Season 6 was co-curated by architect and urban designer Thiresh Govender and dancer and choreographer Sello Pesa of Ntsoana ContemporaryTheatre, alongside founder William Kentridge and co-animateurs Bronwyn Lace and Phala Ookeditse Phala.

See the FULL FILM here: https://vimeo.com/377033802

FOX STREET PROCESSION & MOLETLO WA DINAKA

With a great deal of Season 6’s works drawing inspiration from the city and taking place on the stage, it is crucial to have works that take place in, and engage with, public space. The Fox Street Procession and Moletlo wa Dinaka are two such performances.

Conceptualised and organised by Season 6 co-curator Sello Pesa, The Fox Street Procession and Moletlo wa Dinaka are a public procession and a durational dance performance, respectively. With a key component of Season 6 being the investigation into forms of labour that are inherently artistic or performative in nature, both performances speak to the way in which artistic practice can be located in the ritualistic and cultural work of the everyday.

Comprising actors, dancers, musicians and more, The Fox Street Procession took place throughout the streets of Maboneng, gathering passers-by and attracting a sea of outstretched hands bearing smartphones and cameras as it went along. Framed as a funeral procession, the performance challenged the notions of both artistic and spiritual work in the public eye – pallbearers leading the procession were followed by brass instruments sounding out down main roads and pantsula dancers disrupting street corners.

Leading the crowd back to The Centre’s courtyard space, the performance gave way to Moletlo wa Dinaka, a durational performance by Dinaka dancers Real Madrid & Chillies Dance Group. Performed over the course of the afternoon, Moletlo wa Dinaka saw audiences form and disperse organically, allowing viewers to arrive at the performance at random and subsequently engage with the work in their own way, at their own pace.

Both performances, spread out across the afternoon and engaging with the public spaces of Maboneng and the Johannesburg inner-city, serve as investigations into the inherent artistic and performative elements of rituals and practices that take place on a daily basis. Ultimately, they challenge the dominant ideas we hold around art, culture, labour, and ritual, and how each informs the other.

THE FOX PROCESSION

Conceptualised & directed by | Sello Pesa

Performed by | Ange Bembeka, Pitchou Ngamakuli, Celestin Kamangolo, Reaghen Nsiala, Napo Masheane, Thabo Rapoo, Faniswa Yisa, Elma Motloenya, Lungile Ngwenya, Bukhosibakhe Letsekha, Paballo Phiri, Vuyani Feni & Kgotsofalang Moshe Mavundla

Music by | Groupe Kimbagist

MOLETLO WA DINAKA

Conceptualised by | Sello Pesa

Performed by | Real Madrid & Chillies Dance Group

Cinematography & Editing by | Noah Cohen

Writing by | David Mann

Photography | Zivanai Matangi