How to Enter the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge!

How to Enter the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge! 

Johannesburg, 02 June 2021: Entries are now officially open for the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge. On 4 September 2021, women will not be limited when they are participating in this virtual challenge.

“The incredible fortitude our country has shown over the last 18 months was the inspiration for the 2021 SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge and its theme, #LiveLimitless. This year’s challenge celebrates the ways in which we have challenged, and in some cases broken down, the limits that lived in our minds before the pandemic. #LiveLimitless is calling on all South Africans to put on their running shoes once again and come together virtually to be part of a nationwide event that’s breaking borders and redefining limits!” Alison Zweers

Entries were opened on 26 May 2021 and the response from SPAR’s loyal following has been overwhelming. More than 5000 entries were placed within the first few days and unfortunately one of the few things that are limited is the amount of entries we have available. Race organisers are urging the public to enter early to avoid disappointment! 

#LiveLimitless

We have all been faced with challenges and obstacles in our lives and more specially over the last year. However, the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge is breaking boundaries and pushing limits. This year let’s overcome our obstacles and shoot for the stars. Let’s #LiveLimitless

How it Works 4 September 2021,  anytime between 06h00 and 18h00 (subject to government lockdown regulations). You can run, jog, or walk your own race, at your own pace, on your own route, at any distance, from any location you choose. 

How to Enter 

Guidance on entries and how the event works can be found at www.sparvirtualchallenge.co.za.

Once you have entered you will receive a confirmation email which will give you access to this year’s digital magazine. South African entrants will receive a virtual challenge pack with their entry containing a race t-shirt, a buff and a medal, to be collected from their chosen SPAR store or delivered to their chosen address (at an additional cost) For every entry, SPAR will donate a pack of sanitary products to a schoolgirl in need.

You can enter in a few easy steps, by entering your details, choose your pick up or delivery point and make your payment on our secure platforms. You can also help someone overcoming their limits by an additional, optional donation to the Jacaranda FM Good Morning Angels. 

Entries will close on 15 August 2021, and are limited to 75 000 participants.

This year you will again be able to not only create your own race number online, but you can also create your own certificate of completion – check out sparvirtualchallenge.co.za and follow the few easy steps.  

Entrants residing outside South Africa will unfortunately not be able to receive a virtual challenge pack due to postal restrictions and courier fees. Your entry fee will still contribute to the donation of a pack of sanitary products for a schoolgirl in need.  

For more information on the SPAR Women’s Virtual Challenge, please see our FAQ section here: https://sparvirtualchallenge.co.za/faq/

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EVENT DIARY DETAILS: 

Date: 04 September 2021 

Time: 06h00 – 18h00 (subject to current lockdown restrictions) 

Location: Virtual Event (participants can select own route and distance) 

Website+Entries: https://sparvirtualchallenge.co.za/  

Recycling Project Demonstrates the Value of Super Collaboration

Recycling Project Demonstrates the Value of Super Collaboration

Durban, South Africa: In a combination of passion for the environment, a drive for economic opportunities, and the need for people to make a living, a number of civil society organisations, government structures, businesses and informal waste pickers are working together to do clean-ups, recycle and repurpose waste material that benefits all, in what promises to be a workable prototype for the City of Durban.

For several years, informal waste pickers, known as the Roadhouse Crescent Recyclers, which now number 24 people, have been working in and around Durban North and North Coast Road collecting paper and cardboard waste. They eventually began to assemble under the Connaught Bridge over the Umgeni River near the Bird Park. Here they sought a safe and shaded space to be able to sort, pack, and then await commercial paper recyclers to collect.

Alongside their efforts to eke out a living, came the unwanted dumping of potentially recyclable waste as residents and businesses in the area erroneously believed they were either supporting the recyclers, contributing to the recycling or that it was a legal waste site.  But in fact, these “contributions” merely turned the site into an illegal dumping ground and eyesore for ratepayers, and the pickers were the target of the local community’s frustration.

