did have her family as her

proud and grateful for this honour but also terrified of the

team. Her father made the set and her mother sewed the

pressure. She is not going to change her process to fit the

pants. She laughs that ‘it’s awesome!’ but she suddenly has a

pressure. The work she will present in July ‘has to be

lump in her throat when she speaks about how it always has

small’. It is going to be an adaptation of a novel. She

been a family affair. Her father Gary Bowers and her husband Darren

leans forward and stares out dreamily when she says, ‘It makes me feel nostalgic for a past that I’ve never experienced.’ In her words: ‘It’s either going to be fantastic or horrific. I don’t do mediocre!’ CF

52 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

“It’s either going to be fantastic or horrific. I don’t do mediocre!”

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 53

Opening Doors Creative Feel met with James Ngcobo, the passionate and articulate artistic director of the Market Theatre to discuss the past, present and future of the theatre that will be 40 in 2016.

Rehearsals for Songs from Jazz Town with James Ngcobo. Photograph by Iris Parker

54 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

The Return of Elvis du Pisanie starring Lionel Newton. Photograph by Brett Rubin

‘O

ne of the things that I feel very strongly

the Market Theatre, Dorothy Ann Gould.’ ‘I wanted, in the

about is a sense of cutting-edge at the

middle of these two dramatic works [The Return of Elvis du

Market that we have to keep working on

Pisanie and Noise], this new thing that audiences can come

constantly,’ begins James Ngcobo. ‘We

to the Market and celebrate the South African songbook,’

have to constantly excite and surprise our audience with everything that we curate or programme.’ An important part

explains Ngcobo. ‘This is what Jazz Town is about.’

‘From the day I arrived at the Market, I remember I even

of his role as artistic director has meant ‘understanding that

spoke to the CEO and said, “I really want to do year-end

the Market Theatre needs to start operating in a country that

musicals,” because we do dramatic works the whole year at

has gone through a complete metamorphosis,’ he explains.

the Market Theatre and I would like people to know that

Turning 40 is a big event for one of South Africa’s most historically important theatres and, while the programme for

“entertainment” isn’t a swearword at the Market Theatre.’

With Jazz Town, ‘we are celebrating a sound that was

their June birthday celebrations is still under wraps, Ngcobo

born out of Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, because a

shares some of the exciting line-up for the rest of 2015 and

lot of our jazz composers share one thing: they were born

2016. All of the programming, all of the work, is centred on

in Queenstown. It was really a hub that produced such a

‘getting people back’ and ‘creating new audiences’. ‘I am

strong musicality about it. Even people like Gibson Kente,

absolutely passionate about new audiences!’

who is one of the people that we are celebrating here,

2015 ends with Jazz Town, Paul Slabolepszy’s The

was influenced by that sound and so… Last year we took

Return of Elvis du Pisanie and Noise, ‘directed by one of our

the production, we incubated the work and toured it in

unbelievable actresses, who is directing for the first time at

eight little towns in the Eastern Cape. At that time, it was

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 55

Songs from Jazz Town. Photograph by Iris Parker

celebrating Queenstown. But then, this year I’ve decided

to be performed by black and coloured actors.’ And, he adds,

to revisit it, because I thought the biggest story here is

‘we are working on staging a musical about the life of Hugh

the story of how the sound of Jazz Town has travelled. You

Masekela as one of our seminal works for next year.’ A Raisin

could be in a jazz club in London and see a young girl who

in the Sun is a work that Ngcobo ‘feels very strongly about’

graduated from UCT singing songs that are completely

– ‘Lorraine Hansberry wrote about racial tension in America

influenced by the sound of Jazz Town. You could be in

in the 1950s. What she wrote about is still a huge problem in

Belgium, in Antwerp and watch Tutu Puoane performing…’

America. And it gives our actors a chance to pick up a South

‘We are going to be a home for the next four years

Side of Chicago accent!’

of the Johannesburg International Film Festival (JIFF),’

2016 will also see the return of old favourites, like

he says. ‘There is a lovely synergy between the type of

William Kentridge and Handspring Puppet’s Ubu and the

audience that will go to JIFF and the audiences that we get

Truth Commission, and classics not yet seen at the Market,

to the Market.’

such as Zakes Mda’s The Dying Screams of the Moon, directed

‘One of the things we are doing, also next year, is taking

by John Kani. ‘You can’t celebrate 40 years and not have

Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night,’ expresses

certain people,’ says Ngcobo. Classics will also be revisited

Ngcobo. ‘we’ve commissioned someone who’s translating

by young directors, to ‘tap into a memory space’ but also to

the piece for us and adapting it into Afrikaans, and it’s going

make people say, ‘I saw it before… but not like that!’

56 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Songs from Jazz Town. Photograph by Iris Parker

In particular, to celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, sonnets and excerpts of plays will be given to young directors

writers, young choreographers, young directors, is a theatre that is looking forward.’

to re-interpret and re-imagine. ‘We are charging forward but

And looking forward includes the staging of plays in

look back and pick up this jewel from the past and give it to a

different languages, such as the first fully Setswana play

beautiful young director and they gallop with it,’ he explains.

that ran last year and was commissioned by the Market

There will also be new works, written by young playwrights,

Theatre. For 2016, a play in Sesotho is in the process of

such as I See You, which was developed as part of an exchange

being commissioned. Theatre will be taken to the people

between the Market Theatre and the Royal Court, facilitated

so that people may take to the theatre. Work is being

by the SA-UK Seasons. The play will open in London with a

done to make the Market Theatre more visible in spaces

mixed cast of British and South African actors and will then

around Johannesburg and Newtown, one example of this

travel to South Africa to play at the Market Theatre.

being the play readings that are taking place in some of

This mix of new and classic, young and old, is an important one for Ngcobo, who says ‘we are passionate

Johannesburg’s most historic buildings.

With 25 works set to be staged in 2016, this spectacular

about the collision of emerging and of seasoned voices –

celebratory year means that there is something for everyone

to see those working together… It is opening our doors to

at the Market. Watch this space for more on upcoming plays

young directors… A theatre that is very receptive to young

and June celebrations. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 57

Oresteia

Oresteia was recently shown on the West End following a sellout run at the Almeida, where it has been universally hailed as an astonishing, bold and exhilarating theatrical feat. Aeschylus’ greatest and final play is directed by Robert Icke (Mr. Burns; 1984) and stars Lia Williams (Old Times; Earthquakes in London) as Klytemnestra and Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) as Electra.

A

clock ticks. It counts exactly how much time the

the 5th century B.C.E Aeschylus’ Oresteia shifted the notion

audience has during the intervals. The actors

of Orestes as mythological hero, as the exemplar for how

do not vacate the stage. They stare out into the

to be a man. Seminal Greek scholar and consultant on this

auditorium. They make the audience complicit

re-visioning of the classic play, Professor Simon Goldhill

in the action when it resumes. The clock stops to tell the

says, ‘The Oresteia is a perfect instance of how tragedy

time and date of every death. This is the latest adaptation of

rewrites stories of the past as a story for and as a challenge

Aeschylus’ Oresteia by Robert Icke. It is edge-of-your-seat

to the democratic city and its values.’ Speaking, here, about

nail-biting suspense in a play where everyone already knows

Aeschylus’ version, it is uncanny how the same words can be

the ending. It is masterful. On the London West End stage

applied to Icke’s re-imagining of the text to current politics.

the characters are at home. Agamemnon is the honoured

When Calchas says, ‘This has all happened before. And

Prime Minister and Clytemnestra is his first lady. The

more than once’ at the very beginning of this play, the clock is

politics of today are placed under intense scrutiny as though

still internal. It is the beating rhythms of the entrances of the

the home of the power couple were a microcosm, a petri

chorus and Agamemnon that set the pace and it is terrifyingly

dish, of society at large; and everything has gone wrong.

