The Centre for Creative Arts 12th JOMBA! Contemporary dance experience: reflections and ruminations
In her opening address at the 12th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience (2010) Artistic Director Lliane Loots stated: "Everybody loves to dance, in fact, we are a nation of culturally hybrid dancers, from night club moves, to the ngoma stamp, to the bells of Kathak, to contemporary hip hop beats." Indeed, South Africa is a country rich in cultural diversity, where dance is engaged in not only for recreational purposes, but also for cultural or religious festivals, rituals and celebrations. It seems appropriate, then, that a festival should be held in honour and celebration of dance as a form of expression, beauty and magic; especially in Durban, where despite an ever shrinking Arts and Culture budget, artists and choreographers relish the artistic freedom and inspiration this beautiful city affords them, allowing for experimentation with different performance techniques, styles and choices, essentially pushing the boundaries around what is considered 'dance' and 'performance' Dance's transcendent ability, along with its capability to challenge and transform social thinking and consciousness, sets it amongst the most powerful social tools in an artist's repertoire. This report reveals some of the dominant themes, trends and developments which emerged during this year's JOMBA! Festival.