In stepped a number of concerned organisations, one of them being Green Corridors, with a vision to provide solutions and support that could benefit all. A local area co-ordinator, Musa Shange, supports this collaboration and works with the various stakeholders. Siphiwe Rakgabale, Green Corridors’ litter-boom and clean up coordinator, who has also worked with waste collectors around Durban, and who has known the Roadhouse recyclers for some time, and Jonathan Welch, technical consultant and project manager of the Green Corridors KwaMashu Materials Beneficiation Centre (KMBC) provide technical support for this complex “eco-system”.

They work with the Green Corridors’ Green Spaces teams along with vital knowledge and implementation partners such as Adopt-a-River, WESSA, and Umgeni Estuary Conservancy (under which the site falls), who together supervise 10 enviro champs under DUCT’s Amanzi Eyethu Nobuntu programme, the eThekwini Municipality’s Solid Waste and its Parks Department, the local ward Councillor Shontel De Boer, concerned individuals and businesses along with sponsors such as SAPRIPOL and PETCO to clean up and remove waste from green spaces, and waterways. This waste is sorted and is then goes to recycling and repurposing projects such as its own KwaMashu Materials Beneficiation Centre, the NPO’s pilot programme which is working towards creating products from plastic waste that can be monetized.

Recently, with generous assistance from locally-based business Logtrans, the area under the bridge was levelled off, the illegally dumped waste removed, the area fenced off to ensure control of the site, and a security guard assigned to the area. Green Corridors has sourced funding for a container to use as an admin space for the site. Already discussions are on the way to set up a paper baler that will help the local recyclers to bale their daily collections for sale to commercial recyclers.

Green Corridors already has several programmes in informal settlements with its litterbooms on tributaries into main waterways trapping waste, which is collected, sorted, and transported to its materials beneficiation centre for repurposing.

“The Connaught Bridge collaboration is a work in progress, and going forward we hope to also have exciting solutions for the use of the plastics which would not usually be recycled because they are either too dirty or contaminated,” says Jonathan Welch. “By doing this, we create more value for these materials, which then supports a smaller informal economy, such as that of waste collectors.”

Around 300 people are currently being trained and deployed, under DUCT’s catchment-wide Amanzi Ethu Nobuntu programme, under supervision by organisations like Green Corridors and Adopt-a-River, to monitor river water quality and ensure cleanups take place regularly and the waterways and banks are cleared of alien invasive plants such as water hyacinth and waste.

“Our ultimate aim is to support these recyclers to establish a viable formal cooperative they can lead and operate, providing a key link in value chains that re-use waste materials and build a sustainable circular economy,” says Musa Shange.

For more information about Green Corridors visit https://durbangreencorridor.co.za

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Observing United Nations World Water Day (22 March) with Green Corridors

Media Release

Observing United Nations World Water Day (22 March) &

SA National Water Week (15 – 22 March) with Green Corridors

Green Corridors, the Durban-based NPO which co-creates open green spaces within the City for people in communities to live, work and thrive, calls on citizens to use World Water Day, (22 March) as a time to evaluate their relationship with water.

World Water Day, which takes place during South Africa’s National Water Week (15-22 March), is an annual United Nations Observance that focuses on the importance of fresh water in the world, using the theme “valuing water” in 2021.

According to the Worldwater.org website, “while celebrating the life-giving force of water, the day is also used to raise awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water.”

Green Corridors clean-up teams and nature guides, working within communities around Durban, see the ongoing devastation of waterways and environmentally important spaces through both alien invasive plants and the irresponsible disposal of litter that ends up in waterways impacting on water health, as well as surrounding community spaces – its people, plants and animals.

“Many people, including businesses, don’t understand that water from our stormwater drains flows directly into our waterways, and so they often discard their litter and waste in gutters or even down stormwater drains” explains Susan Dlamini, from Green Corridors. “All of this flows into our rivers and the sea, with a huge impact on water quality. If we could just start at being mindful of how we get rid of our litter and waste, it would help so much towards alleviating this.”

