- 9 Apr 2023 2 pm UTC
- dur 37 min
Iqhawe Elingaphakathi Kum\’ (Shadow Pillar) is a project that incorporates workshops and an African Contemporary dance productions. The production is a thought-provoking dance piece that addresses the individuals who are about to give up in life. It explores identity and the Importance of finding ones beliefs whilst staying true to their culture; it explores Christianity and ancestorism through live music using voice and percussions that enhances the dance itself.
Mcebisi Bhayi is a talented and hardworking dance teacher, a qualified arts facilitator and choreographer. He is a graduate of the Moving into Dance one-year Community Dance Teachers Training Course, which he completed in 1999 and returned home in Eastern Cape. Mcebisi ‘s journey began in Mdantsane, a township in the Eastern Cape where he started dancing at the age of eighteen with a community group called Rhythm Nation in Mixed Colours in 1996. After his graduation at MID he then established Senzeni Cultural Group in 2000 and choreographed new work for FNB Dance Umdudo. In 2000 he joined the East London Guild Theatre \\ Dance Company and choreographed his first solo work performed it at the FNB Dance Umbrella in Johannesburg in 2002 and he was nominated as the Best Male dancer for contemporary dancer award. He gained experience in Contemporary dance, Afro Fusion, African, Jazz and Gumboot Dance while he was working under East London Guild Theatre Dance Company, working as Ad hoc dancer. Mcebisi won the Pick of Stepping Stone Award for Imbutho a group piece he choreographed for Senzeni Cultural Group. In 2003, he started working with East London Field Band Foundation as a dance tutor and was chosen to go to Norway to teach African dance. In 2004, he worked with Walter Sisulu University as a dance instructor. In 2006, he went back to Johannesburg and started working at Fuba School of Drama working employed as a dance teacher. In 2007, Vuyani Gregory Maqoma sported him on stage while he was performing with Fuba students. He then joined Vuyani Dance Theatre and his choreography skills we natured by Gregory Maqoma and participated in the Young Choreographer’s Residency Programme at FNB Dance Umbrella, for which he choreographed Muntu a piece on Vuyani Dance Company trainees. This was later performed at Dance Umbrella Festival new move programme. In 2008, he was one of the three South African dancers who were selected to go to Senegal for a three-month African Contemporary Dance workshop. After his return from Senegal he went straight to Singapore to work with Joey Chua Pohi an Asian choreographer for a duet collaboration, performed our work in progress piece in Singapore at Dance Esplanade Festival, Malaysia and Hong Kong and the name of the title of their duet was Tracing. After spending six months in Asia, he returned to Vuyani Dance Company to join other dancers preparing for a tour to Paris. In 2009, the duet was premiered at Dance Umbrella Festival Mcebisi became the recipient for Phillip Stein Grant in 2009, was commissioned to choreograph a piece for Dance Umbrella Festival by Georgina Thompson, and was titled Fruitless Tree. In 2010, he resigned at VDT and returned to Fuba. While he was working with Fuba him and his students established Sinokhanyo Dance Theatre. In 2011 he choreographed a trio piece How Can I Show You, was commissioned by Georgina Thompson for New Dance Festival and he later developed it into a full group work titled How Can We Show You and was invited to perform it during Vuyani week at Dance Factory and for Gauteng Dance Manyano Festival. In 2013, he invited Joey Chua Pohi again for another collaboration, which was a group work and the title of the piece Givers, and Takers and was premiered for 2013 Dance Umbrella Festival. Later in 2013 was invited in Asia to conduct an African Contemporary dance master class at the University of Malaysia, Frontier Dance land a Contemporary dance company in Singapore. While he was in Asia, he choreographed a solo work ‘Uhambo Lwam’ then performed it at Dance Box Festival in Kuala Lumpur. When he returned home, he was invited at MID’s thirty years celebration to perform ‘Uhambo Lwam’.