Second edition of Jomba! Masihambisane Dialogues live this Africa Day

Image by Val Adamson: Nadine McKenzie in Andile Vellem and Lliane Loots's collaboration Longitude of Silence at Jomba! (2018).

The Jomba! Dialogues are a free three-day online dance colloquium on YouTube that runs from 25 to 27 May 2022.

Aiming to support the growth of scholarship and dialogue as it affects the evolving development of dance, physical performance and its relationship to history, memory and our current society, these 2022 dialogues take the theme of ‘Dancing Archives’.

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“The purpose of these dialogues is to stimulate robust discussions and debates over ideas of how embodied dance archivists (artists, scholars and curators) can be agents of change in how they create and think about an archive,” explains Dr Lliane Loots, chair of the Colloquium Steering Committee. “We want to look at how and what is remembered, and this specifically in decentring capitalist, heteronormative, able-bodied patriarchy within the frames of, amongst other ideas, decoloniality and postcoloniality.”

Image by Val Adamson: Vincent Mantsoe's KonKoriti at Jomba! (2016)

Keynote speakers include Nadine Mackenzie from Unmute Dance Company, joined by artists like Gregory Maqoma, Sonia Radebe, David April and Vincent Mantsoe. Continental voices, specifically looking at the role of dance festivals in re-making African archives, include Quito Tembe (Mozambique) and Adedayo Liadi (Nigeria).

The dialogues also welcome a range of local and international young and established dance and performance scholars who will be sharing their works and ideas on this digital platform is carefully curated sessions. The final outcome of the dialogues will be an edited collection of papers (both written and digital) that will freely be available in the Jomba! Masihambisane Dialogues archives to read and watch.

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The Jomba! Masihambisane Dialogues will be live-streamed on 25, 26 and 27 May to the Jomba! YouTube Channel and can be accessed free of charge.

The full three day programme can be accessed here.