‘iKHAYA’ primed to captivate audiences
THERE is much to mull over this weekend, Heritage Day, National Braai Day as well as the Cape Town Fringe – which began yesterday and runs until October 8 – at 13 venues. Dance theatre figures prominently on the programme which include works by veteran choreographers Mamela Nyamza (Rock to the Core) and Tossie van Tonder (Powers of Lightness).
Van Tonder is 67 by the way – she declares her age proudly in the Fringe programme. Another trailblazing veteran choreographer is award winning Sbonakaliso Ndaba, 46. She is artistic director of Indoni Dance Academy and her piece, iKhaya (‘home’) is on at the Fringe – at the Zolani Centre on October 2 (7pm), October 3 (6pm) and October 4 (8pm) and then it moves to the Little Theatre at UCT Hiddingh Campus – on October 5 (7pm), October 6 (8pm) and October 8 (5pm).
In iKhaya, which premièred in August at the Artscape’s Women’s Humanity Arts Festival, Ndaba grapples with home as a sanctuary and a place of safety and how the loss of a mother shifts the physical and emotional landscape of home.
I asked Ndaba if iKhaya is autobiographical. Does it refer to her experiences – or is it a mediation on what home means for the young artists in Indoni – particularly with the imagery evoked through movement? “It’s all three involved,” reflected Ndaba.
“Home started with my own story. Then looking around at what the kids are going through – same experience – even harder. Some of them live by themselves. I had the privilege of having both parents with me. It was like bouncing ideas from all ends…”
Ndaba was instrumental in the creation of Indoni. In 2014, she was teaching a group of dancers in Khayelitsha, teaching without a salary. With partners and funders, the company was formalised. Indoni (‘black beauty’) is currently based in Pinelands but is looking for a proper iKhaya.
She was born and raised in Durban and the dance bug caught her early on: “I danced as a kid in my mom’s kitchen – cleared the kitchen and made it into a studio. I was about 9.” When she was 17, she met choreographer Alfred Hinkel, who was working with Phenduka Dance Company and she became involved with the company. When Phenduka shut down due to lack of funds, Hinkel returned to Cape Town to assume a position with Jazzart.
“On the day I turned 21, I got a phone call from Alfred to say ‘tomorrow I’ve booked you a ticket to come to Cape Town’. It was a 21st birthday present from Alfred. I had never flown before. My folks had forgotten about my birthday.”
When she decided that she would rather choreograph than dance, that caused a bit of a ruckus: “I nearly got fired for that. When we were seniors, Alfred wanted us to start teaching. I waited till I had my voice. We were working on a corporate gig. I walked up to Alfred and said: ‘I don’t feel like dancing anymore’. We only had two days to complete the choreography before presenting it to the client. I said: ‘I’m going to choreograph this number for you. You must go home and you will see tomorrow what I have done’. I put on a new piece of music and started afresh. By the end of the day I had finished the piece. I was done. I told the others: ‘don’t let me down. It was as if I was always in front of them.”
Anyone who has seen Indoni in action, will know that the company is intensely physical. Yes, of course, dance is physical but these young artists rip through space: throwing each other, shoving, stepping over; tearing through the space.
There is often almost a sense of violence, rage and fury.
It’s magnificent and it transverses gender. Ndaba: “I work with dancers, not girl dancers and boy dancers. Boys lift girls and girls lift boys. I refer to what is happening to women in this country: the empowering of women. Women can do more in this country.”
Ndaba, who proudly tags herself as being “a black female African contemporary choreographer”, is on a mission to take Indoni to even greater heights.
“I dream of choreography that will require a lot of money – a year to create a one-hour piece. If audiences are being wowed at present – it is nowhere near where I can take my work – if we can get the funding.”
Cape Town Fringe tickets are R40 to R100. Book at www.capetownfringe.co.za, use the Cape Town Fringe app, call 086 000 2004 or book at the Fringe Club at The German Club (6 Roodehek Terrace, Gardens); cash or credit card. Tickets are also sold at the door until 30 minutes before show. Tickets for iKhaya are R35 (Zolani Centre) and R80 (The Little Theatre). Discounts for seniors and students. Special discounts of R20 for schools or community groups of 10.