DANCE FORUM: PROJECT PLANS: 2010/2011/2012
THREE-YEAR PLAN: DANCE/SPACE
1. DANCE UMBRELLA
This festival takes place February/March annually
The Dance Umbrella has, over the past 22 years, become the main and biggest platform for new contemporary dance works. The association with NEW and DEVELOPMENT is entrenched.
THE NEXT THREE YEARS: WORKING TOWARDS FURTHER DEVELOPING THE DANCE UMBRELLA INTO THE DANCE PLATFORM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
In the next three years, the Dance Umbrella will work towards becoming the premium dance event in Southern Africa. After spending the past twenty years on developing contemporary dance in South Africa, the time has come to create a platform that shows the fruits of the work that has been done. It will be the time to refine and further develop the talent we have discovered; it will be the time to create local and international collaborations and it will be the time to create a secure future for contemporary dance.
The Dance Umbrella will in the next three years create a programme that consists of:
- New commissioned work from South African artists
- International collaborations with South African artists
- Selected works from proposals submitted
- Stepping Stones programmes for young artists/youth groups
- A Young Choreographers Residency Programme
As we have moved into the Dance Space, we will continue to develop the art which includes:
- Several residency programmes will be held which are not only during the Dance Umbrella festival. The focus will be to work with young artists and then invite them to show work at the New Dance and finally at the Umbrella and even at the National Arts Festival.
- Develop partnerships with our African contacts. We have recently made connections with dance organizations/choreographers in Kenya, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Cameroon. We feel it is imperative to create these collaborations to empower contemporary dance in Africa as well as expose our artists to other ways of working.
- Develop more local and international collaborative works to be programmed at the festival.
- Ensure that the youth programme has a follow-up to ensure further development of young artists. This can be done by creating workshops facilitated by established choreographers.
- Creation of a dance space which will also house debates and discussions re contemporary dance in our country.
It is vital that in the next three years the focus is on highlighting what Dance Umbrella has achieved and that the festival reflects these results.
For 2009/2010/2011 the following is scheduled:
2009
- We will start facilitating the Stepping Stones Development programme in September and October 2009. We will continue with the process from April 2010.
- 8 Commissioned works from South African Projects
- Showing of new co-productions in Dance Umbrella
- Connecting with other parts of especially Southern Africa to create collaborations, workshops and co-productions.
- A special residency programme for young choreographers in South Africa that should result in collaborations between them.
- A conference to discuss the future of contemporary dance in especially Southern and Eastern Africa in 2009
2010
- Continuation of Stepping Stones Development programme with the added bonus of working with artists selected from Dance Umbrella 2010. Finances allowing we will try and present showings of some of the results from the workshops
- FNB Dance Umbrella takes place from February 27 to March 14, 2010.
- Facilitation of technique workshops funded by Pro-Helvetia
- Connecting with other parts of especially Southern Africa to create collaborations, workshops and co-productions.
- A special residency programme for young choreographers in South Africa that should result in collaborations between them.
2011
- Showing of the results of the workshop/residency programmes that have been facilitated.
- Commissioning of eight new works
- International/local collaborations
- Dance Umbrella 2011
- Young artists platform
2. THE NEW DANCE FESTIVAL: 2011/2012
The NEW Dance Festival is a portfolio of the Dance Forum and the main intention of this initiative is to further develop the dance festival platform, for young South African and African contemporary dance practitioners.
Over the past ten years, contemporary choreography and dance has developed into one of the most evolved art forms in South Africa has also become an integral part of Africa. It has developed an international attraction and many of our choreographers are being celebrated at festivals and events all over the world.
Dance Forum therefore further develops this initiative as a platform for work created mainly in Africa and focusing on young choreographers.
Objectives and Outputs
1. To offer South African young choreographers/companies the opportunity to show their work as part of a programmed festival. The selection of the choreographers will focus on young artists who have already created work and who have obvious intentions to make a professional career as a choreographer. It is also an opportunity for South African choreographers/dancers to network with each other and African counterparts. We also will include a solo's programme for young choreographers.
2. Each year a series of workshops/open classes will take place for 2 weeks prior to the festival. This will be facilitated by both South African and other African dance practitioners.
3. South African artists will be commissioned and applications will be invited on a project base.
4. Open "face to face" discussions with selected choreographers about their work and history.
5. To introduce South African audiences to an African platform of New Dance from both local and other African artists.
6. To ensure that we continue encouraging and nurturing local young talent as well as allowing them to experience artists from other countries on this continent.
3. YOUNG CHOREOGRAPHERS RESIDENCY PROGRAMMES/
STEPPING STONES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES: 2010/2011
The Dance Forum has over the past five years facilitated an annual Young Choreographic Residency Programmes in Gauteng. These programmes were designed to augment and provide choreographic skills to up coming South African choreographers. These workshop programmes take about two weeks to run and as part of the process, the participants are required to watch the Dance Umbrella Festival and report back on what they have seen.
Through these programmes Dance Forum has made an artistic connection with choreographers and teachers from Holland, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Senegal and Britain who come and share their knowledge with our artists. Our very own dance icons Alfred Hinkel, David April, Robyn Orlyn, Gregory Maqoma, Sello Pesa, Moeketsi Koena, Gladys Agulhas and many more have also facilitated at these residency's
The platform has not only provided creativity in choreography to these young choreographers, but it has also been used as a network junction for them. Dance Forum, which provides a platform such as Dance Umbrella Festival, allows these young artists to showcase the works at the festival which results in these works being invited to other platforms outside South Africa.
In 2007 Dance Forum initiated another development programme which targeted the young community choreographers from the Dance Umbrella Festival Stepping Stones Programme. After realizing the choreographic potential of these young artists, Dance Forum called upon professional artists to improve and develop their choreographic skills and to discover new ways of creating works. The Stepping Stones Development Programme has assisted about 60 young artists from Benoni, Mamelodi, Soweto, and Johannesburg.
Several residency's will be held in and around Gauteng this year and areas for target are , Sebokeng, Krugersdorp and Mohlakeng with the hope that they will take the knowledge and share it with their young artists within their communities.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN DANCE FORUM
Arts Administration Trainee programme: The Dance Forum will give young people an opportunity to train in arts administration. Currently there are very few people who are qualified to work within an arts infrastructure due to no training place and/or schools/venues available. We would look at taking in at least 2 interns who could learn general arts administration which would include: fund-raising, budgeting, planning, programming, publicity, marketing and the general aesthetics of working in the arts industry. The 2nd person would be trained in technical management which would include lighting, sound, stage management, touring and other sides of a technician's life.
OUR PARTNERS
We have already garnered support from the Johannesburg Development Agency, The French Institute of South Africa, Pro-Helvetia: Swiss Arts Council, Goethe Institute. They have shown interest in assisting us with projects we may institute, both local and in collaboration with artists from their countries. This can only happen when we have the space…
Africalia has given funding to facilitate the Stepping Stones Development Project in 2010/2011/2012.
Dance Forum
The Dance Space
1 President Street
between Miriam Makeba and Henry Nxumalo Streets
Newtown, Johannesburg
PO Box 91331, Auckland Park 2006
tel +27 11 492 0709/ 2033
Fax +27 11 492 2030