familiar. The audience already knows how this story ends

True to the original function of the ancient Greek

and Icke manipulates this with terrific finesse. The story is

festivals – held at the assembly of the polis where decisions

cast in contemporary clothing with screens and a live-video

regarding the democratic running of the state would also be

feed. The protagonist Orestes is having flashbacks of how the

made – this version takes for its theme democracy itself. In

whole tragedy came to be but the images are disturbed by his

58 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

memory. He sits as the embodiment of the key questions that

its effects on the falling body – the scapegoats of history

Aeschylus threw into the Orestes myth so long ago: ‘What

for all eternity. When Orestes finally kills her, as the myth

should I do? Should I respect my mother and not kill her?’ In

wrote down in history, the clock stops and we are back in the

this version, Orestes also asks, ‘Where does it end?’

mythological vortex that makes it seem like simple teleology,

The ending is already known, the clock ticks the immediacy

a causal narrative where she must always lose, but here we are

of the action and the urgency of it means that all are culpable.

involved in an epic form that searches after its own plot as it is

The audience is asked to decide the fate of Orestes who killed

unfolding. Orestes is not just protagonist; he is both mirror and

his mother; they are asked why her death counts for less than

microscope dissecting the ancient story to try to reassess the

that of the father and why the life of the son must be spared

memory that has been given of the roles that genders have been

when the daughter’s was not. The fact that Aeschylus actually

cast in. His memory keeps failing to reach into the source of the

asked the question about the mother when the original myth

flooding river of images that seem to make it inevitable that

had completely ignored the female deaths as necessary is

woman must finally and always serve the lesser role where she

what makes this questioning of democracy and its brand of

is punished more harshly for her wrongs than he who is made a

justice crucial. It places women in the story of how the world

monument for bringing her down.

should best be governed. It places women at the centre of

As with Aeschylus, Icke’s ending is not a mere acceptance

the mythology and questions the myth of women in history.

of the mythological narrative. Orestes says, ‘There isn’t one

Woman is shown as a manifestation of falling. The perpetual

true story – a line of truth that stretches start to end.’ The

tormenting fall of Clytemnestra is paused for us to take in

roles are left dissected – open – in the petri dish. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 59

Entangled Head in studio. Photograph by Rina Stutzer

Entangled Head

At the end of 2014, Angus Taylor’s solo show From Explicit to Implicit, held at Johannesburg’s Everard Read Gallery, attracted the attention of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and the Bank offered to partner with the opening event and sponsor the catalogue. One work demanded the attention of art custodian, Carolynne Waterhouse: Taylor’s Entangled Head III, a sculpture in which a large arrangement of rocks balance ‘Africa’ steadily upon a bronze head.

60 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Reflective Resonance, cast bronze, Belfast Granite and patina Edition of 4. Photograph by Carla Crafford.

“The agenda of the sculpture stays the same. It’s not that it suddenly promotes a concept that the Bank feels strongly about. Rather, it’s a concept that I feel strongly about, slightly altered, so that instead of referring only to the immediate environment, it encapsulates the whole continent... Because it’s told Installation images of Reflective Resonance in Franschhoek. Photograph by Danie Nel

E

through stone, it’s not so literal; it works well”

ntangled Head embodies many of Taylor’s key

natural material roughly 750 times older than us, and yet we

themes and ideas. The bronze bust stands well

don’t value it because there’s so much of it. Nobody recognises

below eye level, ‘so that the celebrated grandeur

the stone for its density and beauty, unless somebody brings it

of humanity is made smaller – not suppressed,

to the fore and says “look at it”,’ says Taylor.

but grounded and made modestly minimal.’ It is the rock

As such, the featured rock is left more or less as it was

balancing at eye level that is the work’s key focus, as the

discovered, ‘without my having dominated it with my own

artist encourages the viewer to dwell upon both its innate

imprint – thus trying to retain as much of the original patina

beauty and phenomenal age. ‘This stone is from the Bushveld

of the stone as possible,’ he explains. ‘There’s a little bit of

Igneous Complex, which is about two billion years old. We as

metal that rusts and the brown effect is a result of the stone

hominids are about three million years old, which makes the

absorbing the colours from the environment. Where it lay in

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 61

the veld or little mountain or koppie, it would crack, water would run through with the hydrothermal flow of water in the earth and deposit little bits of calcite or quartz or whatever... I tried to retain that.’

Taylor is besotted with stone and what it reveals about our environment: history on a scale that dwarfs human existence to the point of uncomfortable insignificance.

He spends a fair amount of time reading geology and incorporating this into his work. ‘I discovered that I’m sitting on one of the most ancient mini continents, the Kaapvaal Craton. When Earth was just water, some of the volcanoes that pushed out with massive bubbles of stone were around here and the remnants of that environment still exist in places like Barberton,’ he marvels.

For a show at Nirox earlier this year, Taylor collected samples of rock – Thabazimbi haematite, red jasper from Postmasburg, verdite, sugilite, and many other varieties. Using these he laid out a rough map, from which the viewer gets the impression of context, geologically speaking. In the centre, Taylor placed a section of rammed earth, filled with bits and pieces from the last 40 years – plastic soldiers, computer motherboards, etc. – once again demonstrating the tiny blip that represents the human timeframe.

With Entangled Head Taylor sets out to depict our entanglement with the environment and, another of his key obsessions, our connectivity to it. ‘You’re not separate from where you are. Just as you’re not an island isolated from other people, you’re also not divisible from your specific environment. Recognising that grounds you!’

This ‘entangled’ state extends also to our relationship with other people sharing our environment, a truism that Taylor expresses through the bronze head, which he describes as ‘a generic portrait that I modelled, looking at everybody who works in the studio with me... a “features” hybrid of what South Africans will probably look like in 200 years – a creole...’

‘To me, what it tells is a story of the cultural metamorphosis we have gone through,’ he adds. ‘The evolution of how we think, having lived for generations on this continent together... We’ve learnt so much from one another, concerning skills and thinking – there is an ongoing merger of different worlds.’

Linking the stone and bust is a line of silver dots, stainless steel pins and welded bobbles, a simple adornment that connects the sculpture’s powerful disparate sections.

The steel ‘spine’ takes its inspiration from the Chiwara carved in Mali, a ritual artwork depicting a stylised antelope celebrating what was good about the year. While the basic

62 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Entangled Head II, Everard Read, 2014. Photograph by Elani Willemse

form of the Chiwara sculptures remain constant, the quality of harvest will be represented primarily in the degree to which the surfaces are decorated: ‘So if it was a plentiful harvest year, the sculptor carves more lines and textures, decorates it with lots of panel pins and brightly coloured pieces of material, creating detailed texture,’ explains Taylor. ‘In a bad year, it would be just the simple, basic shape without decoration.’

‘I took the idea from there. If I want to celebrate something or make it special, like this stone, instead of altering the shape, I just decorate it with little pins. At the same time, the connecting line runs through my thinking, and my inextricable connection to the environment.’

In short, Entangled Head serves as a visual metaphor for connectivity to, and celebration of our environment. When confronted with the work, RMB’s Carolynne Waterhouse identified a resonance with the Bank’s strategic focus – ‘Think Africa.’ As such, she approached Taylor with a suggestion to revisit the sculpture, this time shaping the rock borne by the bronze head to resemble the continent.

At first, Taylor was a little hesitant, feeling that this might make the work too literal – ‘“Think Africa”, and then you have this object, almost like a light bulb, on top of the head,’ he recalls. Nevertheless, the idea captured his imagination. ‘So I tried with just an outline, but had to make it more volumetric, a bit more solid. I broke it up, so that through deduction you get this shape, because many stones combine to create this singular concept or idea.’

