(featured Image: Anchen Wille Dance Academy Dancers Namibia by Joanne Brand)
The second season of the Windhoek International Dance Festival (WIDF) will expose the creativity in dance while also creating an opportunity for dancers to showcase their skill. This bi-annual event is entitled INTER.ACT.S which focuses on bringing different artists together in order to create dance work in unconventional spaces.
Taking place at Windhoek’s College of the Arts, 41 Fidel Castro St, from 26-29 September 2018, the festival will feature a potpourri of local and international dance artists such as Cocoon Dance Company (Germany), Themba Mbuli (SA),Sven-Eric Müller (SA/Nam). Other works that will be included are; Da-mâi Dance Ensemble, Moon Goddess Dance Studios, Ombetja Yehinga Organization (OYO), Anchen Wille Dance Academy Dancers, Dantagos Dance, Golden, Khadijah, Nesindano Namises, H2E Dance Studio, First Rain Dance Theatre, BTM Squared, Enchantè, Genesis, Nikhita Winkler Dance Theatre, Windhoek’s Finest Dance Crew, Old Location Cultural Group and Makgona Ngwao.
Below is a selection of activities that dance enthusiasts and art lovers can look forward to:
Lab-based Platform
Under the theme “Inter-Acts”, the festival will kick off with a lab based platform where artists re-imagine movement and the relationship between the audience and the performer facilitated by Nashilongweshipwe Mushaandja. These process based pieces will be showcased throughout 26- 29 September 2018 from 19h00, free of charge.
Workshops
The festival will include a series of workshops ranging from contemporary, creative dance, lyrical hip hop, traditional dance, Afro-fusion and Afro-pop. These workshops will be held at the College of the Arts studios and will be facilitated by local and international dancers/choreographers and dance teachers. Registration and payments for these workshops will be done at the College of the Arts, 41 Fidel Castro Street on or before the day of the workshops. Participants can look forward to a free class if they book for three workshops.
Boom Box Stage
The “Boom Box” stage on the pedestrian route of Fidel Castro, Saturday 29 September, will see dancers from different dance styles perform from 6-7pm. This platform is free to the public.
Main Stage
This platform entitled ‘Courtyard’ at the College of the Arts will showcase a diversity of genres, including traditional Damara-Nama, Setswana, Pantsula, Hip-hop, Contemporary and Belly dance by international acts, celebrated local dance companies as well as emerging dance performers. This will take place on 26, 27 and 28 September, from 19h00 to 21h00. Tickets are going for N$100 in advance and N$120 at the gate. In advance tickets are available at the College of the Arts.
The festival is made possible through partnerships with the National Arts Council of Namibia, FirstRand Namibia, Goethe-Institute, The National Theater of Namibia, Turipamwe Design and The Namibia University of Science and Technology.
Follow the festival on Facebook here. Official hashtags are #WIDF18 #whkdancefest18
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