Uncertainty hangs over the survival of the FNB Dance Umbrella, now in its 22nd edition. The dance festival, presented by First National Bank in conjunction with the National Arts Council and the Market Theatre, is in its last year of sponsorship from the bank.
FNB, the sponsor since 1990, is pulling out. No corporate sponsor has stepped forward to fill the gap, a situation the festival’s artistic director, Georgina Thompson, described as a “big disaster”.
Thompson said if this platform, which is open to both seasoned and aspirant dancers, were to fold the strides made in dance over the years would come to nought. “Funders should help South Africans go further,” she said.
This year’s performances, from February 27 to March 14, will take place at various Johannesburg venues: the Wits Theatre in Braamfontein, the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for the Arts in Auckland Park and the Dance Factory and the Market Theatre complex in Newtown.
A glance at the programme shows a vast array of dancers and choreographers, including San, a new work created by Vincent Sekwati Mantsoe. The work looks at the Khoikhoi and the San, the region’s original inhabitants. Also showing will be Nelisiwe Xaba and Carlo Gibson’s Black!…White?, which explores racial and social stereotypes in contemporary South Africa.
Other new work includes a choreo-poem called Moses, created by Durban-based choreographer Musa Hlatshwayo. The production deals with the pan-African politics of identity that attended former president Thabo Mbeki’s famous “I am an African” declaration and speech.
This year’s programme includes a selection of popular works from previous editions of the festivals. Dada Masilo’s Unravelling Carmen is an alternative take of Georges Bizet’s Carmen.
Also showing will be Gary Gordon’s Go, in which he examines life from the perspective of someone who is getting older; Christopher Kindo’s Me and You, first performed in the mid-1990s; and Gregory Vuyani Maqoma’s Black Man … White Balls, exploring the spirit of football.
The radical veteran Boyzie Cekwana returns to the festival with Part 1: Influx Controls … I wanna be wanna be…, a work that also examines racial stereotypes.
Tickets for the FNB Dance Umbrella are available at the door or can be booked at Computicket: 083 915 8000 and prices range from R60 to R100. For programme details, go to www.artslink.co.za/arts