‘The agenda of the sculpture stays the same. It’s not that it suddenly promotes a concept that the Bank feels strongly about. Rather, it’s a concept that I feel strongly about, slightly altered, so that instead of referring only to the immediate environment, it encapsulates the whole continent... Because it’s told through stone, it’s not so literal; it works well.’

Ultimately, Entangled Head forms a kind of paean to home and a sense of place, from an artist who clearly feels Africa in his bones and beating through his blood. ‘If you grew up here, you’re used to the bright sun and the dark shadows, and when you go to a place where everything is grey and ordered, where you don’t have these conflicting intensities – you don’t feel right,’ says Taylor. ‘Because this is your environment, you’re “entangled” with this, regardless of whether you want to be or not. You’re not a spirit, living in a body, living on top of a continent, on top of the land.

We’re in it, we flow from it and we finally go back into it. It’s all connected and fascinatingly entangled.’ CF

Entangled Head III side angle.

Photograph by 2015 Rina /Stutzer Creative Feel / December January 2016 / 63

A Time of Light In creating a stamp sheet celebrating 2015 as the International Year of Light, multimedia artist Marcus Neustetter brings an extended series of works into a cohesive whole, and marks a ‘fresh ending’.

Hogsback Nature II – Fiber optic lights with participants of the Fiber Optic Conference.

64 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Cave IX – archeological dig site, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 65

‘J

ohannesburg based artist, cultural activist and

thread in Neustetter’s works over the years. As such, when

producer, Marcus Neustetter, reflects critically

the South African Post Office commissioned him to create a

and playfully on his context through his art

sheet of stamps celebrating 2015 as the International Year

and collaborative projects… Mostly process

of Light, it offered the artist an opportunity to draw several

driven, his production of art at the intersection

strands of work together into a cohesive whole. In addition,

of art, science and technology has led him to work in a

the National Science and Technology forum and the

multi-disciplinary approach from conventional drawings to

Department of Science and Technology funded the further

permanent and temporary site specific installations, mobile

creation of work with communities across the country – to

and virtual interventions and socially engaged projects

‘activate communities’ – and the net result is a collection

internationally,’ details his personal website.

in which people tell their own stories in light, capturing a

‘Just by moving dust away, you’re looking back in time;

moment in time and place. The works are all site-specific,

and by looking at the stars you’re looking back in time. We’re

place and context likewise shaping the ‘portal’ that we look

always living in this moment of the past – there’s only this

through, the bias with which we view the world.

Big Bang – In collaboration with youth from Sutherland (Karoo), using rope lights and long-exposure photography

thin sliver of now that we’re exploring. I’m interested in

Sweep – Central Port Elizabeth

Experimenting with light encourages uninhibited,

that,’ says Neustetter. And so, during a residency at Nirox,

playful activity from Neustetter’s many collaborators: ‘I

the artist became fascinatedby the archaeological cave them

leave it open, I say to people, “the studio is the city, the

as portals, a threshold between these two pasts: a metaphor

tools are the glowsticks and the brooms, so do whatever

for the ‘thin slither of now’.

you like: let’s just try and create a journey with it.”’ In

Neustetter’s preoccupation with such portals is also an

the safe anonymity of darkness, people feel free to try

interest in ‘shedding light’: whether following his ‘vertical

all kinds of things. At a light sweep in Port Elizabeth,

gaze’ underground or into deep space, ‘light is the thing that

where Neustetter and his assistants swept thousands

gives us access to these dark spaces,’ he says.

of glowsticks from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan

Playing with light – using glowsticks, lasers, projections or fibre optic lamps, you name it – has been a recurring

66 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

University’s (NMMU) Bird Street campus, down the newly upgraded Donkin Reserve election queue pathway

to Vuyisile Mini Square, one woman threw herself into

phenomena seen through a remote telescope: they build

the mass of glowsticks and rolled down the hill. Others

both ‘nebula and a landing strip for the aliens, of course,’

sketched luminous images into the night, threw lights

recalls Neustetter.

in the air and photographed them. ‘Everyone just participated, and it was fun,’ recalls Neustetter.

Fun is an important aspect of his work. ‘Even play has

Ten Sutherland youths fashion a ‘Big Bang’ by swinging long rope lights, while a woman who wants to be at the centre of the universe sits amidst galaxies created for her

serious undertones... playing with certain subjects, for

by children of the Karoo. A glow stick sweep through Cape

example, means that you’re commenting in one form or

Town ends in light drawings of the destroyed houses of

another, even if you’re not doing it consciously,’ he says.

District Six. In Plettenberg Bay, the Beacon Isle Hotel is lit

‘It’s not just a question of escapism. I think it’s a matter of

with a giant fish, alluding to the story of a fisherman whose

dealing with reality... One of the people that took part in this

grandfather used to fish there when it was still a whaling

light sweep turned around and said to me afterwards, “I’ve

station – ‘he told me the story of the ocean called Susie, and

actually never seen PE like this. It got me really thinking

he gave me a fish,’ recalls Neustetter. ‘A lot of it was about

Demarcations – Drawing the “removed” in District 6, Cape Town.

about the fear that I have for the darkness, the fear that

the mystery of the ocean and the unknown, what’s out there,

I’ve got for the city at night. You’ve given me a different

navigating by stars...’

perspective on it.” Now, she thought about that afterwards – while she was playing, she was in heaven.’

While each of the images captures all the beauty and visceral thrill of light, it also tells a tale. In the Karoo

Another image shows the overgrown woods of Hogsback transformed into a fairy tale forest of fibre optic lamps during a conference on optical fibre.

On a NMMU research farm in Kabucha, just outside

township of Amandelboom, several youths create the

Addo Elephant park, Neustetter had two students

unknown, yet imagined form of the almond trees – long

metaphorically represent their projects – one looking

since dead – for which the area is named. In the midst of the

into the flammable qualities of different plants, the

Vredefort Dome, site of an ancient meteor collision, students

other investigating the freezing points of levels on the

taking part in Space School SA spend their nights recreating

mountains – by drawing in the dark with fire and blue light

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 67

Dancing in a Prehistoric Footprint – A performance by a reel-dance group in Fraserburg with LED rope lights.

respectively. Homage to research, and the bounty of nature

identification with the dismissed Khoi San history, which

in the valley, home to five biomes.

many people there come from’.

A number of the images hail from Sutherland, where for

Similarly, in Fraserburg, Neustetter, Lace and a group

several years Neustetter has collaborated with artist Bronwyn

of youths addressed the ‘gap’ between the paleontological

Lace on the Sutherland Reflections project, using artistic

history associated with the area’s pre-dinosaur footprints,

interventions to connect the observatory with its surrounding

and the arrival of white culture featured in the local museum.

community. ‘For example, we started to fly kites to get kids to

‘Coloured history is totally ignored, there’s this gap... And

look up, to make the connection to the observatory,’ he says.

so some of the questions we were asking was how can you

‘A lot of money gets pumped into the observatory, yet

capture some of that content, how do you speak about it –

people are living in poverty, fear and hopelessness- and this

because a lot of it is hidden. It’s hidden in the dances, the

in the dark because light pollution there is an issue. Through

music they play...’ In the resulting photograph, the children

art and science collaboration, we’ve been able to change

have drawn a dinosaur spoor, within which they appear as

some of those perceptions, celebrating darkness and silence

blurs of light – ‘filling that next step, to a certain extent,

as a quality. Evoking the history of the place, to talk about

before we get to the white history museum’, says Neustetter.

the inhabitants’ heritage and cultural background, and their

‘They decided to do Riel Dance (the dance-descendant of the

68 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

One Woman at the Centre of the Universe – Audience-performers interacting with rope lights

old Khoi and San fireside rituals) inside this spoor. They’re

thereby critiquing our ‘complex relationship with yet another

wearing these light elements, so that as they’re dancing these

colonial power in Africa’, with ourselves as the consumerist

elements are moving, and what you’re seeing there, is them.’

trash collectors of the world powers. The work also reflects on

Neustetter has been playing with light for seven or eight years; the release of the stamp sheet and associated exhibition mark ‘fresh endings’, he says. ‘I’m bringing this

the artist’s confrontations with light ownership and personal empowerment in a post-apartheid South Africa.

