About the Show

In FullMoon (2014), Maqoma directed and collaborated with South African Youth Orchestra and co-choreographed with Luyanda Sidiya with music orchestration and composition by Isaac Molelekoa. In 2015 Maqoma celebrated his 25 years in Dance with a program produced by Vuyani dance Theatre, Greg Maqoma & Friends, featured artist included Sibongile Khumalo, Somizi Mhlongo, David Tlale, Bill Monama and Vuyani Dance Theatre, Complete Quartet and 70 Vuyani Outreach Children at The Lyric Theatre, Johannesburg.

In 2016 Maqoma continued his collaborations with world acclaimed artist Wouter Kellerman and Simphiwe Dana in Joys of Sharing produced by Vuyani Dance Theatre at The Lyric Theatre, Johannesburg.

In 2017 Maqoma premiered Cion – Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero (2017) in association with Market Theatre, produced by Vuyani dance Theatre with music composition by Nhlanhla Mahlangu. This work continues to tour the world and has since appeared at the Joys Theatre (NY), Kennedy Centre (Washington), Holland Festival, Marseille Festival. In the same year he premiered Via Kanana, a work he created on Via Katlehong.

In 2019 Maqoma collaborated with Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah in the production Tree, produced by Manchester International Festival and The Young Vic. Maqoma embarked on creating works for classical companies: The Valley of Human Sound was created on Opera Ballet De Lyon and premiered in 2021. Black Sun was created on UK based Ballet Black, premiered in 2022.

The pandemic provided Maqoma with an opportunity to lend his hand on creating and directing films. In 2021 during the height of Covid-19 he co-created a film Untold Secrets of the Heart Chamber with a poet, arts activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, commissioned by ADF and DANCECLEVELAND. Maqoma was also commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival to produce and direct a film RetraceRetract which marked his going collaboration with poetry which was provided by poet and performing activists Jefferson Tshabalala.

Maqoma directorial and choreographic skills are further enhanced in 2022 with his new offering, Moya a project with Simphiwe Dana, Third World Express, a jazz musical produced by Joburg Theatre and Shadrack Bokaba. Maqoma was recently announced as the part of the creative team for the Mandela Musical to premiere at the Young Vic in London in December.

Maqoma was Associate Artistic Director of Moving Into Dance Mophatong 2002 - 2006 and for the FNB Dance Umbrella Festival 2010. He was Artistic Director of the Afro-Vibes Festival in the Netherlands and the UK from 2004 - 2010. Maqoma has served on the dance committee of the National Arts Festival 2011 – 2017 and curated the Main Dance Festival Program for 2017. He teachesat various universities in Africa, USA and Europe including, University of California (UCLA), Bates College (USA), Bennington College (USA), University of Minnesota Dance Department. He has created repertoire for Moving into Dance, Jazzart Contemporary Dance Theatre, South African Ballet Theatre and Cape Academy of Performing Arts, amongst others. He is currently the Chairperson of the Board of STAND (Sustaining Theatre and Dance) Foundation.

Several works in his VDT repertoire have won him accolades and international acclaim. This includes FNB Vita Choreographer of the Year in 1999, 2001 and 2002 for Rhythm 1.2.3, Rhythm Blues and Southern Comfort respectively. He received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance in 2002. Maqoma was a finalist in the Daimler Chrysler Choreography Award in 2002 and in the Rolex Mentorship Programme in 2003. He is the recipient of the 2012 Tunkie Award for Leadership in Dance, which is presented annually to a South African who has elevated the standard and visibility of dance in South Africa. He served as a nominator in the 2016–2017 Rolex Arts Initiative. In 2017 Maqoma was honoured by the French Government with the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Arts & Literature) Award.

In addition, Maqoma continues to play an important role in transforming the artistic landscape in South Africa through the newly formed corporate entities Gregory Maqoma Industries and Vuyani Dance Company. Maqoma is regarded as a visionary for the advancement of artists and dance in the continent. He is one of the featured social entrepreneurs in a book ‘The Disruptors – Social Entrepreneurs reinventing business and society’

Otto Andile Nhlapo born and raised in Heidelberg (Ratanda). He started out with the Juvenile Development Cultural Group in 2004, specialising in Zulu dance genres (Umkhomazi, Isizingili, Ushamen and Umzansi) and Pantsula dance. He has performed for dignitaries including President Jacob Zuma, former President Thabo Mbeki and FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter. In 2010 he joined MIDM Performing Arts Training Course and had an opportunity to study and perform in various events, he also worked with Robyn Orlin in her work titled Beauty, toured 11 cities in France. 2012 He won the pick of the stepping stones Dance Umbrella Festival Johannesburg with his solo work titled Dirty Hands.

In 2013 he joined Vuyani Dance Theatre as a junior company member and, after three months he was promoted to be a senior company member, where he then got an opportunity to tour with the company abroad. He has toured countries such as Finland, Germany, Sweden, Holland, China and New York to name a few. He performed at the Metro FM annual awards 2013 to 2015, sharing the stage with various South African musicians.

He has had the privilege of performing in productions of great choreographers in the country. These include Four Seasons, Full Moon, Kudu and Wake up choreographed by Gregory Vuyani Maqoma. Works outside of the Vuyani repertoire include Via Katlehong’s Via Kanana and Transformations choreographed by Sylvia Glasser. He choreographed for Simphiwe Dana’s Ndiredi in the collaborative production Joys of Sharing presented by Vuyani Dance Theatre featuring Wouter Kellerman and Simphiwe Dana, directed by Greg Maqoma.

