Flatfoot Dance Company call for dancers to audition

Media Release

Flatfoot Dance Company call for dancers to audition

Flatfoot Dance Company the award winning African Contemporary dance company based in Durban will be holding auditions at Dance Studio 2 located in University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus on 7 December 2015 from 13h30.

Flatfoot is looking for one female dancer and one male dancer who would be interested in joining the company on a full-time professional contract (35 hours a week) as of Monday 18 January 2015. Those that are interested in auditioning need to be 20 years old minimum. The company have a full annual programme that includes performance season both in and out of South Africa, dance education and development programmes, and schools/university dance education work. “We work in a contemporary idiom based on Hawkins, Graham, Horton and Release Technique but the company also does a weekly ballet and Pilates/yoga class.” says Lliane Loots, Artistic Director of Flatfoot Dance Company.

To qualify for the auditions, the dancer has to have a minimum of two years full or part-time contemporary dance training and/or professional dance work. A proven dance/arts education and dance teaching experience, formal and non-formal educational/arts environments will be considered. Writing and administration skills in English and/or isiZulu, be computer literate and have a valid South African passport. A driver’s licence will be an added benefit.

Those that are interested and meet the minimum requirements have to call the company manager Clare on 082875 6065 and book a place at the audition. Pre-bookings are vital. Submit a curriculum vitae of no more than three pages and include a head shot. Email to flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com. Relevant terms and conditions apply.

For further information or inquiries contact Clare on 082875 6065 or email flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com.

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Flatfoot Dance Company presents the Third Annual Summer Dance School this December

Media Release

Flatfoot Dance Company presents the Third Annual Summer Dance School this December

Flatfoot Dance Company is opening its doors again for their annual Summer Dance School. The three day intensive programme will take place from 10 to 12 December 2015 at their studios based on the Howard College Campus of UKZN starting at 9.30am each day.

The Summer School is aimed at pushing technical dance skills in the contemporary idiom and allowing dancers (still training and professional) to work in an environment with skilled choreographers, teachers and workshop facilitators. The training will use FLATFOOT’s own ‘African Release Technique’ that is a confluence of Graham, Hawkins, Horton and the American Skinner Release Techniques. “This is a chance for dancers to have great fun, get fit and open themselves up to a life changing dance experience.” says Lliane Loots, Artistic Director of Flatfoot Dance Company. The school is open for ages 12 up-wards and all levels of ability. Certificates of participation will be issued at the end of the programme.

 There are two levels of participation in the programme: A full three day programme from 9.30am to 3pm which costs R500 per person and a three mornings only technique class from 9.30am to 11.15am is R300 per person.

For bookings contact Clare Craighead on 0828756065 or email Flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com to secure a spot.  Payment must be made by Monday 7th December 2015.

Spaces are limited hence early bookings are advised. For more information and the programme visit www.flatfootdancecompany.webs.com,  follow @flatfootdanceco on twitter and like our pageonwww.facebook.com/flatfootdancecompany/

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Full JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience Programme →

Click on title above to go to full JOMBA! Programme

Flatfoot at artSpace

Flatfoot at artSpace

Durban, 22 – 26 June 2015

Durban’s Flatfoot Dance Company invites visual artists and dancers to be part of a unique and innovative residency at artSpace Durban from 22 to 26 June 2015.

The artSpace will be a creative hub for dancers and fine art artists as the week will involve sessions where artists can watch and engage dancers in their daily rehearsals and the programme includes a specific session where dancers will focus on portraiture.

Flatfoot will work in artSpace Durban giving local artists an opportunity to paint, draw and create around the dancers as they rehearse, dance and assemble choreography. Flatfoot dancers will continue with their normal day schedules and open their daily work process. The week will culminate in a final perfomance of Lliane Loot’s recent and beautifully hard-hitting “days like these” on Friday 26 June at 6:30pm. “days like these” is a dance theatre work created by Lliane in collaboration with award winning filmmaker Karen Logan as a visual film and dance feast that looks at modern day storytelling and the politics of history and memory – a deeply moving encounter with contemporary dance. Curator Karen Bradtke will select some of the art works generated over the week to put on display in the gallery at the Friday event.

The cost is R100 per day for each artist and R350 for the week. For the special evening portraiture session on Wednesday, the cost is R100. For the Friday event, the charge is R50.00 (if you have been part of the artist residency, there will be a 50% discount on tickets).