“We urge everyone to think about how we as human beings contribute to the health, distribution of- and access to our water,” says Susan. “We encourage people to join the World Water Day conversation on social media, which will help effect some change whether through policy or infrastructure or behaviour, working towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 of water and sanitation for all by 2030.”

The World Water Day campaign asks global citizens to discuss how they value water, "(as this) determines how water is managed and shared. The value of water is much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, culture, health, education, economics, and the integrity of our natural environment. If we overlook any of these values, we risk mismanaging this finite, irreplaceable resource.”

For example, the Green Corridors' footprint across the City includes tourism sites near important water sources where local trained and registered tour guides rely on the health of the water for their and the communities' livelihoods and well-being.

The various Green Corridors Green Spaces teams along with partners such as Adopt-a-River, WESSA, with funders such as RMB, SAPRIPOL and PETCO, and others, such as conservancies, and eThekwini Municipality Cleansing and Solid Waste, Parks Department and Sihlanzimvelo co-ops, focus on environmental hotspots, where clean-up teams remove alien vegetation as well as litter from waterways and their surrounds in their attempts to improve the health of the water. This waste is then channelled to recycling and repurposing projects such as the Green Corridors KwaMashu Materials Beneficiation Centre which is working towards creating products from plastic waste.

“We would love to hear our local voices in this conversation about water and how we can improve water quality and access, so would encourage educators, policy-makers and government officials, civil society, NGO’s and others to join in,” says Susan.

Follow Green Corridors on social media or World Water Day, and tag your post with #water2me and #WorldWaterDay.

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Call For Abstracts, Papers and Digital Participation - JOMBA Dialogues

Media Release

The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts and the

Jomba! Contemporary Dance Experience presents

JOMBA! 2021 Masihambisane Dialogues

2 – 4 June 2021

Call For Abstracts, Papers and Digital Participation

The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts and the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Festival will launch its first inaugural 3-day dance colloquium/conference in 2021 from 2 to 4 June 2021.

This dialogues series’ called the  “Jomba! Masihambisane Dialogues” aims to support focused South African and African (and Diaspora) dance and performance scholarship in an accessible and community-driven manner. The idea is to host a “Jomba! Masihambisane Dialogues” each year with a focus on new ways of engaging dance/performance scholarship, practice, and practice-led research in innovative, provocative and interesting ways. While there is some measure of ‘conference’ about it, the idea is to imagine new and innovative ways of sharing knowledge that helps support a community of African (and African Diaspora) scholars and practitioners. We also welcome support in this endeavour from key partners in India, Asia, Europe and the Americas. The CCA and JOMBA! will host, manage and run this annual colloquium/dialogues, but it has an international community of dance/performance scholars to sit on the steering and editorial committee who will work annually to imagine fresh and innovative ideas for delivery and for access to content each year.  

The 2021 committee comprises Mr. David Thatanelo April - University of Pretoria (SA), Ms. Clare Craighead - Durban University of Technology (SA), Mr. Gift Marovatsanga - University of Zululand (SA), Dr. Lliane Loots - University of KwaZulu-Natal CCA (SA) [chair and organiser], Dr. Sarahleigh Castelyn - University of East London (UK), Ms. Thobile Maphanga - Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN - SA) [postgraduate student representative and colloquium administrator] and Dr. Yvette Hutchison - Warwick University (UK)

With COVID and the digital move to offer dance (and dance festivals) via on-line platforms and digital spaces, one of the results has been an upsurge of deeply intimate dance and screen dance work. This colloquium will take as provocation the (revised) words of Mexican poet and scholar Luis Vicente de Aguinaga that “even though every kind of politics needs a public square to exist, the politics of [dance] takes place in an intimate square

“The colloquium aims to explore/interrogate how political, economic, social, cultural and technological forces are (re)shaping the meanings of intimacy in dance making in Africa (and the African Diaspora) in the recent wake of COVID-19,” says Dr Lliane Loots. “And it will explore past and present African/African Diaspora histories of dance and performance practice that has set up shifted boundaries around ‘intimacy’ whether this has been through re-imagined performance spaces, audience engagements, choreographic process and delivery, and the actual narratives of the performance.”

