Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Tributes for slain dancer, queer activist
Kirvan Fortuin, activist, award-winning choreographer and pioneer of Ballroom culture, killed in alleged hate crime
“HE DIED in my arms on Friday night. When I came there, it was sad for me to see my son lying there and there was nothing I could do for him. My heart was broken when I took him in my arms. He died in my arms.”
These were the words of Steven Claasen, father of slain queer activist and choreographer Kirvan Fortuin, who was allegedly stabbed to death by a teenager last weekend.
As a genderqueer person, Fortuin used the pronouns they/them, but some family members and others are quoted as using their previous masculine pronouns.
This week, those in the dance and LGBTI+ communities paid tribute to Fortuin with a motorcade and memorial service.
Their death is all the more stark for its timing in the middle of Youth Month in South Africa, and Pride Month internationally.
They were an award-winning choreographer and dancer, but also the founder of the first Ballroom house in Africa, a pioneer of Ballroom culture, and an activist for the rights and health of the queer.
Fortuin was stabbed in the chest at a house party, allegedly by a 14-year-old girl who had previously made homophobic comments and threats towards them.
She was arrested and appeared in Somerset West Magistrate’s Court this week. Her identity is being protected in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, as she is a minor.
Fortuin’s LGBTI+ family held a memorial service on Thursday at club Zer021, the venue of many a spectacular ball hosted by them.
Members of the House of le Cap paid tribute to Fortuin, who was regarded as the founder and
“Mother” of the house, and created a safe space for them to express themselves.
“Kirvan had been unwavering in his dedication to that vision from the moment we hosted those first two functions until the very last breath,” wrote Chester Martinez.
“For the first time in my entire life as a queer body, as a queer person, having a queer experience, for the first time in the country of my birth, I experienced community. In the truest sense.”
Nathan, a close friend, wrote:
“He made it okay to walk in six-inch heels in front of a whole crowd but knowing that that crowd is there for you.
“I will miss his laughs and whenever I think of him now,
I’d just hear him in my head saying, ‘Guys, this is our space and we need to stand together and dominate, because you know what? We belong and we deserve and we have a right to equality’.”
Artscape Theatre chief executive Marlene le Roux also paid tribute to Fortuin, noting his achievements in establishing the Kirvan Fortuin
Foundation and Fortuin Dance Theatre, as well as prestigious awards in South Africa, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
“He studied abroad, and he came back to South Africa to give back to the young people in Macassar.
“He is truly a pioneer in the new world of theatre and dance, and is paving a great wave for young artists, people of colour and queer people,” Le Roux said.
“Kirvan, we will never forget you. You were a human rights activist, a gay activist, a role model. We will continue with your legacy – a legacy of hard work, of believing in your dreams, and making them true.”
Fortuin was able to study dance in the Netherlands thanks to financial support from the Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation.
“The sad and upsetting news about the tragic death of Kirvan Fortuin leaves us speechless.
“Kirvan Fortuin was one of our best and most successful scholarship holders, an extremely talented dancer and an incredible all-rounder on the global dance scene,” the foundation said.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we say goodbye to a great person, dancer and choreographer. Our deepest condolences go to Kirvan’s family and friends, but especially to Kirvan’s fellow companions from arts and culture as well as the protégées of his own foundation.”
Only days before Fortuin died, they posted on Facebook about the adversity they faced for living unashamedly as a queer person.
“I have been judged, criticised, mocked, sabotaged, bullied and even received death threats for being who I am and the work that I do.
“Today, we celebrate International World Pride Month, and today I would like to say again, I will always and forever fight for the visibility and voice of the marginalised within mainstream, whether in corporate, civil, commercial or the art world.
“Since I started House of le Cap we have raised R10
000 for HIV/AIDS awareness, food vouchers for several local NGOs, and made sure that our trans-community got their treatment and medication during lockdown.
“So before you judge based on the fact that I’m a coloured m***ie from Macassar please refer to the above, and ask yourself what have I done for my community.”