A tribute to femininity
This August dance company Moving into Dance Mophatong is honouring femininity and the female form in their new season Of Hounds and Men.
Legendary South African poet, author and presenter Lebo Mashile walks up the stage before a performance. Picture: Supplied
It will be staged at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Theatre Complex and presented in association with UJ’s arts and culture department. The season showcases four pieces of riveting dance over three days and also includes a performance of Threads on Sunday as part of their Woman’s Day celebration at 11am. Threads features the inimitable poet and performer Lebo Mashile.
Threads integrates poetry, music and dance in a dynamic format. Having been performed a number of times in the past, Threads has been reworked. Mashile will present some new poetry. Three
poems from Threads appear in her latest publication Flying above the Sky.
The piece was conceptualised in 2008 by choreographer and cultural activist Sylvia “Magogo” Glasser, the founder of Moving into Dance, and Mashile. Threads deals with gender relationships, cultural and artistic identity and can be described as a verbal dance or a physical poem. Mashile calls the piece “a hybrid, much like Sylvia and I”.
“Threads is the coup de gras closing the Of Hounds and Men season, which features a mixed-bill of four high-energy dance works that boast the artistic flair of award-winning local and international choreographers with the prowess of beautiful movement expressed by leading company dancers,” says Mark Hawkins, Moving into Dance Mophatong artistic director.
The four pieces include Bolero, fight flight feathers f***ers, Road, For Now … and R and J: Rebellion and Johannesburg. The season is a celebration of movement, figure, form, physicality and the tension between masculinity and femininity.
