The festival enters its third year and if the previous two are anything to go by, festival goers will get to experience something entirely unique and magical.

“The realization of this festival is a true testament to the arts and its ability to build community, nurture dialogue and cross boundaries. Together we are creating a new way of looking at and experiencing the arts in this truly magical place,” says PJ Sabbagha, Managing and

Artistic Director.

The My Body My Space Rural Arts and Culture Festival is an artistic and creative meander through the towns of the Highlands Meander, where the audience gets to experience the most incredible dance, music and art set against this stunning natural backdrop. The festival takes place from February 11 – 19 in the region of Emakhazeni in Mpumalanga.

The festival is a project of the acclaimed Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative (FATC) and features international dancers from as far afield as Germany. The main programme is set to wind its way across the dusty roads and rolling hills of Emakhazeni, connecting a range of rural sites and well-known landmarks through a unique fare of arts experiences.

The Arteries Programme (build-up)

February 11 – 12:

A series of flash-mobs and public space activations, which kicks off the festival across Emakhazeni.

February 13 – 17:

A workshop programme, for learners and youths.

The Central Nervous System Programme (the main event)

February 17 – 19:

The Central Nervous System Programme, will feature visual arts, music and land-art alongside an exceptional mix of local, national and international dance works.

February 17:

The programme kicks off at one of the N4 highway’s most popular stopovers, Milly’s, the much loved trout stall, restaurant and filling station. The programme opens at sunset, 18:30, against the back-drop of the beautiful dam at Millys with In the Heart of the Country, an International Collaboration between FATC’s Associate Artistic Director, Fana Tshabalala, and dancers of Constanza Macras DorkyPark (Berlin).

Vuyani Dance Theatre, one of South Africa’s leading dance companies is also featured on the opening evening with a solo work entiled Page 27, choreographed and performed by Lulu Mlangeni, senior dancer and Creative Assistant at the theatre. The piece is inspired by social issues encountered in our everyday lives.

A new duet presented by two of The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative’s performer-choreographers Nicholas Aphane and Thulani Chauke will also premier on the first evening of the CNS programme. An exciting feature of the opening evening is the screening of selected dance films. Choreographer Jessica Nupen’s Rebellion and Johannesburg, which recently scooped the Best Short award at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, will be one of the films screened.

February 18:

On the morning of Saturday 18th the audience goes, on foot, through the town of Machadodorp starting at Machado Primary School and ending up at Pholani Park. The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative’s Shawn Mothupi, Nomfundo Hlongwa and Francesca Matthys will each present new works at evocative sites on this route. They do so alongside performances by Sibikwa Arts Centre’s Drumming ensemble, a
solo dance work by Funeka Ramorula, Oupa Qhawe Sibeko’s Fly Qhawe, Patriot Dance Theatre’s A Cruel Teacher Taught Us and Colour Inside by Luthando Arts Academy’s Thoko Seganye. These pieces are all threaded together by short linking interludes conceived by Lucia Walker.

The programme then moves to Pholani Park between 12:00 and 14:00, where festival patrons can buy food and crafts as they listen to music provided by Sibikwa Arts Centre’s Marimba ensemble and watch home-grown Emakhazeni talent presented by local Youth and Traditional Dance Groups. This slot also features work by Luthando Arts Academy’s Nomasonto Radebe and Creative Tree and Projects’ Thabiso Heccius Pule. Pule’s What the Hell Happened to this Place, is inspired by global climate change events.

The Ebhudlweni Art Centre, situated in the picturesque setting of Waterval farm, hosts the final portion of Saturday’s programming from 17:00. PJ Sabbagha creates a new site-specific work with The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative for this programme.

He will be collaborating with Erica Lüttich of the Boitumelo Project in Hillbrow. Lüttich will be working with local crafters to create a land-art installation using invader Wattle plants for this work. The programme also includes Teresa Mojela’s Legaga, a work initiated in residence at the Ebhudlweni Art Centre last year, a work by KwaZulu-Natal’s Musa Hlatshwayo and Beaded- Ukuphicana, by Qiniso Zamandla ‘Q’ Zungu, another former Artist in Residence at the Ebhudlweni Art Centre.

February 19:

The final day of the CNS programme begins in Emthonjeni at 11am, with works presented by FATC’s Athena Mazarakis, Moving Into Dance Mophatong’s (MIDM) Thabang Mdlalose and Unmute Dance Dance Company’s Themba Mbuli. Mbuli presents Dark Cells at this year’s festival, which is a trio adaptation of the solo work he presented at the festival in 2016.

The programme moves on to the breathtaking grounds of Gooderson Kloppenheim Country Estate from 13:00, where alongside an array of arts and crafts and a selection of affordable and delicious food, the audience will experience works by FATC’s Lorin Sookool, local Seswati Group Buhle Bapumalanga, Sibikwa Arts Centre, Drama for Life’s Sthe Kali and Benjamin Bell, VDT’s Phumlani Nyanga, MIDM’s Eugene Mashiane and FATC’s Thulani Chauke. The Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Studies will also participate in this programme through the facilitation of a seminar on writing.

The final work on the festival programme is Corps, an International Collaboration between three artists: Moeketsi Koena from South Africa, Denis Rion from France and Gaby Saranouffi from Madagascar. CORPS, which will be performed at Gooderson Kloppenheim Country Estate’s Blue Crane Theatre at 17:30, creates a link between today’s world and the past through the ancestral history of each country. The work explores the links that connect the real and the unreal through photography and dance.

What to bring:

Prepare for all weather conditions as the weather in Emakhazeni is unpredictable. Bring umbrellas and raincoats. It is the rainy season, and large number of the events take place outdoors. Comfortable walking shoes are also advised as the programming entails walking on foot from one site to the next.

For more information about the festival, contact Bridget van Oerle on 011 673 0264 of 011 477 0923