From November Neustetter will spend two months on a

process to a close... I feel it’s necessary because I’ve got a lot

fellowship with the Smithsonian in Washington, exploring

of parallel things running.’

the collections of the Air and Space museum and the African

One of these new journeys is the processing of the materials

Art Museum. He plans to research ‘how artists and scientists,

used to create light works, usually light toys and gadgets

artisans, have tried to depict the imaginary, be it through

bought cheaply at Chinese outlets. Neustetter’s seemingly

the Dogon masks linking to the spirit world, or astronauts in

temporary light activities have permanent bi-products in the

space, dreaming about what’s beyond,’ he says.

form of waste such as thousands of dead glow-sticks, broken

‘But you know what’s going to happen – I’m going to see

LEDs, plastic casings and packaging materials. From this

five new things and say that’s it: scrap that research, I’m

‘trail of waste’, he is creating artworks to send back to China,

going in another direction.’ CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 69

Protégés of the seventh cycle of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative (2014-2015): Sammy Baloji, Gloria Cabral, Sebastián Solórzano Rodríguez, Myles Thatcher, Tom Shoval, Miroslav Penkov, Vasco Mendonça. Campus Biotech, Geneva Switzerland

A Celebration of Mentoring The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative was created to assist extraordinary, rising artists in achieving their full potential by pairing them with great masters for a year of creative collaboration, in Architecture, Dance, Film, Literature, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts.

70 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

T

his year, Mexico City, one of the world’s most vibrant international arts centres, will host hundreds of artists and creative leaders from Latin America and the rest of the world on the 5th to

6th of December. The exclusive Arts Weekend will celebrate the culmination of the 2014-2015 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

Switzerland, Paraguay and South Korea were the principal settings for the mentor of architecture, the widely revered Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, and his protégé, Paraguayan architect Gloria Cabral. A busy, collaborative partnership that grew rapidly from the start, Cabral became project manager for Zumthor’s design of a tea chapel near Seoul. Cabral made several visits to Haldenstein, her mentor’s Swiss base, spending up to a month at a time working with Zumthor and his team. Another highlight of the productive partnership was Zumthor’s visit to Cabral’s hometown of Asunción.

Peter Zumthor has gained international recognition for his timeless buildings that incorporate his masterful use of materials, bringing in light and challenging the senses. Among Zumthor’s most celebrated projects are his ‘masterpiece’, the Therme Vals (1996, Switzerland), famed for its evocative use of space and exquisite construction details; the Kunsthaus Bregenz (1997, Austria); the Swiss Sound Box, Swiss Pavilion Expo 2000 (Germany); the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel (2007, Germany); and the Kolumba Art Museum (2007, Germany).

For Gloria Cabral, designing buildings is based on thinking about how the space will be used as apposed to conceiving them as objects d’art. While still studying, she was employed as an intern at prestigious Asunción-based architecture firm, Gabinete de Arquitectura. Cabral was made full partner in 2004. For the past ten years, Cabral has worked with the Gabinete team on projects informed by strong environmental and social concerns. A notable project was the Teletón Children’s Rehabilitation Center, which won first prize at the 2010 Bienal Panamericana de Arquitectura de Quito in the recycling category.

Classical ballet is not frozen in the past but is a living, evolving art – this shared conviction provided a basis for a working relationship between mentor Alexei Ratmansky and protégé Myles Thatcher. The pair found time in their busy schedules to observe each other at work on both the east and west coasts of the United States and in Munich, where the Russian choreographer was preparing a new production of Paquita. Ratmansky, eager to provide feedback to his protégé, visited San Francisco where Thatcher was rehearsing dancers for a new piece of choreography.

Widely recognised as one of the world’s most influential and sought-after choreographers, Alexei Ratmansky is

Kaija Saariaho, mentor. Lyon, France, 2014.

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 71

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, mentor. Los Angeles, US, 2014

currently artist-in-residence at the American Ballet Theatre.

In a highly eventful mentoring year for film, Israeli

He is credited with moving ballet forward while maintaining

filmmaker and screenwriter Tom Shavel was invited to

its classical origins and revitalising storytelling in his

watch post-production work on mentor Alejandro González

productions. Over the years, Ratmansky has created solo

Iñárritu’s masterpiece, Birdman, and was present when his

works for Baryshnikov, Diana Vishneva and Wendy Whelan,

mentor received three Academy Awards for his film at the

and ballets for, among others, the Paris Opera, La Scala and,

2015 Oscars. González Iñárritu invited Shoval to witness the

in 2013, the Royal Ballet. Ratmansky was named a MacArthur

filming of his new feature film, The Revenant, in the Canadian

Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation in 2013.

Rockies. The young director was almost overwhelmed by his

Myles Thatcher attended the Harid Conservatory in Florida and studied at New York’s Ellison Ballet School before joining

mentor’s generosity in terms of access given.

Mexican film director, producer, screenwriter and former

the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program in 2008. In

composer Alejandro González Iñárritu is celebrated for

2009, he joined the company as an apprentice and was accepted

his films, which capture the interconnectedness of human

into the corps de ballet a year later. Two of his latest works for

beings and mine the complex realm of dramatic realism. His

the school’s trainees are Spinae (2011 – 2012) and Stone and

successful career in filmmaking has recently been crowned by

Steel (2013). Both are the result of Thatcher encouraging strong

the many accolades for his recent film, Birdman.

feedback from his dancers. He will now choreograph a piece for the San Francisco Ballet’s 2015 repertory season.

72 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Tom Shoval has won rave reviews for his sharp visual style and storytelling abilities. He graduated from Jerusalem’s

Jennifer Tipton, mentor. New York, US, 2014

Sam Spiegel Film and Television School where the founding

Michael Ondaatje is recognised for his evocative narrative

director Renen Schorr, described him as ‘one of the most

and lyrical style. Over nearly five decades, his linguistic

significant and committed talents I have ever seen.’ Shoval’s

prowess has won him international acclaim and numerous

award-winning short films, which include The Hungry Heart

literary awards. The multiculturalism reflected in Ondaatje’s

(2005), Shred of Hope (2007) and I Will Drink My Tears (2011),

works echoes his own life history. Born in Ceylon (now

have been screened at film festivals worldwide.

Sri Lanka), he moved to England as a young boy before

With much in common – both mentor and protégé for

immigrating to Canada where he attended university and

literature have changed countries and cultures and have

taught for several years at York University’s Glendon College

careers as both teachers and writers – Canadian Michael

before writing full-time.

Ondaatje and US-based Bulgarian Miroslav Penkov quickly

Protégé Miroslav Penkov wants to ‘give voice to a voiceless

developed a strong literary friendship. While they discussed

people’ by allowing the world to read about Bulgaria and for

a multitude of books, the focus was on the young Bulgarian

the people of Bulgaria to start reading local literature again

short-story writer’s debut novel that he was writing in

after years of being mired in economic crisis.

English, his second language. At the end of the mentoring

‘In music, nothing is purely objective, not even the simplest

year, Penkov was delighted with the whole experience,

technical exercise,’ says mentor Kaija Saariaho, who shared her

especially as he had completed his novel, which is scheduled

experience as a composer with her Portuguese protégé, Vasco

for publication in March 2016.

