The contemporary classical Cape Dance Company (CDC) will present five performances of A Thousand Shepherds at the National Arts Festival, which begins in Grahamstown next week.
Under the artistic direction of Debbie Turner, the company celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.
Blending neo-classical and contemporary dance styles with a hybrid flavour of African fusion, the dance company creates and performs worldwide original works by South African choreographers, and presents works by international choreographers, to give the company and its growing audiences exposure to the global dance world.
A Thousand Shepherds, which ran earlier this year at Artscape to great acclaim, will be performed on July 2 and 3.
This season marks the first time that the company wil
l be presented on the Main programme instead of on the Fringe.
A searing exploration of humanity, Spanish/UK choreographer José Agudo’s A Thousand Shepherds is inspired by the concept of pilgrimage.
Originally created for the company Ace Dance & Music in Birmingham in the UK to the music of Vincenzo Lamagna, the tone of the work is underpinned by the influence of a period of study in an Indian ashram, bringing to it a mystical and mysterious feel.
Agudo’s work is poignantly articulate and reflective, creating an aura of sacredness and intense spirituality.
Agudo is the artistic director of his own project-based dance company and is the rehearsal director for world-renowned, acclaimed British choreographer Akram Khan.
Agudo’s multidisciplinary pedigree started with the study of flamenco dance, which has influenced and crafted much of the rhythmical virtuosity of this work.
The 80-minute show also includes a re-staging of Christopher Huggins’s thrilling award-winning Enemy Behind the Gates, where a cast of 24 will showcase lightening-fast choreography, which explodes on the stage in a roller-coaster ride of charged emotion delivered by the breathtaking athleticism and power of the dancers.
Interspersed between these two powerful works will be a solo, Convivencia, choreographed and performed by Mthuthuzeli November, another outstanding young dancer trained by Dance for All in Xolani and the Cape Academy of Performing Arts, and a former CDC member as well. He returns from London, where he is currently a member of Ballet Black, to perform this solo in addition to Enemy Behind the Gates.
Other featured artists include Louisa Talbot, Elzanne Crause, Ipeleng Merafe, Marlin Zoutman and an excellent supporting cast.
Londiwe Khoza, a Cape Academy of Performing Arts (Capa) graduate and a member of CDC since 2011, will once again be part of the production before leaving for overseas.
Khoza, who was recently announced as a winner of the Rolex Mentor prize for dance, will take up a year of intense, one-to-one collaboration with a renowned choreographer in the 2016 – 2017 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.
The costume design is by Kimie Nakano and lighting design by Wilhelm Disbergen.
A Thousand Shepherds will be performed at the Transnet Great Hall in Grahamstown on Saturda, July 2 at 10am, 3pm and 8pm and on Sunday July 3 at 3pm and 7pm. Book on 0860-002-004 or online www.nationalartsfestival.co.za and boxoffice@nationalartsfestival.co.za — DDR
‘A Thousand Shepherds’ delivers powerful concept
Under the artistic direction of Debbie Turner, the company celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.
Blending neo-classical and contemporary dance styles with a hybrid flavour of African fusion, the dance company creates and performs worldwide original works by South African choreographers, and presents works by international choreographers, to give the company and its growing audiences exposure to the global dance world.
A Thousand Shepherds, which ran earlier this year at Artscape to great acclaim, will be performed on July 2 and 3.
This season marks the first time that the company wil
l be presented on the Main programme instead of on the Fringe.
A searing exploration of humanity, Spanish/UK choreographer José Agudo’s A Thousand Shepherds is inspired by the concept of pilgrimage.
Originally created for the company Ace Dance & Music in Birmingham in the UK to the music of Vincenzo Lamagna, the tone of the work is underpinned by the influence of a period of study in an Indian ashram, bringing to it a mystical and mysterious feel.
Agudo’s work is poignantly articulate and reflective, creating an aura of sacredness and intense spirituality.
Agudo is the artistic director of his own project-based dance company and is the rehearsal director for world-renowned, acclaimed British choreographer Akram Khan.
Agudo’s multidisciplinary pedigree started with the study of flamenco dance, which has influenced and crafted much of the rhythmical virtuosity of this work.
The 80-minute show also includes a re-staging of Christopher Huggins’s thrilling award-winning Enemy Behind the Gates, where a cast of 24 will showcase lightening-fast choreography, which explodes on the stage in a roller-coaster ride of charged emotion delivered by the breathtaking athleticism and power of the dancers.
Interspersed between these two powerful works will be a solo, Convivencia, choreographed and performed by Mthuthuzeli November, another outstanding young dancer trained by Dance for All in Xolani and the Cape Academy of Performing Arts, and a former CDC member as well. He returns from London, where he is currently a member of Ballet Black, to perform this solo in addition to Enemy Behind the Gates.
Other featured artists include Louisa Talbot, Elzanne Crause, Ipeleng Merafe, Marlin Zoutman and an excellent supporting cast.
Londiwe Khoza, a Cape Academy of Performing Arts (Capa) graduate and a member of CDC since 2011, will once again be part of the production before leaving for overseas.
Khoza, who was recently announced as a winner of the Rolex Mentor prize for dance, will take up a year of intense, one-to-one collaboration with a renowned choreographer in the 2016 – 2017 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.
The costume design is by Kimie Nakano and lighting design by Wilhelm Disbergen.
A Thousand Shepherds will be performed at the Transnet Great Hall in Grahamstown on Saturda, July 2 at 10am, 3pm and 8pm and on Sunday July 3 at 3pm and 7pm. Book on 0860-002-004 or online www.nationalartsfestival.co.za and boxoffice@nationalartsfestival.co.za — DDR
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