The 2021 version of the Dialogues (colloquium) will be offered on-line/digitally and in livestream.

The colloquium will facilitate keynote speakers, live and digital performance making of the keynote artist-scholars as points of discussion, debate and analysis, a focused on-line workshop/panel and a number of short selected papers/digital submissions.

The CCA calls for the submission of short abstracts/proposals for consideration for inclusion in the 2021 “Jomba! Masihambisane Dialogues”.

All the details about the colloquium and submission pro0cess can be found on the JOMBA1 website https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/jomba-masihambisane-dialogues/ . Deadline for submissions is 20 March 2021.

For queries, should the website not have answered these queries, email Dr Lliane Loots at: lootsl@ukzn.ac.za

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Durban FilmMart Institute - 14th Talents Durban 2021 Call For Entries

Media Release

Durban FilmMart Institute - 14th Talents Durban 2021 Call For Entries

Durban, South Africa: The Durban FilmMart Institute (DFMI) has opened the call for projects submissions for the 14th edition of Talents Durban.

The DFMI in cooperation with Berlinale Talents, an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, is proud to open the call for projects for the 14th edition of Talents Durban. Talents Durban, a project of the DFMI, will run alongside Africa’s premier co-production market and finance forum, the Durban FilmMart. 

“Our vision is to stimulate the growth of the African film industry through the development of film projects, and to network African filmmakers within the continent, and the rest of the world,” says Magdalene Reddy, Acting General Manager of the Durban FilmMart Institute. “We intend to build on the success of the 2020 virtual edition to drive African cinema forward.”

Talents Durban opens entries to African screenwriters and directors with fiction, documentary, animation, and hybrid projects in development. The programme will again welcome projects of all media formats such as film, television series, web series and content for mobile platforms. Talents Press invites emerging film critics and journalists to apply for  mentorship and hands-on training.

Talents Durban will select 32 Talents, carefully chosen by a panel of industry experts to participate in mentorship labs, workshops, discussions, market screenings, and specialised programmes for specific disciplines including directing, scriptwriting and reviewing films for digital and traditional media..  Selected Talents will also participate and interact within the formal DFM programme.

Prospective Talents must have a recognised portfolio of previous work and a project in progress (see terms and conditions for criteria).  Filmmakers are directed to complete the online application form.

Applications are now open on: 

http://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/durban/ap/info/index

For more information contact:

Menzi Mhlongo; talentsdurban@gmail.com & menzi@durbanfilmmart.com

DEADLINE: 19 March 2021

Talents Durban is an initiative of the Durban FilmMart Institute in cooperation with Berlinale Talents. Through the international programme, with a network that extends to Talents events in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Guadalajara, Sarajevo, Beirut, and Tokyo, as well as Durban, participants are initiated into a global community of filmmakers and connected through the Berlinale’s wide social network platform: (http://www.berlinale-talents.de).

For further enquiries contact: menzi@durbanfilmmart.com

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Realness Institute opens call for submissions for Episodic Lab in partnership with Netflix

Media Release

Realness Institute opens call for submissions for Episodic Lab in partnership with Netflix

30 November: Realness Institute has opened its call for submissions for its latest offering, Episodic Lab, a series development lab presented in partnership with global streaming service Netflix.

Episodic Lab will be looking for screenwriters from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa with authentic and original stories of all genres. The initiative is only open to writers from the 3 countries where Netflix is currently focusing its African Originals strategy.

The Lab will take place online from 1 June 2021 to 31 August 2021 where selected writers will work on developing pitch documents for their story concepts.

