Dance Umbrella sadly unable to keep out rain
WHAT does it mean for the arts when our flagships end up sinking?
What is it an indication of when our frontrunners go under? What is it symptomatic of when the most established, most prolific, and politically most transformed dance platform in South African dance finally crumbles?
Dance Umbrella’s closure, after 30 years of serving the nation’s dance community, calls for a reassessment of the value that the arts hold for this nation.
Why do the arts simply not enjoy the priority they deserve within our country?
Georgina Thomson, artistic director of Dance Umbrella for the past two decades, has in recent years experienced grave difficulty in keeping this flagship afloat.
Despite Dance Umbrella’s tireless and fruitful contributions to local dance, as well as Thomson’s ceaseless appeals for government funding, this lighthouse and beacon of South African dance has finally faded to blackout.
From the get-go Dance Umbrella embraced transformation with a pertinently correct representation of the South African population.
Thomson says that the festival evolved in synergy with democratic change.
She says that Dance Umbrella offered a free and open platform for all dance. She explains that a valuable consequence of this has been the enthusiastic presence of black youth dance groups and community dance groups.
The festival embraced African dance and, as a platform, it contributed determinedly to the growth of these artists. Dance Umbrella has been at the very heart of the development of African theatre dance.
Thomson says the residency programmes involved the expert honing of new dance and choreographic talent. As a platform, Dance Umbrella launched and established the careers of many new dancers and choreographers. It also served as a significant springboard towards many an international career.
Why then does the Department of Arts and Culture not deem it of critical importance for this invaluable dance engine to continue its vital work? Is it ignorance?
Do the decision-makers, who significantly impact the future of dance, so much as know who our foremost dance makers are?
Moreover, do they have sufficient insight into, and an appreciation for, the value of dance as a form of social expression, and its significance to the identity of our nation and the spirit of our people?
Thomson mentions that the contemporary dance sector is marginalised when it comes to training, space and funding, and this is ironic since the people working in this sector are mostly black.
She also says that the inclination for funders to focus on development needs to be reassessed, as it is futile when companies and festivals battle to keep going and are closing down one after the other.
Thomson raises another important issue. She says that in an industry in which everybody is desperately trying to survive on their own, it has become commonplace for dance practitioners to work in seclusion, where opportunities and resources are often hogged in securing whatever is available for themselves.
Thomson believes that this is counter-productive. She explains
Why does the Department of Arts and Culture not deem it of critical importance for it to continue?
that, in order for the dance industry to survive and prosper, collaboration among artists and organisations is key.
Dance bodies need to work in alliance, form partnerships and become united in collectively taking ownership of their industry.
Thomson says that the dance community needs to become a unified support structure with a common goal to make dance the national priority it deserves to be.
Thomson says that the great diversity in South African dance is something to be treasured.
Diversity has been a defining characteristic of Dance Umbrella, which consistently presented new idiosyncratic approaches to dance.
The closing of Dance Umbrella is an outrage. We cannot afford to be indifferent to this.