Mendonça. A goal was to expose him to different professional

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 73

Peter Zumthor, mentor. Haldenstein, Switzerland, 2014

Alexei Ratmansky, mentor. Paris, France, 2014

situations and engaging him in ideas, music and its realisation.

performances in London, Barcelona, Paris, New York, Houston

Mendonça attended performances of Saariaho’s music around

and Madrid. Tipton is one of the world’s greatest exponents

the world – and twice his music was played at the same event as

of the art of lighting. Solórzano Rodríguez also invited his

hers. Mendonça found the experience of having ‘a second pair

mentor to Mexico City, his home town. They had a concrete

of eyes’ on his work invaluable.

plan of action at the beginning of the mentoring year, the

Acknowledged as one of the leading and most original composers of recent times, Kaija Saariaho is known for her brilliant creations that often blend traditional instruments with electronics for chamber music, orchestral works and operas.

Portuguese composer Vasco Mendonça has begun

results of which, Solórzano Rodríguez later said, were that his life ‘has changed forever’.

Jennifer Tipton has made significant contributions to her profession over nearly half a century of lighting theatrical, dance and opera productions. Best known for her designs

to attract considerable attention for his work on the

for dance, Tipton is principal lighting designer for the Paul

international music scene. Recent notable works include the

Taylor Dance Company, with whom she has worked since the

chamber music piece ‘The Boys of Summer’ (2012), as well as

mid-1960s. She also collaborates with some of the world’s

an hour-long chamber opera, The House Taken Over (2013).

most renowned choreographers, as well as on dozens of

Throughout the mentoring year for theatre, young Mexican lighting designer Sebastián Solórzano Rodríguez sat alongside Jennifer Tipton as she lit up rehearsals and

74 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

theatrical and opera productions.

Sebastián Solórzano Rodríguez uses light to express himself as a visual artist. He began his career by painting

Michael Ondaatje, mentor. New York, US, 2014

Olafur Eliasson, mentor. Berlin, Germany, 2014

scenery, then became scenography and lighting assistant

ideal mentor to work with Baloji at a crucial point in the

for the production agency Cornamusa and began creating

protégé’s artistic path as he was creating his first installation

stage lighting for the Centro de Producción de Danza

for exhibition at the Venice Art Biennale.

Contemporanea, the National Contemporary Dance Company

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson describes his

of Mexico. Concurrently, he works with Luz Y Fuera: Cine

works, which span photography, installation, sculpture and

Expandido, an interdisciplinary group he cofounded that

film, as ‘experimental setups’. Eliasson represented Denmark

makes handmade light devices for art installations and live

at the 50th Venice Bienalle in 2003 and later that year

cinema performances.

installed The Weather Project at Tate Modern, London. Take

Sammy Baloji’s mentoring year for visual arts consisted

Your Time: Olafur Eliasson, a survey exhibition organised by

of a series of short but intense encounters with Olafur

SFMOMA in 2007, travelled until 2010 to various venues,

Eliasson, mainly in Berlin where Eliasson has his studio.

including the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Innen

The mentor declared from the start that he too wanted to

Stadt Aussen (Inner City Out), at Martin Gropius Bau in 2010,

learn from the process and the pair collaborated without a

involved interventions across Berlin as well as in the museum.

fixed plan, quickly building a strong rapport. They combined

Artist-photographer Sammy Baloji works between Belgium

intellectual discussion with clear advice for Baloji to develop

and his native Democratic Republic of Congo where he creates

his creativity across a spectrum of artistic media. Eliasson,

haunting photomontages of his homeland. ‘I use photography

known worldwide for his inventive art installations, was the

as a tool to write on my own society,’ says Baloji. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 75

SA-UK Seasons: Cementing Partnerships Elan Isaac, Wales Millennium Centre’s Creative Learning Assistant, working with a group in Vredenburg on Cape Town Opera’s Amabali Ethu outreach project

Since the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff in 2004, Cape Town Opera has been an integral and strategic South African partner to this national Welsh performing arts centre. In 2015, the partnership is augmented in a new and unique way via funding from the SA-UK Seasons 2014-2015.

A

s a partnership between the Department of Arts

Cape Town Opera (CTO) has been touted as ‘Africa’s

and Culture, South Africa and the British Council,

premiere opera company’ and it and its talented core of

the SA-UK Seasons has provided funding and

singers have won numerous prestigious awards, including

support to various artists and arts organisations

the Best Chorus at the 2013 International Opera Awards.

in the UK and South Africa to aid in cooperation and

The Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) is Wales’ national

collaboration between the two nations. This funding has

home for the performing arts in Cardiff Bay. It is one of the

enabled artists and organisations to travel to the UK as part

UK’s top cultural attractions and is home to eight resident

of the SA Season in the UK, as well as UK projects taking

partners. This Welsh landmark stages musicals, opera, ballet,

place in SA as part of the British Council’s Connect ZA. A

circus and contemporary dances alongside the UK’s largest

third aspect of the Seasons is joint projects: those that are of

programme of free performances.

a collaborative nature between South Africa and the UK are supported through a joint fund.

The Wales Millennium Centre and Cape Town Opera

Over the past ten years, CTO and WMC have mounted 50 performances of operas, concerts and musicals including Porgy and Bess; Mandela Trilogy; Show Boat;

partnership is one project funded by the SA-UK Seasons.

Merry Widow of Malagawi and Bryn Terfel in Concert,

Other notable SA projects taking place in the UK include:

in Cape Town, Cardiff and throughout the United

The Plastic’s November tour of the UK; Durban Music

Kingdom. This partnership is a key component of CTO’s

School’s performance at the Dundee Jazz Festival; the

sustainability as an arts organisation. It also provides

South African Jazz Concerts, Workshops and Seminar

WMC with diverse local and touring programming within

featuring Bokani Dyer and Adam Glasser in collaboration

the UK, and an unprecedented opportunity to feature

with Gareth Lokrane; and The Brother Moves On’s tour of

the best of South African and Welsh vocal talent on

Europe, taking their mentee, Venda/Tshonga folk singer-

international stages.

songwriter Itai Hakim with them and collaborating with UK artist Shabaka Hutchings.

76 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

The SA-UK Seasons Partnership Grant supports four members of WMC’s and CTO’s staff to participate in

administrative, educational and technical exchanges at each other’s companies.

In July 2015, South African bass soloist and music teacher

Further Outreach and Education programmes that the CTO embarked on in 2015 include the National Schools Tour for the South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod preparation

Thato Machona spent ten days in Cardiff as part of WMC’s

and the West Coast Choral Outreach. The Schools Tour is an

Refugee Week programming. Upon his return, Machona

annual project whereby CTO singers embark on a month-long

reported that, ‘I was inspired by the Wales Millennium

tour of South Africa, visiting towns in six different provinces.

Centre’s sense of and involvement in the community, as

Learners are given workshops teaching them the basic aspects

well as the public participation between the centre and local

of good vocal production, including warm-ups, breathing,

residents. It’s much more than a performance venue.’

resonance, vowels and consonants.

Shortly thereafter, WMC Producer Maris Lyons travelled

‘I am so grateful to have this opportunity to experience

to Cape Town for the companies’ coproduction The Merry

the culture of the city and rural communities, and to work on

Widow of Malagawi, which premiered at Artscape Theatre

a person-to-person basis with both professionals and children

Centre on 5 September.

here in South Africa,’ comments Isaac. ‘It’s fascinating

WMC’s Creative Learning Assistant, Elan Isaac, is

how CTO supports creative learning in innovative ways – I

currently travelling in South Africa, partaking in the CTO’s

will take everything that I have learned back to Wales to

Education and Outreach programmes. Her first journey was

implement it the way we work.’

to the South African West Coast community of Vredenburg,

CTO’s Technical Production Manager, Jaco Nothnagel,

engaging with CTO’s Amabali Ethu project (Xhosa for ‘Our

will work with the WMC technical department on their

Stories’). In Vredenburg, CTO works with 80 primary and

productions of Sweeney Todd and Mac and Mabel in

high school learners from Masiphathisane Primary and

Cardiff this November. Looking to the future, WMC will

Louwville High. They are assisted in writing and composing

host CTO’s musical production of Mandela Trilogy on a

their own operas based on stories relevant to their lives

27-performance UK tour in August 2016. Nothnagel’s

and community. She also participated in the Magic Flute

first-hand experiences with WMC’s production staff will

Schools Outreach Project at St Mary’s School in Retreat,

be helpful as the companies begin technical and logistical

Cape Town. Through the story of The Magic Flute, learners

planning for the tour.

are taught to read music, play the recorder and sing and

Bongani Tembe, Commissioner-General of the SA-UK

dance in a production performed at the end of the year.