Six writers will be chosen to spend 3 months in a ‘writers room’ format where they will work with a script consultant and a creative producer to fully develop their story concepts into an episodic pitch. Along with creative training, writers will receive feedback from Netflix Originals’ development team.

Speaking from Cape Town South Africa, Asanda Biyana, Realness Partner and Project Manager of the Episodic Lab says, “Series give writers the space to make bigger worlds and more layered stories. There is no limit for what can be submitted, and we believe that with the pool of talent on our continent, and our incredible ability to tell stories, that we will see some extraordinary talent emerging from this process. We are excited and are preparing to work really hard to select the first cohort for the Lab.”

A stipend of US$2000 per month will be paid to the participants to cover living expenses as they dedicate their time to the process.  At the end of the Lab, each writer will have an opportunity to pitch their finished product to Netflix and have their series developed for production. If Netflix does not commission further development and/or production, the rights to the developed material default to the authors. Creators should not be committed to a producer or director to participate in the Lab.

To apply applicants must meet the following criteria: 

●     The Writer/writing team* must have either Film or Television experience, (*only one writer will be able to participate if selected.)

●     They can write in any genre of fiction

●     They must be able to communicate and work in English (although the story can be in a local language but would require translation for the Lab)

●     The concept must be set in South Africa, Kenya OR Nigeria

●     No producers or directors should be attached to the script

●     Pay a submission fee

To apply:

Applicants must complete the online application on the Realness Institute website at www.realness.institute/episodic-lab-application. Applicants are advised to read through the form before submitting.

Applicants will be required to pay a submission fee of 30 Euros via Paypal or 55 Euros via international wire transfer to cover the banking charges.

The deadline for submissions is the 31 January 2021 at midnight SAST.

Queries about the programme or application process can be directed to email submissions@realness.institute.

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Asanda Biyana, Realness Partner and Project Manager of the Episodic Lab prepares for the opening at submissions with Mehmet Mandefro - Realness Institute Director of Development and Partnerships.

Teboho Edkins’ Days of Cannibalism awarded top documentary prize at El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt

Teboho Edkins’ Days of Cannibalism awarded top documentary prize at El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt

South African film-maker Teboho Edkins’ documentary Days of Cannibalism took tops honours in the documentary competition section of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival last week.

Still from Days of Cannibalism directed by Teboho Edkins

The film was awarded the El Gouna Golden Star for Documentary Film which comes with a cash prize of $30 000.

Days of Cannibalism premiered at the Berlinale International Film Festival earlier this year where it was nominated for best documentary. It had its South Africa premiere at Encounters in August 2020 where it was awarded second place in the documentary competition. It has since gone on to screen at the Durban International Film Festival, CPH:DOX, Visions du Réel, amongst others, and will be screened at Porto/Post/Doc and the New Directors / New Films in New York in December.

The Western-styled documentary is set in the bleak rugged terrain of a remote rural Lesotho, Southern Africa. It is here that economic pioneers are met with unease by local communities, and these self-made Chinese merchants negotiate their place alongside traditional Basotho cattle breeders.

Edkins, who works between Cape Town and Berlin, Germany was elated about the award: “After years of focusing on this film project, which explores the impact of globalisation in Lesotho where I grew up and more broadly on the African continent., it is so humbling to watch it being appreciated in the market place at festivals,” he said. “This was the first physical screening of my film in Africa. It is a great honour to see the film on an African stage and to be recognized with this prize. I would like to express my appreciation to the organizers for making the festival happen in these challenging times.”

The film has been picked up by Indie Sales. For more information go to www.indiesales.eu

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Note to Editors: More about the El Gouna Film Festival

One of the leading festivals in the MENA region, GFF aims to showcase a wide variety of films for a passionate and knowledgeable audience, while fostering better communication between cultures through the art of filmmaking. Its goal is to connect filmmakers from the region with their international counterparts in the spirit of cooperation and cultural exchange. The festival is committed to the discovery of new voices and strives to be a catalyst for the development of cinema in the Arab world.