For more information and bookings for the art residency, please contact artSPACE durban: 031 – 312 0793 or email: info@artspace-durban.com

For enquires about the Friday night performance, contact Clare on 082 – 875 6065.

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Flatfoot Dance Company @ artSPACE durban

For the week 23 – 27 June 2014, Durban’s inimitable FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY will be resident at artSPACE durban. In a meeting of dancers and fine artists, FLATFOOT will work in artSPACE durban giving local artists an opportunity to paint, draw and create around the dancers as they rehearse, dance and create choreography.  FLATFOOT will continue to work in their normal day routine and will open up their daily work process.

The week will involve session where artists can watch and engage the dancers in their daily rehearsals but there will also be specific sessions where the dancers will be a little more still to promote portraiture (see schedule below). 

The week will culminate in a final performance called “SOUTHERN EXPOSURE” by FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY on Friday 27 June at 6.30pm (with bar facilities open) and curator Karen Bradtke will select some of the art works generated over the week to put on display in the gallery at the Friday event.  FLATFOOT will perform two works; “UGUHBU” by Sifiso Khumalo and “the inheritance of loss” by Lliane Loots.

Fees for artists to participate are 100 per day or R350 for the week and on June 25 there is a special portraiture session from 5.30pm - 7.30pm and the cost os R100.  Tickets for the performance on the 27 June are R50 or R25 for those taking part in the artist residency.

For enquires and bookings for the art residency, please contact artSPACE durban: 031 – 312 0793.

For enquires about the Friday night performance, contact Clare on 082 – 875 6065.

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Flatfoot Dance Company presents Isiphethu at the Stable Theatre

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY is proud to continue its three year partnership with Durban’s Stable Theatre to present a very special season of new African contemporary dance works which will have special appeal for both a younger dance audiences and the more seasoned dance aficionado.

“ISIPHETHU” is an isiZulu word which means “The Well” and this season of three new dance work dives into considering the power of the image and symbol of “The Well” to nurture and support the heart and spirit of the individual and the community. Timeously created with the ideas of a 20 year democracy resonating in us, “ISIPHETHU” is a personal journey into understanding the collective spirit of South Africa. Featuring 3 new choreographic works by senior company members:  Sifiso Majola, Jabu Siphika and Sifiso ‘Kitsona’ Khumalo under the direction of FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY Artistic Director, Lliane Loots.

The season features the choreography of Sifiso Majola, Jabu Siphika and Sifiso ‘Kitsona’ Khumalo, three of FLATFOOT’s most senior and awarded dancers as they turn their talents to creating dance that will delight, amaze and entertain you! Each of them have worked with the idea of “The Well” and what this means to them so feast of contemporary dance will offer you a chance to see how 3 different choreographer work around one theme or idea. This season will feature all 6 of the much loved resident FLATFOOT dancers performing the works.

“ISIPHETHU”  begins with Sifiso Majola’s “GUGULAMI/MY PRIDE” and delves into the idea of what it means to look into “The Well” and see your reflection and, through this mirror image, how we learn to see our real selves; selves that have ancestors who have guided us and nurtured us. Jabu Siphika’s very personal solo dance work follows. Entitled “experience is a good teacher”, it draws on the idea that our daily trips to “The Well” are sometimes filled with trials and tribulations but at the end as we draw from “the Well” (our inner strengths), we are nurtured and refreshed as we step closer to becoming who we are meant to be. The season ends with the African contemporary master work by Sifiso Khumalo entitled “UGUBHU” which roughly translates to reference the deep sound that comes from the African drum. This work journey’s to “the Well” to find the echo of what our lives should be like – the joy and the triumphs that echo in the sounds of nature.

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY, now in its 11th year, is KZN’s premier African contemporary dance company and with numerous awards for their dance work and recent international tours under their belts, this is your opportunity to come and watch them at Durban’s Stable Theatre and watch the magic of 3 new Durban choreographic voices unfold. 

“ISIPHETHU” has special morning performances that encourage schools to take advantage of this season of dance theatre. For pre-bookings for any of the shows call 082 – 875 6065 or e-mail Craighead@ukzn.ac.za Show times; 22 May (Thursday) at 11am, 23 May (Friday) at 11am and 6.30pm, and 25 May (Sunday) at 3pm.