Seasons, congratulated both parties on an outstanding

Isaac also advised CTO on best practices to implement

partnership that exemplifies the reciprocity of the

hearing- and sight-impaired technology for Cape Town-

SA-UK Seasons.

based opera audiences, as WMC’s disability inclusion programmes are well established.

To find out more about projects funded by the SA-UK Seasons, visit www.southafrica-unitedkingdom.com. CF

Cape Town Opera’s Thato Machona who spent time at the Welsh Millennium Centre in June 2015

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 77

Heartland Deep South have announced that they will release their second album, Heartland, this November. The world music duo, comprised of Dave Ledbetter and Ronan Skillen, collaborated with some of Europe’s most sought-after world music musicians on this lyrical and fluid album. Creative Feel’s Tamaryn Greer spoke to Skillen about the release and making music.

B

est known for his session work as a jazz musician,

Deep South is the realisation of the collaborative potential

guitarist and pianist, Dave Ledbetter also fronted

of a twelve-year friendship between Ledbetter and Skillen

The Truly Fully Hey Shoo Wow Band in the 1980s

and the duo was officially formed in 2011. Despite the

and ‘90s. Respected among local musicians,

generational gap, there is a mutual respect and understanding

Ledbetter has the unique ability to perform across genres.

that exists between the two. ‘Dave has an immense knowledge

With Deep South he has distilled his vast knowledge of jazz,

and history in music and it started off with a fascination from

folk, funk and blues into an acoustic world music blend. He

my side. We collaborated on and off, sometimes didn’t see

has performed with Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, Hein Van de

each other for long stretches of time, but became Deep South

Geyn, Sibongile Khumalo and Jimmy Dludlu, among others.

over time,’ says Skillen. The name, Deep South, is a reference

Multi-instrumentalist Ronan Skillen who plays the tabla, percussion and didgeridoo, is an enthusiast of global

to where they both live in the Western Cape.

The partnership is a balanced one, with Ledbetter’s

rhythms and is well known on the local scene for producing

primary role being the composition of music, which

curious sounds and rhythms with his innovative hybrid drum

Skillen describes as ‘lyrical and accessible’. While Skillen,

kit. He specialises in world music with ‘groove and a sense of

though similarly incredibly musically talented, is the

space’. Other than Deep South, he is also cofounder of Tonik,

driving force, ensuring that recording happens and that

Swiss-SA trio A.Spell and Hot Water. He has performed with

albums are promoted. Skillen essentially recorded and

Rodriguez, Johnny Clegg and Freshlyground, to name a few.

produced their first album, A Waiting Land, himself. ‘I

Dave Ledbetter and Ronan Skillen of Deep South.

Photograph by Maya Morgan-Skillen

78 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

wouldn’t be able to do it without Dave and he wouldn’t be able to do it without me,’ Skillen adds.

The production of Heartland is the result of a coveted collaboration between Deep South and Swedish bassist and producer Björn Meyer. The Bern-based artist has featured on hundreds of recordings – notably with genre-defying record label ECM – since his beginnings with Milla Jovovich. Meyer regularly tours with ECM oud maestro Anouar Brahem and was a member of Zen-funk groove master Nik Bärtsch’s band, Ronin, also represented by the prestigious label. He has also produced all of the albums for his Swedish trio Bazar Blå.

Meyer and Skillen became friendly after meeting at workshops in Switzerland due to an arts residency that Skillen was awarded by Pro Helvetia (the Swiss Arts Council) a few years ago. They met subsequently on Skillen’s trips to Switzerland to work on other collaborations he had formed. The two began to talk more seriously about working

Heartland comprises ten original pieces that feature

together and Skillen gave Meyer A Waiting Land to listen

some of Europe’s most versatile and innovative artists: Jan

to, ‘which he liked, thankfully,’ he laughs. He then agreed

Galega Brönnimann (bass clarinet) of Brinkmanship, who’s

to Skillen’s idea that Deep South record their next album in

played with artists such as Nils Petter Molvaer and Aly

Switzerland, produced by Meyer.

Keita; Samuel Würgler (trumpet and flugelhorn) of Balkan

The recording process was funded by Pro Helvetia,

band Traktorchester; and Fredrik Gille (riq, frame drum and

another sign to Skillen that they were on the right track.

percussion), a specialist in flamenco and Arabic percussion

‘Björn is one of those people who has immense history and

who has performed with Andreas Vollenweider, among others.

is sensitive to the process of capturing the essence in an

To bring Heartland’s compositions to life at the South

uncorrupted way. I am very privileged to have worked with

African launch, Deep South will be joined by Joburg-based

a man like him, given his musical

experimental trumpet player Marcus Wyatt and Shaun

history. I felt very supported

Johannes, Deep South’s regular bassist.

throughout the whole process and

Listeners can expect an impeccable performance of

needed to worry about nothing in

acoustic instrumental music, set in a landscape of sound with

terms of music and knew what

plenty of space, funky grooves and the odd ghost note.

was being recorded was as good as we could do it.’

For more info go to www.deepsouthmusic.co.za or find the album on Bandcamp at http://deepsouth1.bandcamp.com. CF

Ronan Skillen and Dave Ledbetter of Deep South.

Photograph by Maya Morgan-Skillen

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 79

Carols with St Paul’s Cathedral Choir The St Paul’s Cathedral Choir is making an early bid for a Christmas No.1 hit, with festive favourite ‘Carol of the Bells’.

St Paul’s Cathedral Choir Photographs by Decca/ Graham Lacdao

T

he song, famously used in feel-good film

There has been a song school associated with Saint Paul’s

Home Alone, is taken from the choir’s

Cathedral since its foundation in 604. The Choir School for

forthcoming album of carols, which marks

boy choristers dates from about 1123, when eight boys in

its first recording on the Decca label. The

need of alms were provided with a home and education in

exciting new album, in partnership with

return for singing the Cathedral Office. Gradually two schools

Decca and Classic FM, features some of the nation’s

emerged, the Choir School and the Grammar School. For

favourite carols including ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Once in

many years they co-existed happily, the choristers graduating

Royal David’s City’ alongside new works such as Philip

to the Grammar school to finish their education, until the

Stopford’s touching setting of the 16th Century ‘Lully

latter was re-founded by Dean Colet in 1511 and became Saint

Lulla Lullay’, and the world premiere recording of Graham

Paul’s School. (It is now in Barnes and has only a tenuous

Jordan Ellis’s captivating ‘There Is No Rose’.

connection with the Cathedral.)

St Paul’s Cathedral helped revive Christmas Carols in

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries

the 19th Century when its organist – Sir John Stainer –

the school was more famous for its acting than its

published Christmas Carols, New and Old, establishing lots of

singing. The children of St Paul’s had their own resident

the favourites still loved today. Stainer raised the standard of

playwrights, performed regularly at Greenwich Palace

choral singing at the Cathedral to new heights.

before Queen Elizabeth I and incurred the wrath of

80 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Shakespeare and his professional company just over the river. (In Hamlet he rails against the company of ‘little eyases’ who are roundly applauded for their histrionic efforts). After the Restoration the choristers enjoyed a somewhat chequered history, but a vigorous campaign by the redoubtable Maria Hackett lasting some sixty years led to the re-establishment of a purpose-built school in Carter Lane to the south-west of the Cathedral in 1874. There it remained until the 1960s, when, under threat of demolition due to a road-widening scheme, it moved to its present site in New Change.

