Lorin Sookool’s “The Moon and Her Bloom” was a favourite at this year’s JOMBA! @ DAG. Photography by Val Adamson.

Long Live JOMBA!

Guest Writer Kivithra Naicker offers her thoughts on 20 Years of JOMBA!

In celebration of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance experience reaching its 20th year, I consider what this legacy might mean for city of Durban, South African, and African dance and dancers. This particular contemporary dance festival which has sought to create a platform for dancers and choreographers in KwaZulu-Natal was born just 4 years post-apartheid. Sprouting in a “post-segregation” moment in time, ideas of identity, freedom, self, belonging and ones place in the South African landscape brought about intense internal conflict that required a language; a vocabulary that translates across mother tongues towards a space of questioning, feeling, understanding and healing.

Reflectively, my own experience of Jomba! has been multifaceted having played the role of audience member, performer, crew member, assistant stage manager and most fortunately as a resident reviewer under the guidance of dance veteran writer, Adrienne Sichel. It has been these experiences- backstage, in the wings, up on the cat walk invisible in all black attire that I have truly felt the magic and sacred undertaking of bodies speaking through dance. In a time of instant gratification, extreme consumerism and desensitisation, dance is visceral act which compels its audience to pause for a moment in time, to think and most imperatively to feel. In experiencing contemporary dance, one cannot change the channel when it becomes uncomfortable to digest the realities being staged. While escaping our realities by unconsciously consuming entertainment is the anaesthesia of our time, JOMBA! as a festival and a platform as a whole gives Durban and South Africa 10-days of uninterrupted critical conversation addressing the turbulent times we are all living in.

How much do we know about the struggles of our brothers and sisters in neighbouring countries of our continent? Furthermore, bearing our own struggles as a South African nation unhealed and in constant upheaval, how much can we afford to care? While JOMBA! has brought companies from around the world- France, USA, Netherlands and India to name a few, the focus has always remained on the African continent, South Africa and particularly KwaZulu Natal. While much of the artistic opportunities are known to be in Cape Town and Johannesburg, JOMBA! has strived to consistently forge a contemporary dance community for dancers and choreographers in Durban.

Transporting its audience through choreography from around the country, continent and the world, JOMBA! has provided a unique opportunity for Durban to experience various realities, perspectives and techniques through dance. I have briefly visited the DRC through the offerings of the anarchic and powerful work of Congolese choreographer, Faustin Lineyekula. It is through the work of Adedayo Liadi that I caught a glimpse of Lagos, Nigeria and through Soul City Crews choreographer Kenji ( Cedric Saidou) of Reunion Island that I was left in awe, having witnessed the effortless flow of break dance and contemporary movement. Nina Santes (dancer) of France showed me the beauty of gesture as dance, performing in athletic gear and using everyday movements to speak. In 2013, I was honoured to experience the humility, kindness and generosity of choreographers Felix Dumeril and Misato Inoue (Switzerland), a pair that I will never forget. As my experience with performers and their performances have ranged from an audience member to a technical crew member of JOMBA!, I have gained an artistic wealth that is distinct and unparalleled to any other endeavour.

The instability of arts funding in South Africa has forced many of the country’s foremost choreographers to seek work abroad causing many young South Africans to have little to no opportunity to experience the rich work of these choreographers. However, Sello Pesa, Jay Pather, Desiree Davids, Dada Masilo, Mlu Zondi, Musa Hlatswayo and Lliane Loots are but a few of the names whose work I have been privileged to experience and it is through JOMBA! that these artists and their works are staged in Durban.

JOMBA! wonderfully opens up the contemporary dance experience to all those who wish to immerse themselves for an hour or two through free workshops. Memorably, it is here that our bodies learn a new way of speaking and sounding allowing for interactions with all of the festivals choreographers and dancers. The JOMBA! Fringe has given young choreographers and dancers the platform to stage their work in a professional environment. This platform has been a gem for young emerging artists and continues to be so.

As a born and bred Durbanite, the 10-day journey of contemporary dance through JOMBA! has always been a treasured experience. Through JOMBA! I have travelled to many places with many dance companies, choreographers and dancers who gave us a glimpse of their world from chaotic and destructive to beautifully peaceful. There will never be adequate words to express my great fortune for not only being a part of this festival but for being a minute part of creating magic and telling stories through dance.

Long live JOMBA!

JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience
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