Performance Dates and Times:

22 May (Thurs): 11am

23 May (Fri): 11am and 6.30pm

25 May (Sunday): 3pm

TICKETS:
R50.00 (adults)

R25.00 (Students, scholars and pensioners)

PRE-BOOKING: Clare on 082 – 875 6065 or craigehead@ukzn.ac.za

For more information about the Flatfoot Dance Company you can contact Lliane Loots on (031) 260-1142 or e-mail her on lootsl@ukzn.ac.za.

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FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY presents “fragile”

Durban’s inimitable FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY begins its 11th year in 2014 with a full blown performance season of new dance works to lure, cajole, amuse and sheer-out entertain audiences. Entitled ‘fragile’, this dance season, which takes place from 12 to 15 March at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, features the pairing up of long time choreographic partners David Gouldie and Lliane Loots. Both of them have enjoyed, with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY, two previous joint seasons together, the first of which (“Premonitions”) saw them being awarded the prestigious KZN DanceLink award for choreography.

While Gouldie and Loots have divergent choreographic styles and roots, the two have found a working synergy that speaks of mutual respect and a deep understanding of the need to truly honour the power of the South African dancing body to tell stories. ‘fragile’ offers a contemplative and highly charged season of new dance theatre. With 20 years of democracy being celebrated, Gouldie and Loots, and the incomparable talent of the 6 resident FLATFOOT dancers (Sifiso Khumlo, Tshediso Kabulu, Sifiso Majola, Jabu Siphika, Julia Wilson and Zinhle Nzama), begin to pick apart any grand images of rainbows and dive fearlessly into the personal and political waters of our 20 years of good dreams and painful nightmares. 

Gouldie’s history is one flowing with a career in ballet and with a reputation for being the “naughty boy of South African Ballet”, Gouldie has never been shy of taking the form – so deeply loved – and twisting and tweaking it; sometimes violently and sometimes with such humour that audiences have laughed their way out of the auditorium. His theatrical flair has seen him recently choreograph some of South Africa’s national biggest musical successes, from Evita to High School Musical. He comes to this season with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY with a dance theatre work unabashedly entitled “dusting off my history”. In a flourish of ironic and, at times, self-depreciating humour, Gouldie looks back to his own South African ballet and dance history - written on and with his body – in a dance work that appears quirky and humorous but which shifts like dark and faded images trapped in a broken antique mirror; a mirror Gouldie has never been afraid to turn on himself. Gouldie has the FLATFOOT dancers embellishing all of his classical ballet history to the point of intense comedy, and then it takes a turn and we, the audience, are left breathless as we glimpse a fragile and wounded heart trying so hard to find home.

Lliane Loots, artistic director and resident choreographer to FLATFOOT, is no stranger to Durban audiences and has a reputation for offering slightly risky political dance theatre that has caused no end of ruckus these past 11 years of FLATFOOT professional history. Her work has toured the world where her bold choreographic voice and vision for FLATFOOT, has seen her and the company receive numerous international and local awards and commissions. Never shy to “tell it like it is”, Loots has recently started working on more personal and intimate dance journeys.

For the season ‘fragile’, Loots has created a work called “the inheritance of loss” and is a profound reflection of her own, and FLATFOOT’s, history. Rather than a single narrative or story, “the inheritance of loss”, offers small fragmented moments of personal and political history and memory, that, when weaved together on the stage, offer a ruminating internal monologue. Edging close to sadness, fragility and loss, this dance work is, ultimately, like all art, an act of love that asks if more is possible? While this is a brooding work, Loots reminds us that the ability to use our art to go to difficult places and ask hard questions is – in the end – the triumph of 20 years of democracy.

Exulting the 6 resident FLATFOOT dancers Loots says, “my dance work would not be possible without the in-put of the FLATFOOT dancers. Not only is it their bodies that get on stage and defend my choreographic visions and dreams, but working with them is a profound negotiation of the histories we wish to tell, those forgotten and those unspoken. I rely on them to be my internal compass when we make work together; they are quick to remind me to question and to ask me why – what a glorious gift for an artist”.

“the inheritance of loss” also features Loots in collaboration once again with local Durban filmmaker Karen Logan. Logan has worked alongside Loots for over 6 years on various dance theatre works and brings with her a filmic sensitivity that layers Loots’s dance visions.

