Young dancers and musicians team up
DANCE for All is gearing up to present Concerto la Danza, a collaboration of dance and live music, featuring an ensemble of close to 80 talented young dancers and musicians.
Directed by Allison Hendricks and performed by some of Cape Town’s finest young musicians from the Cape Music Institute (CMI), with musical direction by Camillo Lombard, the production will show how these two captivating art forms collide.
Concerto la Danza celebrates the work of both DFA and the Cape Music Institute whose students range from 11 to 23 years of age.
Both institutions focus primarily on creating platforms and opportunities for young people.
The show taps into the lives of three characters, the masks they show to the world and a life which they once had, or long for.
“People can expect an array of genres featuring young, fresh, vibrant dancers and musicians,” said Lombard.
Hendricks will be working on the creative direction of the show.
She said for dancers performing to live music was a big deal.
“It makes the performance more alive and working with another institution that works with youth is something we’ve been wanting to do,” she said.
Hendricks said it would also be the first time Dance for All would have a storyline with a production.
“We are moving in a new direction. The challenge is a storyline does not always appeal to kids because they have to be more mature for the story to come across – but we are going for it anyway,” she said.
With live music presenting very little artifice, the audience will become one with these two art forms.
Hendricks said her vision was to see young people grow.
“This is a great platform for exposure for our youth.
“My vision is for what we are planting in these young minds to get bigger. I also want this collaboration to grow into a more prosperous partnership,” she said.
There will also be a guest performance by the Taare Dance Company with choreography by company director Ahneesh Valodia and choreographer Maxwell Rani.
Dance for All is now in its 27th year.
Tickets for the production at the Artscape on August 18 cost R150 and are available through Computicket or Dial-a-Seat at 021 421 7695.
The matinee 2.15pm performance is available for block bookings to schools at R60 a ticket.