Free special events programme at the European Film Festival in South Africa

Special events programme at the European Film Festival in South Africa

A programme of free special events and filmmaker engagements will augment the European Film Festival which kicks off its 2020 edition on 12 November with free online screenings of new European films.  

To enrich the viewer experience a number of pre-recorded Q&A sessions with the directors will be available immediately after the screening of certain films.   In addition, a series of live online discussions will keep the conversations flowing during the festival footprint. “We live in a new world of COVID protocols so the pre-recorded interviews and online engagements are a good way to maintain the connection to the filmmakers, hear about the filmmaking processes, and discuss topical issues,” explains Magdalene Reddy, co-director of the festival.

 Online Engagements

To synergise with the new documentary on Greta Thunberg, an online event called Climate Action South Africa – sharpening the spear will focus attention on the climate crisis in this country.  This 6pm discussion on 13 November will feature presentations from Earthlife Africa’s Ulrich Steenkamp on Energy Democracy, Groundwork’s Avena Jacklin on Environment Protection Urgencies, African Climate Alliance’s Ayakha Melithafa on the crucial role of Youth Activism, and the University of Western Cape’s Patrick Bond on the shift from Climate Action to Climate Justice and the ways forward for South Africa.

Using the film Sweat as a starting point the discussion Social Media and Me – who is winning? with director Magnus von Horn and clinical psychologist Dr.Khosi Jiyane will take a prescient look at the impact of social media on individuals and society, and how we manage our actual and virtual realities. Catch it on 16 Nov at 6pm

On Tuesday 17 November (6pm)  Griet Op De Beeck, Flemish author of the award-winning book Kom Hier Dat Ek Jou Kus joins Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevoerden, the directors of Becoming Mona, which is based on the book, to explore the process of Transforming Books to Film. Also participating in this discussion is Oscar-winning Stefan Ruzowitzky whose film Narcissus and Goldmund is an adaption of Hermann Hesse’s legendary novel of the same name.

The following evening (18 November at 6pm) Op De Beeck will discuss her book on the occasion of the launch of its translation into Afrikaans as Kom Hier Dat Ek Jou Soen.

Wednesday 18 November (6pm) also brings Films and Fake News- an unfortunate true story where filmmakers and investigative journalists discuss the use of film in spreading fake news and exposing fake news.  It features Johannes Naber, director of Curveball, and German journalist Holger Stark, in discussion with Diana Neille and Richard Poplak, directors of Influence which has been winning awards around South Africa since its premiere at Sundance earlier this year.

The festival film The 8th focuses on the campaign to repeal the 8th amendment which criminalised abortion in Ireland. Expanding on the issue of reproductive rights in South Africa is a webinar entitled Making the Right to Choice a Reality taking place on Thursday 19 November  (2pm) and featuring leaders of the Irish campaign in discussion with local specialists.

On Friday 20 November (6pm) is the discussion Filming Unspoken Histories – Sylvia Vollenhoven in conversation with Lucas Belvaux. Here the director of Home Front discusses the making of his film with a focus on the uncovering of toxic or buried histories and its impact on societies and individuals.  

Community Centre and school programmes

There will also be a regulated programme of physical events at selected community centres and schools where screenings of the films I am Greta and Sweat will be followed by mediated discussions on the film topics of climate action and social media.  Participating community centres include Isivivana Centre in Khayalitsha, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation Youth Activism programme,  and Windybrow Arts Centre in Johannesburg, Wushwini Arts Centre and the Wilderness Leadership School in Durban.  The Climate Action programme at Isivivana Centre will also include three short films and discussion with local ocean activists, Loyiso Dunga, Faine Loubser and Mogamet Shamier, whose work highlights the wonders of the Cape ocean and the Great African Sea Forest.

For more information about the various special events visit the Events page on www.eurofilmfest.

