In celebration of National Disability Rights Awareness Month, Flatfoot Dance Company and the Stable Theatre presents its second annual Flatfoot Access Festival.
From November 28 to December 3 the festival will offer workshops, panel discussions, and performances.
This year the festival celebrates Flatfoot’s 20-year history of encountering disability through dance education and development work, and more recently in their professional development work.
Flatfoot’s artistic director, Lliane Loot said that the journey towards access and training for dancers living with both intellectual and physical disabilities lies at the heart of Flatfoot and this small ever-growing festival.
“It is a wonderful moment of celebrating not just the incredible dancers, dance makers, and choreographers, but of the truly transformative power of dance to bind society together.”
Flatfoot’s Downie Dance Company, which has been running for seven years with a focus on dancers with down syndrome, will be performing “now that we are here …”, a new work created by Loots.
Another group, Flatfoot Access Panthers will perform a work called “finding home”.
Loots’s ongoing work with dancers using wheelchairs will be showcased in a special treat created for dancer Julia Pitt alongside Flatfoot’s Jabu Siphika and Ndumiso “Digga” Dube.
“This new work is called ‘the infinite space between us’, and is a journey taken by three dancers that delves into how we hold, walk and wheel past or towards one another as we attempt to find or break connections,” said Loots.
The festival also features guests WACO’s Dance Movement performing “Medicine” with choreography by Jarryd Watson. Performer, choreographer, and dance educator Jürg Koch from Switzerland will also run a series of workshops titled “in response to …” over three days of the festival (November 28-30).
Jürg will also offers a small deeply personal performance from his own “The Printer’s Tray”.
The work looks at how on the one hand, a printer’s tray is a sorting box, divided into a number of compartments to store movable type for printing, but on the other hand, they are used to store and display keepsakes and souvenirs, they are placeholders for memories and stories.
Performances and workshops will take place at The Stable Theatre, 115 Johannes Nkosi (formerly Alice Street) Durban on December 2 at 6.30pm, and repeated on December 3 at 2.30pm.
Tickets are R80 from Computicket. The Stable Theatre is wheelchair friendly venue.
“Christmas Fundraising Concert”
The Denis Hurley Centre is hosting a fundraising concert at St Joseph’s Cathedral, Mariannhill, on Sunday, November 26.
The concert will feature the Durban Symphonic Choir and soloists, to herald the advent season and to get into the Christmas spirit.
The choir will be directed by Ros Conrad, with conductor and organist Christopher Cockburn.
Soloists for the afternoon are Nozuko Teto and Father Sibonelo Mbanjwa.
The programme will feature a variety of favourite festive tunes and Christmas carols, as well as some beautiful less well-known songs which have been carefully chosen to complement the evergreen, singalong numbers.
Where: St Joseph's Cathedral, Mariannhill.
When: Sunday, November 26 at 3pm.
Cost: Tickets R60 via Quicket or at the door. For more information email [email protected].
“Classical Comedy”
“Classical Comedy” is an outrageous collaboration between Macbob Productions and the Durban City Orchestra.
Join Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert as they boldly go where no comedians should - into the sacred space of the orchestra.
A musical celebration is fit for the whole family, and is guaranteed to bring a chuckle to Tchaikovsky, a roar to Radetsky and a burp to Brahms.
The production is directed by Darren King and includes Mcilroy and Bobbert’s three children.
Where: Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
When: Currently until December 3.
Cost: R220 via Computicket.
“Christmas in Harmony”
The musical brings wholesome family holiday fun and features popular songs will be sung using harmonies signifying togetherness and unity.
The musical will include many of the old favourites, like “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”, “All I Want for Christmas is You” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, as well as some really funny Christmas songs that you won’t find on your usual playlist.
There will also be a few hilarious skits.
Where: Westville Theatre Club.
When: November 30 - December 10. Show times vary.
Cost: Tickets are R100. Members, students and pensioners R80.