St Paul’s Cathedral Choir now comprises 28 boy choristers

The Choristers attend the Cathedral School as boarders

and twelve men – the ‘Vicars Choral’ – and is directed by

and are looked after by the Headmaster and his staff. Boys

Andrew Carwood. Auditions are held throughout the year.

start with a probationary year when they learn about the

Boys start with a probationary year when they learn about

routines and repertoire of the Choir and are given a firm

the routines and repertoire of the Choir and are given a

grounding in vocal technique and sight reading. Once they

firm grounding in vocal technique and sight reading. Once

have become full choristers they take a full part in the

they have become full choristers they take a full part in the

liturgical life of the Cathedral.

liturgical life of the Cathedral. St Paul’s Choristers sing Choral

Having been performing in London’s iconic venue for

Evensong most days during term time as well as Choral

nearly 900 years, the choir will be competing for this year’s

Mattins and Sung Eucharist on Sunday morning. They also

coveted Christmas No.1 spot against relative newcomers, as

take part in special services, broadcasts, concerts and tours

they go head to head with the likes of Adele and this year’s X

and study the piano and one other instrument alongside their

Factor winner. ‘This is music for Christmas, and you can’t help

vocal tuition.

but love the Christmas season and the music associated with

Within this framework the boys carry out normal school

it’, says Carwood, Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral.

activities, both academic and sporting, and often go on to

‘This is our first solo recording with Decca – so it has only

win major scholarships to schools throughout the country.

taken us nine centuries to get to that state!’ CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 81

AVAILABLE NOW ON CD, DIGITAL PLATFORMS AND LIMITED EDITION VINYL

(including unique download code).

Sony Classical Announces Exclusive Agreement with Soprano Pretty Yende

WIN! WIN! WIN! Creative Feel readers stand a chance to each win a signed copy of Zonke’s Work of HeArt. To enter, simply send your name, contact details and the answer to the question below to Creative Feel/Zonke giveaway, PO Box 3670, Randburg, 2125, or via fax to 011 787 8204, or via email to competitions@creativefeel.co.za. Please note that only one entry per person will be accepted.

Closing date: 31 January 2016 Question: What is the name of Zonke’s latest release?

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ony Classical is proud to announce an exclusive long-term agreement with Pretty Yende, the sensational young South African soprano whose career has risen to the top of the opera world with

unparalleled speed within the past few years.

Yende’s debut album on Sony Classical, scheduled for autumn 2016, will celebrate some of the milestones of her extraordinary musical journey. In addition to the

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much-loved Lakmé duet which first opened her heart to the world of opera, there will be arias from Le comte Ory in which she shot to international attention at the Met. She will also perform arias from other roles in which she

New Voice IV. Curated by Tammy Langtry and Lunga Kumalo.

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continues to dazzle audiences and critics: Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Elvira (I puritani). She will perform the latter opera at Zurich opera in June 2016.

Yende has already appeared at opera houses in Berlin,

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New York, Los Angeles, Barcelona and Hamburg, and has frequently sung at La Scala. Forthcoming seasons will also see her appear at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, the Royal Opera House in London, and the Opéra National de Paris. CF

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 83

Books Recently published

Bravo!

Food from the SA stars of stage

By Distell Publisher: Human & Rousseau, an imprint of NB Publishers ISBN: 9780798170116 A cookbook with a difference. South Africa’s most-loved and best actors, those who have won a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award, lift the lid on their favourite recipes.

Among the actors are: Alan Committie, James Borthwick, Luke Ellenbogen, Kate Normington, Tim Plewman, Janice Honeyman, Fiona Ramsey, and Janni Younge.

The stars’ recipes range from simple (a ham and cheese sandwich or a delicious macaroni and cheese) to advanced (oxtail and roast venison). Some of the recipes also have an Eastern flavour. You can plan a full meal with this book – perhaps with Carel Nel’s creamy mussels as an appetiser, followed by Geoffrey Hyland’s shepherd’s pie and Penelope Youngleson’s coleslaw, and then Philip Dikotla’s trifle for dessert.

SuzelleDIY The Book

By Julia Anastasopoulos and Ari Kruger Publisher: Human & Rousseau, an imprint of NB Publishers ISBN: 9780798170093

In My Kitchen

By Herman Lensing Publisher: Human & Rousseau, an imprint of NB Publishers ISBN: 9780798168335

More Allergen-Free Recipes for the Whole Family

By Sylvie Hurford Publisher: Human & Rousseau, an imprint of NB Publishers ISBN: 9780798168304

This user-friendly cookbook is

The perfect book for helping to prevent

divided into ten chapters according

and manage allergies in children. Sylvie

The Book gives DIY a humorous

to the ingredients which influence

Hurford shows how you can delay

twist. Julia Anastasopoulos, aka

Lensing’s life and cooking. Lensing

children’s exposure to allergens, allowing

Suzelle, shows us how to deal with

uses quality ingredients and

the body to mature enough to process the

household chores, maintain your

innovative methods to reduce

agents of incipient allergy. Informative

car, live green, make braai day a day

time spent in the kitchen. A food

and beautiful, this book appeals to all

to remember and how to minimise

personality to take note of.

senses. Yummy recipes such as celebration

the hours you spend in the kitchen.

Lensing has been food editor

cake, carob muffins and much more will

Marianne, her friend, joins her and

of Sarie since 2009, and was

assist mothers to treat their young. Also

takes a special interest in our furry

the youngest food editor ever

included are chapters for sleep time and

friends. The DIY diva also shares

appointed by Sarie. Lensing’s

for the ill. Sylvie Hurford has a wide print

her DIY and beauty secrets, while

enthusiasm, knowledge and

and social media following, as well as

also entertaining us with the best

scrumptious recipes turned the

prominence as a TV personality, inspiring

recipes from her kitchen. DIY?

food section into one of the most

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Because anybody can.

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liberating new ideas and lateral views.

84 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

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Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 85

Anne-Sophie Mutter finds a ‘new home’ The German violin virtuoso AnneSophie Mutter takes on classical club culture in her latest Deutsche Grammophon release, The Club Album: Live from the Yellow Lounge.

E

punch. An audience which, sad to say, I’ll never find in the Philharmonie. So I thought to myself: OK, if there’s a bunch of people who’ll never go to the Philharmonie, I’ll have to go to them. I’ll “stalk” them, so to speak, and go to their club.’

Anne-Sophie Mutter was accompanied on both club appearances by pianist Lambert Orkis and her own virtuosi, young scholarship holders from her foundation for up-and-coming talent: ‘They’re an integral part of my life. They come from Austria, Poland, the United States,

arlier this year, Anne-Sophie Mutter challenged

South Korea, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Russia

her ‘Lord Dunn-Raven’ Stradivarius by playing in a

and Spain, and they have ideas as to what music can

jam-packed Berlin nightclub, The Neue Heimat, or

accomplish in society.’

‘new home’. ‘It was extremely hot in the club,’ says

‘I looked at a lot of repertoire... The result was a

Mutter, ‘and in the long run it put a big strain on the varnish.

kaleidoscopic view of the variety of music history, and the

So to prevent the original varnish from becoming damaged

variety of music for the violin’, she says. And so the Yellow

we applied a thin protective coat to the Strad where it

Lounge programme came about, ranging from the Baroque

touches my bare skin. But any instrument over 300 years old

to the present day, and including works from Vivaldi’s Four

is bound to show signs of wear and tear.’