The European Film Festival 2020 is a partnership project of the Delegation of the European Union to South Africa and 12 other European embassies and cultural agencies in South Africa:  the Embassies of Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Wallonie-Bruxelles International, the French Institute in South Africa, the Goethe-Institut, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the British Council. The festival is organised in cooperation with CineEuropa and coordinated by Creative WorkZone.

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Snakes in the City - have a snake you need rescuing?

Call 063 234 6932 - Greater Durban Area - until 4 November 2020

There is nothing that motivates an adventurous spirit more than being in lockdown for months during the COVID19 pandemic, and passionate reptile-lovers and conservationists Simon and Siouxsie of National Geographic Wild’s globally popular reality series Snakes in the City, are no exception.

Back in South Africa, after returning home to the UK just before international borders closing earlier this year, this dynamic, adrenaline-loving couple hope to soon continue with the filming and are on standby to rescue, remove, or relocate snakes in and around Durban.

“We are loving being back as the Spring rains start to turn the KwaZulu-Natal countryside a gorgeous green, and the weather is warming up, bringing out the incredibly diverse range of snakes,” enthuses Siouxsie. “It was quite difficult for us, with our adrenaline-filled lifestyle, to bunker down for all these months, but we are very blessed to have got through it, and are over the moon about starting the filming process again.” 

“We look forward to meeting the many different people in and around Durban, many of whom, have a fear of snakes, and have no idea what to do when encountering them,” says Simon. “Filming our rescues, removals, and relocations, enables us to educate people about snakes, and that they are a vital part of the eco-system and, for the most part, are harmless. It truly heartens us when we manage to convince a person that killing a snake is not an option and that they are not as terrifying as they think.”

The series, which reaches a global audience, is produced by local production house Earth Touch, will be filmed using strict SA government COVID-19 guidelines and regulations. “We have developed a best practice and protocol plan that the whole crew and cast have been thoroughly briefed on, to make filming safe for the team, as well as the members of the public with whom they will come into contact whilst filings,” explains Graeme Duane, Creative Director: Earth Touch. 

Simon and Siouxsie are available to attend to a snake that needs to be rescued, removed or relocated, from properties of people living in the greater Durban area, including as far south as Illovo Beach, inland to Botha’s Hill, and north to Tongaat. There is no charge for a call out, and depending on the circumstances, the caller may (with permission of course) end up on the international reality TV series. 

The number to call is 063 234 6932.

A Wilderness Park for People to Connect to the Planet - a project of Green Corridors

It’s been a long tough road for many people, during the Covid-19 lockdown levels and now as people are beginning to move more freely, community spaces are looking forward to welcoming visitors who are eager to be outdoors once more to enjoy fresh air and recreation after many months of indoor isolation.

The Inanda Wilderness Park, in Durban, an initiative of Green Corridors, is one such inclusive public safe space that offers myriad appropriate activities and educational programmes to entice people to venture outside and enjoy being in nature.

Inspired by Kinderwildnis (“children’s parks”) in Durban’s sister city, Bremen in Germany, and under the management of Green Corridors, the Park offers an authentic natural experience for urban dwellers of all ages. Situated on Inanda Seminary’s environmentally restricted open space, which was previously home to criminal activities, and illegal dumping, it now boasts a thriving ecosystem with indigenous plants, insects, and birds. The area was cleared of alien plants, rubbish was removed, and a pond and open spaces were created; a jungle gym and an obstacle course were constructed and ablutions and a kitchen were built.

Last year, formal programmes for the elderly and learners were initiated, and slowly the team at the Park, with strict protocols in place will begin allowing small groups under supervision to start outdoor activities once more.  

Green Corridors in collaboration with the Occupational Therapy Department from UKZN Westville, has established regular visits to the site by final year students, and they are now utilising occupational therapy as the intervention to promote health and well-being with the elderly and school children. Six full-time site assistants maintain the park, and three youth mentors implement the programmes.

