The opening performance of the festival features the striking alliance between the Johannesburg Choreographer, Gregory Maqoma, considered one of the most talented choreographer of his generation and the famous Via Katlehong Dance Company. The Company takes its name from a township located in one of the underprivileged neighbourhoods where the South African rebellion culture was born. Together, they derive from the origins of the pantsula, this popular and oppositional street dance, virtuoso in its speed. On songs and devilish music, the eight dancers reproduce the daily anti-apartheid gestures that made it possible for an entire population to revolt. Via Kanana (the promised land that we didn’t have) braves fear and goes beyond broken dreams in a supercharged fresco that exudes light and hope.