Seasons and Bach-Gounod’s Ave Maria, to the Jamaican

But what’s a Strad, let alone a world famous violinist, doing in a Berlin nightclub? Anne-Sophie Mutter has long felt that her genre, so called ‘classical music’, must explore new venues and fresh strategies lest it be mothballed as yesterday’s art.

‘I wanted to put the audience in touch with the music I love and believe in, music that packs such a huge emotional

86 / Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016

Rumba, Gershwin’s Preludes, Aaron Copland’s country fiddling and the title theme from Schindler’s List.

The audience response was euphoric. And the Strad? It was sent for maintenance work at what its owner calls ‘The Spa’, where it was tidied up to meet the challenges of new centuries and exciting new venues. CF

CDs

The latest releases to suit all tastes

The Age of Puccini Jonas Kaufmann Decca 4788746 On 14 April 2010, Jonas Kaufmann became the first German tenor to sing Cavaradossi at the Metropolitan Opera in 103 years. He shaped Puccini’s music with exceptional elegance, balancing the character’s essential revolutionary fervour with a heart-stopping tenderness.

Critics and audiences received the portrayal ecstatically. In preparing this music by Puccini and his contemporaries (including Puccini’s and Mascagni’s teacher of composition, Ponchielli), Kaufmann was gratified that his fluent Italian enabled him to ‘understand double meanings and discover the secrets between the written lines.’ Freedom from technical worries allowed Kaufmann to concentrate exclusively on communication, ‘with the text leading me automatically into the emotional circumstances of each piece.’ Kaufmann recognises that most of these roles lack the dramatic complexities of his usual opera repertoire. “In verismo it’s just pure soul and passion, but that’s what I love so much about it! These arias are charged with emotions that can move you to tears … the most enthusiastic music — the most ecstatic music — is verismo.”

Caroline Leisegang Øyeblikk First Date Collective One of the youngest classical composers

Fauré & Strauss Violin Sonatas Itzhak Perlman & Emanuel Ax Deutsche Grammophon 48117741

Cinema Andrea Bocelli Universal Music 4811885

in South African history, Leisegang has

Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax, each

International superstar Andrea Bocelli

raised the bar on classical composition

winners of multiple GRAMMY Awards

returns with his new eagerly awaited

not only in her home country, but in

among a myriad of other honours, have

album Cinema. Cinema celebrates the

the rest of the musical world with her

teamed up for the exquisite album of

greatest movie songs of all time and

stunning, world-class debut release

Romantic-era masterpieces: the Violin

reunites a team of musical legends

Øyeblikk. Obsessed with her Norwegian

Sonata No. 1 in A Major by Gabriel

including David Foster, Humberto

ancestry, Leisegang was interested in the

Fauré and the lone Violin Sonata by

Gatica and Tony Renis who worked

repetition of the Norwegian language

Richard Strauss. In addition to this

together on the trailblazing success of

which mirrors the repetition of musical

being Perlman’s first new solo recording

Bocelli’s Amore. Cinema marks Bocelli’s

form in her work. Øyeblikk translates

in over a decade, it is also the first

first new studio recording in two years.

to ‘Moments’ and is emblematic of her

recording by this violin-piano team after

Bocelli said of Cinema: ‘With the album

state of mind when writing the pieces

years of performing together on stage,

Cinema, I’m fulfilling a wish that I’ve

in either her London or Johannesburg

and the first time Perlman has recorded

harboured for decades. I’ve never made

home. Inspired in large by her battle with

these two major sonatas. Describing

a secret of my dream of bringing to

the weather of the cities she travelled

the Fauré sonata, Perlman says:

life a recording project associated with

and the doldrum she found herself in,

‘For a violinist, its phrases are a real

soundtracks, as I truly believe that it’s

this series of ‘moments’ came to being.

satisfaction to play, as they’re so rich.’

an exceptional artistic treasure trove.’

Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 87

Carol Director: Todd Haynes Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Jake Lacy, Sarah Paulson In an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s seminal novel, The Price of Salt, Carol follows two women from very different backgrounds who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As conventional norms of the time challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change. A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store and dreaming of a more fulfilling life when she meets Carol (Cate Blanchett), an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. As an immediate connection sparks between them, the innocence of their first encounter dims and their connection deepens. While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband (Kyle Chandler) begins to question her competence as a mother as her involvement with Therese and close relationship with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) come to light.

13NS

AT CINEMAS 16 DECEMBER Creative Feel / December 2015 / January 2016 / 89

encore forget that world-class role models are in our backyards. One of my

favourite books, which I read over and over again, is The Dream Giver by

Bruce Wilkinson. The one take out from this book is that you may be born ordinary but you don’t have to stay/remain ordinary – you can become anything you want to become. Your dream must beat in your heart so much that you want to translate it into a tangible living product.

What is in your car’s CD player?

Frank Sinatra and Friends featuring the likes of Luther Vandross, Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, Anita Baker and Bono.

I am also listening to The Imagine Project by Herbie Hancock. This is the most creative piece of music I have heard in the last ten years.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Creating more time for myself (to recharge) and those closest and dearest to me.

Rosemary Mangope is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Arts Council and is responsible for strategy development and implementation and overall running

How have the arts industries in South Africa changed over the last ten years?

The shift has been seismic in that the arts have ceased to be ego driven. If you are ego driven you won’t last long in the industry. The

of the organisation. Mangope has a track record in

change has been from being egotistic to being collaborative. There is

establishing multipurpose community art centres. This

no longer a pure art form – art is multidisciplinary.

gave her an opportunity to highlight the transformative power of the arts and introduced the creativity and discipline required to be successful in the arts. ‘It gives

Name one thing you think would improve the arts and culture industry in South Africa.

More innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

me great fulfilment to see that this kind of model is being replicated and has the ability to contribute to shaping and moulding a human being,’ says Mangope.

What is your most treasured possession?

Being of sound spirit, mind and body – without these I can’t do anything.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Name three artworks that you love and why.

Poverty and lack of education.

Visual Arts: Mary Sibande. Her work is bold, promotes women as powerhouses regardless of the origin of their circumstances, is

What is it that makes you happy?

colourful and visually appealing;

Living my dream – I am at my happiest when I do my work.

Music: Frank Sinatra. His music defies age, it’s timeless, it has gone through so many iterations and permutations and can still be adapted

Describe a defining moment in your life.

for future audiences;

Holding my first born child in my hands.

Dance – Alfred Hinkel and PJ Sabbagha. Their ability to reinvent themselves and in the process contribute to artistic development in

What projects will you be busy with during 2016 and into 2017?

neglected areas and still showcase world-class talent

We look forward to the 17th ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts Festival for Children and Young People which takes place in Cape Town

Name one artist you would love to meet.

in May 2017. This will be the first ASSITEJ World Congress to be held on

Quincy Jones – he’s been such an integral game changer in the lives of

the African continent since the inception of ASSITEJ in 1965. The event

artists all over the world, including South African artists.

will be conceptualised not only as a South African event, but also as a truly African one, focusing on what the continent has to offer in terms of

What are you reading at the moment?

theatre for young audiences. The NAC will have an important role to play

I am currently reading Fethullah Gülen’s Toward a Global Civilization

as we showcase what this country has to offer to the world.

of Love and Tolerance, a book that speaks on a new world order and working towards a global civilisation. The book promotes understanding,

Name one goal you would like to achieve in the next twelve months.

acceptance and tolerance. I just recently finished Felicia Mabuza-Suttle’s

Rolling out of the regional arts education conferences and utilising

book Live Your Dream and this book reminded me that very often we

this as a tool to getting Africa to speak in one voice.

Our DNA tells us that we are all 99.9% alike because we all share one common ancestor.

Dig deeper and learn more at the ALL FROM ONE Exhibition.

Our DNA tells us that we are all 99.9% alike because we all share one common ancestor.

Dig deeper and learn more at the ALL FROM ONE Exhibition.

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