WeeklySA_AdminTeaser: A new partnership between UJ Arts & Culture and Moving into Dance will give Grade 4 to 6 learners professional dance training and the opportunity to perform on a fully equipped theatre stage…
By Weekly SA Mirror
Young Johannesburg learners will soon swap their classrooms for the professional stage when the inaugural Joburg Moves Junior dance festival takes place at the University of Johannesburg in September.
Presented by UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, in partnership with Moving into Dance (MID), the festival will be staged at the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre at the UJ Arts Centre on September 22.
The initiative will provide Intermediate Phase learners in Grades 4 to 6 with access to professional dance training and an opportunity to showcase their work in a fully equipped theatre.
Participating learners will be drawn from Greenside Primary School, Melpark Primary School, Saxonwold Primary School, Pinnacle College Linden and Blairgowrie Primary School.
In the lead-up to the festival, the youngsters will work with experienced MID facilitators to develop their dancing ability, creativity, confidence and teamwork. For many, the festival will mark their first experience of performing on a professional stage.
Joburg Moves Junior is the brainchild of UJ Arts & Culture head Pieter Jacobs and MID chief executive Nadia Virasamy. It seeks to restore dance as an important feature of school life while creating stronger links between schools, communities, higher education institutions and the professional arts sector.
The programme builds on the vision of Joburg Moves, which was established as an inclusive platform to support and rebuild Johannesburg’s dance community, promote collaboration and cultivate an engaged, intergenerational audience.
By introducing a junior component, organisers hope to encourage participation in dance at an earlier age and help develop the next generation of dancers, choreographers, practitioners and audiences.
The initiative also forms part of a longer-term commitment to strengthening Johannesburg’s dance ecosystem by allowing young people to experience dance as more than a recreational activity. Organisers want learners to recognise it as a form of artistic expression, education and a possible professional career.
“Joburg Moves has always been concerned with the long-term sustainability of dance in Johannesburg,” UJ Arts & Culture marketing manager Lakin Morgan-Baatjies said.
“If we want a strong and thriving dance sector in the future, we must create opportunities for young people to encounter dance, participate in it and see themselves as part of its future.”
Morgan-Baatjies said the junior festival would begin building that relationship at school level by giving learners a space in which to develop their confidence and creativity.
“It creates a space where learners can develop their confidence and creativity while experiencing the discipline, collaboration and excitement of preparing for a professional stage,” she said.
The partnership combines UJ Arts & Culture’s institutional resources, production expertise and theatre infrastructure with MID’s extensive experience in dance education, artistic development and community engagement.
MID will provide professional facilitators and child-centred dance instruction, while UJ will enable the learners to experience the full process of rehearsing and preparing for a public performance.
Virasamy said access to high-quality arts education could have a lasting influence on a young person’s development.
“This partnership enables us to work directly with learners in their school environments and support them as they develop the skills and confidence required to take their work onto a professional stage,” she said. “It is an investment not only in future dancers, but also in creative, expressive and engaged young people.”
Beyond developing dancing ability and physical coordination, the programme is intended to cultivate discipline, commitment, self-awareness, artistic expression and collaboration. It will also expose learners to professional creative practices and possible careers in the arts and cultural industries.
The experience will extend beyond the stage. By bringing learners onto the university campus, the organisers hope to encourage them to imagine broader possibilities for their education and future careers.
The public performance will celebrate the learners’ progress and give their families, teachers, classmates and members of the wider community an opportunity to support Johannesburg’s next generation of dancers.
Joburg Moves Junior takes place at 6pm on September 22, at the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre, UJ Arts Centre, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus. Tickets cost R100 and are available through Quicket.
