JAZZART Dance Theatre presents its annual Dance Joint Student Showcase at Artscape Arena next week.
The showcase is a chance for Jazzart students to show friends and family just what they have been getting up to evening after evening, weekend after weekend.
This annual showcase brings together the students from the evening classes and weekend classes. But, it is also a chance for Jazzart trainees, teachers, professional performers and choreographers to sharpen their skills.
There are 15 trainees who started the Jazzart Dance Theatre Training Programme in July ranging in age between 18 and 25 and they will work behind the scenes.
While the students dance on stage, the trainees work behind the scenes with the teachers to learn more about choreography and teaching and backstage on aspects like costuming, lighting, sound and behind-the-scenes technical details that go into creating a production.
Student numbers fluctuate in the open classes (which are co-ordinated by Nkosinathi Sangweni), but next week’s hour-long showcase will encompass nine different dance pieces and the entire production will be directed by Jazzart Company member Shaun Oelf.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Jazzart should attend to witness just exactly what it is that the non-profit organisation teaches.
These particular students and trainees got a chance at a dry run when they performed at the Mitchell’s Plain Festival on Saturday.
“They will be dancing in a number of works, which have been choreographed by Ina Wichterich-Mogane,” says Jacqueline Manyaapelo (pictured), the artistic director of Jazzart.
Next year the current batch of trainees (who started their three-year training programme in July) will get a chance to perform on stage in Lerato… Discovered in February.
Wichterich-Mogane will direct that particular show, with the current choreographers working under the guidance of Manyaapelo to teach the trainees new work.
Over the weekend, the fulltime Jazzart Company members were in Ginsburg in the Eastern Cape at the opening of the Steve Biko Centre, performing their piece Biko to invited guests.
They have just returned from a week in Mozambique where they worked with the LS Dance Network in the capital city of Maputo.
“The dance companies and the Steve Biko Centre have an exchange programme and there were classes and workshops.
“We are looking at further collaborations between the three organisations,” she said.
• Jazzart Dance Theatre presents its annual Dance Joint Student Showcase at Artscape Arena on Friday and Saturdayat 8.15pm and on Sunday at 6pm. Tickets: R50 at Computicket or at the door.