“fragile’ (supported by project funding from the National Arts Council of South Africa) runs from the 12 to 16 March with shows at 7.30pm each evening and a 3pm matinee on Sunday 16 March. Booking is open at COMPUTICKET and tickets cost between R60 – R85.

Thursday’s performance (13 March @ 7.30pm) features a special after show “DANCE TALKS BACK” hosted by awarding winning arts journalist Adrienne Sichel in conversations with Loots, Gouldie and the dancers. This is a unique opportunity to listen to the dancers and choreographers unpack and answer questions about their work. Sichel comes to Durban as a guest from The Ar(t)chive at the  Wits School of Arts.

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Flatfoot Dance Company Auditions

Award winning African contemporary dance company, Flatfoot Dance Company, will be hosting auditions on Saturday, 25 January from 13:30pm – 16:00pm at the Dance Studio 2 located at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus for prospective full time dancers who would be interested in joining the company.

Based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus the Flatfoot Dance Company are looking for a female dancer (over 19 years of age) who would be interested in joining the company on a full-time professional contract (35 hours a week) as of 1 February 2014. The company has a full time annual programme that includes performance season both in and out of South Africa, dance education and development programmes, and schools/university dance education work. Working in a contemporary idiom based on Hawkins, Graham and Release Technique and also do a weekly ballet and pilates/yoga class. All flatfoot dancers form part of the administration of the company and its programmes and, as such, the new company member will need to be able to write reports (guidance is always offered!) and assist with negotiated administrative tasks.

Applicants must have a minimum of two years full time or part-time contemporary dance training or professional dance work, proven dance or arts education experience (formal or non-formal education will be considered). Only applicants over the age of 19 will be considered and must be computer literate and must have a valid South African Passport. Drivers licence is not a must but will be advantageous for applicants.

For more information on the auditions and to pre-book an audition please contact the flatfoot dance company manager Clare Craighead on (082) 875-6065, applicants are also required write a maximum 3 page CV and e-mail it to flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com more information on the auditions is available on www.flatfootdancecompany.webs.com/whatsonwhatsnew. 

15th Annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience 28 August - 8 September 2013

The Centre for Creative Arts and the University of KwaZulu-Natal proudly present the

15th annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience

28 August – 8 September 2013

Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre: 7.30pm

artSPACE (durban) Monday 2 September: 6.30pm

Tickets:

R50.00 or R35.00 (scholars/students/pensioners)

Booking through computicket (or at venue from one hour before)

The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s arts gateway to Africa and the world, the Centre for Creative Arts, is proud to be presenting its 15th annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience.  This year’s festival is a delight of local and international dance theatre that has on show the best the world has to offer. Dancer from Holland, Switzerland, America, Portugal and France will be gracing the JOMBA! stages alongside some of South Africa’s most cutting edge dance makers.

On the local front, JOMBA! is very proud to be hosting  the 2013 Standard Bank Young Artist award winner for dance, Fana Tshabalala. His new work, INDUMBA, premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown to critical acclaim. Working with his home dance company, Johannesburg based Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative; Tshabalala’s dance work is poetic encounter with African ritual and contemporary sensibility. Considered one of South Africa’s most fluid and elegant dancers, Tshabalala’s vision is a startling reminder of the confluence of style, form and African sensibility.

One of the gems of this years’ festival is the collaboration between local Durban based dancer and choreographer Desiré Davids who joins forces with French based Hélène Cathala in a soulful duet called B.L.E.N.D. These two experienced women artists, one ‘coloured’ and South African,  and one white and French, share the stage in a confrontation of their divergent histories. This drives them to really get to know one another but also, sometimes, drives them both into a void of personal and artistic incomprehension.

On the international front, this 15th edition of JOMBA! has a number for firsts! This will be the first edition of JOMBA! to host an American company, and in partnership with the U.S. Consulate in Durban and the U.S. Department of State’s Arts Envoy Program, JOMBA! is delighted to be hosting the Chicago based company Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre. Deeply Rooted will spend two weeks in Durban and will be part of JOMBA’s extended dance education and development programme run in conjunction with Flatfoot Dance Company. Deeply Rooted will travel to Flatfoot’s numerous dance programmes run in Umlazi, KwaMashu and Tugela Mouth. Over the two weeks, Deeply Rooted will share their dance skills and philosophy with over 600 KZN young dancers in an enriching cultural exchange.