In the year 2017 he created his first work with the company which was presented during the Vuyani Week season, titled Interpellation. His second choreographic work, Gister Maoba premiered during 2018’s Vuyani Week. Nhlapo is currently Vuyani’s Principal Dancer in Gregory Maqoma’s Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero that has seen great acclaim internationally. Exceptional vocalist, composer, theatre maker, gravity defying dancer and educator Nhlanhla Mahlangu is a graduate in the theory and practice of Dance teaching at Moving into Dance, Mophatong. Recently Mahlangu has turned his attention to translating his prolific local and international career on stage into a Master of Arts by Creative Research at the University of Witwatersrand. Mahlangu can only be described as a generous interdisciplinary collaborator who excels at conjuring original, complex and contemporary work rooted in traditional forms.

Born in Pholapark Squatter Camp in Apartheid South Africa in the late 1970s, Mahlangu started school during the national state of emergency in the1980s. Mahlangu witnessed firsthand the conflicts between the African National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party and the ‘Third Force’ of the 1990s. His seminal body of work, Chant is shaped and inspired by these experiences.

In addition to his contemporary dance and musical ingenuity Mahlangu is celebrated for his embodiment of Isicathamiya, a cappella-type musical form combining vocals and movement, Mahlangu uses this practice as a way to process the history of South Africa, particularly the plight of migrant workers, these performances look to build social cohesion, heal the wounds of the past and encourage resilience in the new Democratic South Africa.

Nhlanhla Mahlangu’s prolific practice is one of interrogation, articulation, development and research. He has gained exceptional ground through his pivotal collaborations with luminaries the calibre of William Kentridge, Robyn Orlin, Richard Cock, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, Sylvia Glasser, Vincent Mantsoe, Jay Pather, James Ngcobo, Victor Ntoni, Hugh Masekela, as well as his choral music and music making approaches with his Hlabelela Ensemble and Song and Dance Works. Mahlangu was a Naledi award winner for Best Choreographer in 2017.

Zakes Mda is a writer, painter, and music composer, Professor Emeritus of English at Ohio University in the USA, and Extraordinary Professor of English at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. He has published 24 books, eleven of which are novels and the rest collections of plays, poetry, and a monograph on theatre for development. His works have been translated into 22 languages and have won several awards in South Africa, the USA and Italy. His memoir titled Sometimes there is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider was the New York Times Notable Book for 2012. In 2008 Cion was one of the five novels shortlisted for the NAACP Image Awards, which honors projects and individuals that promote diversity in the arts in television, recording, literature and motion pictures. He holds honorary doctoral degrees form five universities, including the University of Cape Town and Dartmouth College, and is an honorary patron of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg.

Barry Strydom studied Dramatic and Theatre Arts at the UFS and graduated at the top of his class and winning the prestigious Elsa Krantz medal for the Best Final Year Student. He as since worked in the performing arts sector as a technician, educator, actor, designer, translator, and stage/technical manager. He currently runs Cue Lighting and Sound which offers a variety of services to the theatre and live performance sector. Some of his highlights include Flicker, Barflies, Inter(fear)ance, Draadwerk, Blood Orange, Born Naked, Johnny Boskak, and African Signatures. He has been involved with various seasons of Cion, A requiem for Ravel’s Bolero since 2018.

Ntuthuko Mbuyazi is a Durban born multi-award winning sound designer with a diploma in Audio Engineering from the Cape Audio College and currently works full time at the Market Theatre. He began his career in Sound Design in 2016 and his work was nominated in the 2017 Naledi Theatre Awards for Best Sound Design - “6 Characters In Search Of An Author”, directed by Sibusiso Mamba. He was further nominated in the 2018 Naledi Theatre Awards for Best Original Score/Arrangement/Music Adaptation for “Itsoseng”, directed by Lesedi Job. He then further received Double Nomination in the 2019 Naledi Theatre Awards for Best Sound Design for “Florence”, directed by Greg Homann (which he won) and Best Sound Design for “Shoes And Coups”, directed by Palesa Mazamisa.

Ntuthuko’s work in sound design includes “Four Women (Nina Simone)” Directed by James Ngcobo, “Cion”, Choreographed by Gregory Maqoma, “You Fool How Can The Sky Fall”, Directed by James Ngcobo, “King Leopard” Directed by Lesedi Job, “The Fishermen”, Directed by James Ngcobo, “Suddenly The Storm” Directed by Bobby Heaney, “When Swallows Cry” Directed by Lesedi Job, “The Suit” Directed by James Ngcobo, “The Suitcase” Directed by James Ngcobo, “Train Driver” Directed by Charmaine Weir-Smith, “1 Night In Miami” Directed by James Ngcobo, “Meet Me At Dawn” Directed by Lesedi Job, “Nongogo” Directed by James Ngcobo, “Cincinnati” Directed by Clive Mathibe and has assisted with Gregory Maqoma’s “Exit/Exists” Directed by James Ngcobo.

Ntuthuko has toured Durban, China, Bloemfontein, Czech Republic, France, Amsterdam, Cape Town, New York, Washington DC, London, and Romania.