Decolonising The Stage

Kivithra Naicker

"Our art is not worth nothing", stated JOMBA! Artistic Director Lliane Loots in her poetically powerful and profound opening address which set the tone for the evening and the next two weeks.

Entre-Deux (In Between) choreographed by Clarisse Veaux and Abdou N'Gom aka Stylistik, hip-hop dancers and founders of French company Compagnie Stylistik, was the opening performance of the 13th annual JOMBA!Contemporary Dance Experience. This solo performed with extreme fluidity and focus by N'Gom, begins in almost darkness which heightens the aesthetics of the animalistic and ritualistic way in which he moves on the ground.

Spreading The Love

Kirsten Holder

The opening performance of the Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience 2011 exploded into action with two striking performances that could potentially be life-changing.

The work by Abdou N'Gom (aka) Stylistik's Entre-Deux (In Between) speaks largely to the crisis of identity in Africa in general, where people are being forced to take sides, in a war against themselves. Watching this performance felt like seeing a man whose blood was boiling inside his body, with nowhere to go but inside. The intriguing juxtaposition of hip-hop, traditional music and jazz, impacted on a very different level as far as use of the technique goes.