Deeply Rooted’s invitation to JOMBA! will culminate in two stellar performances on the closing nights of the festival on 7 and 8 September. In a style that oozes memory, and the jazz history of the African American experience, Deeply Rooted, will present choreography that thread together some of their key signature dance works. Their partnership with Flatfoot Dance Company for JOMBA! will also see the six resident dancers of Flatfoot  joining Deeply Rooted in their performances after having spent two glorious weeks learning their repertoire and sharing styles and working methods.

Another first for JOMBA! 2013, and yet another  coup de grace of the festival, and an unprecedented treat for ballet and neo-classical dance lovers, is the featuring of Holland’s magnificent INTRODANS. World renowned for skill and virtuosity, INTRODANS bring a programme suitably titled “SUPERSTARS” which features five choreographies by five of Holland and Europe’s most influential dance makers in the form of Anaphase by Ohad Naharin, Evening Songs by Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato’s Sinfonía India, Pas de Danse by Mats Ek and Polish Pieces by the Dutch Maestro Hans van Manen. INTRODANS’s reputation precedes them and Durban should be fighting to get tickets!

Europe’s finest come to JOMBA! in the form of firstly, Portuguese dancer Francisco Camacho and his EIRA dance company. Camacho, performing on the opening night of JOMBA!, brings a hard hitting solo dance theatre work called “The King In Exile”. Drawing its inspiration from the figure of Dom Manuel II, the last king of Portugal, this solo work is an exploration of contemporary political power that will no doubt speak to Africa. In this solo work, Camacho explores the transgressive power of the dancing body’s ability to shift identities that are captured in the traps of history and representation. This work is sure to be one of JOMBA! 2013’s most contentious talking points.

Secondly, European finery comes in the form of Swiss duo T42. Made up dancers Misato Inoue and Félix Duméril, their dance work is a confrontation with difference and the old ideas that European identity is singular. Misato’s own Japanese roots become the starting point of much of T42’s work and is the witty and sometimes ironic danced encounter between cultural misunderstanding.  Known for their technical virtuosity and dexterity as contemporary dancers, T42’s work has been singled out for its humour and for allowing space for laughter in battling the misunderstandings between East and West.

Another first for JOMBA! 2013, is an event collaboration with Durban’s artSPACE (durban) Gallery. Monday 2 September is a one off evening of site-specific dance work made for an audience who would like an up-close and personal encounter with dance. Featuring Musa Hlatshwayo and Vusi Makanya’s latest local dance offerings, the evening also features a specificially created solo by T42’s Swiss dancer Misato Inoue. Called “Swan”, this work hints at Misato’s Japanese Kabuki roots and is a very contemporary encounter with the duel nature of being ; the harking back to Swan Lake’s infamous black and white swans and to a female body caught in oppositions. Also on view at the JOMBA! @ artSPACE event , is a collection of award winning short one minute dance films from all over the globe curated by Jeannette Ginslov’s ScreenDance Africa.

JOMBA! hosts is usual platforms of the Fringe (Sunday 1 September) and the Youth Fringe (Saturday 31 August). With over 60 entries for a coveted place in this year’s JOMBA! Fringe, the selection of only 10 works was a difficult task but means that the final selection offers a standard of dance theatre that is growing. The JOMBA! Youth Fringe takes place at the Wiggins Community Hall in Cato Manor/Umkhumbane and is a celebration of over 28 KZN based youth dance groups and the incredible dance work that they are doing.

JOMBA! also offers a full programme of workshops and master classes by all of the participating dancer and choreographers. For a full listing please go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and go to the JOMBA! page. These workshops and classes are offered free of charge but booking is essential!

Finally, in promoting critical arts dialogue and writing about dance and the arts, JOMBA! runs its 4th year of the Dance Writing Residency. Six applicants have been selected and will be mentored through the festival as they create critical writing for both the JOMBA! Blog and for the JOMBA! Khaluma festival newspaper. JOMBA’s artistic director, Lliane Loots will also host the anticipated “JOMBA! Talks Dance” platforms with the various dancers and choreographers presenting work at JOMBA! These will be held directly after performances so please check the schedule for details.

For more information, please go to www.cca.ukzn.ac.za and join us on Facebook (JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience) and Twitter (Twitter@Jomba_dance).

Flatfoot Dance Company's 10th Anniversary Season - Last Thoughts at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY celebrates its 10th anniversary year with a special season of dance theatre entitled Last Thoughts at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from March 13 to 17.

“Reaching 10 years as a professional South African dance company is a huge milestone for Flatfoot Dance Company!” says Lliane Loots, founder and artistic director of Flatfoot Dance Company. “It is a testament to our city of Durban who has been our home and to the people of eThekwini who have supported us and watched us grow; and to some rather amazing local and international artists, dancers, technicians, administrators and musicians who have been part our history. It is a gracious testament to all those who have seen fit to fund the work we do. I can’t say we haven’t been poised on a knife edge many times – and will be in the future – but this is a moment for all of us to collectively honour our achievement and to say thank you in honouring the many bridges we have walked on to get here.”

“For our 10th anniversary season we wanted to do something that really celebrated our geography; our beautiful ocean facing city of Durban, to honour some really amazing artists and guests who have worked with us in the past. We return to the amazing Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre where we, 10 years ago in March 2003, hosted our first season as a professional company”. 

“LAST THOUGHTS” offers the world premiere of two new dance theatre works made for the six resident Flatfoot dancers, Sifiso Khumalo, Tshediso Kabulu, Sifiso Majola, Jabu Siphika, Julia Wilson and Thobi Maphanga. 

The first work on the programme is “Ngichaze/Define Me” is a poetic and lyrical work created by guest choreographer Sifiso Kweyama. “Kweyama has made numerous dance works on Flatfoot these past 10 years, works that have travelled with Flatfoot all over the world including Cameroon and Holland, and so it felt right to invite him back to make this special piece of dance theatre for our 10th anniversary”. Says Loots;  Kweyama, though a Durbanite, is now working with Johannesburg based Moving Into Dance Mophatong (MIDM) and so this is also a long time celebration of Flatfoot’s working relationship and friendship with MIDM. 

Kweyama’s work, “Ngichaze/Define Me”, sees the six Flatfoot dancers confront themselves in a deeply emotional work that looks into how society defines us. Kweyama’s much praised African contemporary style is fused with a lyrical poeticism that Flatfoot is often known for. Kweyama’s ability to weave together dancing stories and his reputation for being a “dancer’s choreographer” is again realised in a work that both challenges the dancers but which will also delight and enchant audiences. 

The second half offers Loots’s newest dance theatre collaboration with spoken word poet Ian “Ewok” Robinson. Poetically titled “Last Thoughts” like the season itself, this work is a type of zeitgeist moment of memory, history and future for both Flatfoot but also for all those involved in the work. Alongside the six resident Flatfoot dancers, this collaboration also features two of Durban (and South Africa’s) best breakdancers, Preston “Kayzo” Kyd and Byrone “Bizzo” Tifflin, both of whom have also done numerous collaborations with Flatfoot over the past 10 years.  Seamlessly fusing the BBoyz style of breaking with the lyrical flow and energy of Flatfoot’s inimitable style, Loots’s “Last Thoughts” is a type of Hip-Hop opera that takes time to honour the legacy of ambient influences like Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, and most importantly a long time working relationship with “Ewok”.

Loots’s award winning style of creating layered dance theatre also sees her continue her long time collaboration also with Durban filmmaker Karen Logan, who has created soulful video installations that give “Last Thoughts” an edgy feel and look. 

Referencing Ginsburg’s 1954 poem “Song” and his call to “return to the body where I was born”, Loots’s “Last Thoughts” is, finally her own unfailing belief in the dancing body as the only political truth that we can ever know. As she says, ““Last Thoughts” might seem like a rather dark title for a 10 year celebration but it echoes all sorts of recollections around personal and political rights and re-membering; and for me this is the missing governance and silent voice of our age”.

Flatfoot’s 10th anniversary season, “LAST THOUGHTS” runs from 13 to 16 March with shows at 7.30pm and on Sunday 17 March with a matinee at 3pm.Tickets cost R80 with discount for pensioners and students at R60.  Opening night, 13 March, is a special gala fundraiser with champagne and birthday cake after the show. Tickets for this gala cost R150 and all money raised will go towards supporting the dance education and development work being done by Flatfoot in Umlazi, KwaMashu, Newlands East, and Tugela Mouth.  Booking is through Computicket.

“Last Thoughts” is a proudly Durban celebration of the transformative power of dance, dance education and development and of Flatfoot Dance Company who have spent 10 long years creatively re-shaping their home city of Durban – not to be missed!

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