They are involved in promoting health, wellness, and community-based rehabilitation. An enthusiastic qualified Occupational Therapist (OT), Danielle Le Brasse, is employed as the site manager for this project to manage and plan therapeutic nature-based programmes. 

“I am passionate about making a difference in people’s lives,” enthuses Danielle. “I am passionate about physical and paediatric intervention and community-based rehabilitation as well as investigating how our South African history has shaped our township communities and the role I could play in improving quality of life. I love working here at the Wilderness Park as it provides me with the platform to put these passions to work and see positive results.” 

Pre-lockdown, the park had on average about 400 visitors per month comprising school groups, elderly groups, and individual sessions with people with impairments: physical disabilities, stroke victims, amputees, children with learning difficulties, and developmental delays. 

COVID stalled the programmes which will be getting back on track soon: there is a designated area for the elderly at the park, with seating made from donated pallets. The students and OT trained the youth mentors on how to work with the elderly, health-related precautions, and how to implement a dance exercise programme which runs every Wednesday at 10:00 with 15 elderly clients from the nearby old age home. 

Together with the regular elderly folk, risen wheelchair friendly garden beds were created from wooden pallets. These “clients” can join the exercise class or do some gardening. They are encouraged to take care of the garden, and all harvested vegetables are gifted to the old age home where they live. 

There is an ongoing early childhood development programme conducted with two creches within proximity to the Inanda Wilderness Park where the OTs and mentors work side by side with the teachers, as well as a body movement programme implemented with two near-by primary schools and one high school, run by the park’s sports coach and mentors. Coming out of this programme, teachers requested that the park form an athletics group - which was in the process of being developed before the lockdown began.

Once the schedule of park programmes is fully back on track, there are plans to expand the vegetable garden and food security learnings; mental health through nature programmes; gender-based violence support groups; art through nature; stress management, upcycling projects; environmental education; and relaxation therapy. 

 The park is a pilot project, and Green Corridors aims to expand this model to other areas around Durban alongside the many Green Spaces Projects already in existence.

Green Corridors welcomes volunteers to work within its many programmes which aim to connect people to their natural environment and in doing so thrive. To become involved email danielle@durbangreencorridor.co.za .

For more information go to www.greencorridors.co.za

ends

JOMBA! Goes Digital and Global ! 25 August - 6 September 2020

The Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

presents

22nd (DIGITAL) JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience

25 August - 6 September 2020

South Africa’s benchmark dance festival, the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, presented by the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, celebrates its 22nd year with its first-ever digital edition, which will go online, and be available free to a global audience from 25 August to 6 September 2020.

“It is clear that we will not be able to deliver a festival in the same manner as previous years,” explains Artistic Director Dr Lliane Loots. “COVID-19 has shifted the arts world very significantly and in this fragile environment, dance - still defined as a full-contact ‘sport’ – remains separated from rehearsal spaces, from theatre venues, and various sites. The somatic, visceral body is absent right now we believe - as a holding block for future embodied work – that they can still offer dance-makers, dance-lovers, and audiences space to engage serious, beautiful, and important new dance making via a re-visioned JOMBA! 2020.”

This year’s JOMBA! is a carefully curated explosion of dance and conversions about dance-making, offering both a look back at some iconic dance works and dance makers, but it also significantly looks forward to exploring what dance can be in a digital space and a digital time. 

2020 JOMBA! offers 7 vibrant platforms for audiences to engage:

The JOMBA! Legacy (celebrating 21years of JOMBA!) programme features nine key dance-makers from all over the globe who have had a significant impact on making JOMBA! the premier contemporary dance festival in Africa. This is a rare opportunity to look back for a moment and to celebrate some of the world’s most iconic dance-makers who have shared their work on JOMBA! stages: From South Africa Gregory Maqoma and Musa Hlatshwayo are featured; dissenting and remarkable Robyn Orlin shares work she has made with Johannesburg- based Moving into Dance Mophatong; Africa’s two most illustrious voices Nigeria’s Adedayo Liadi and Senegal's Germaine Acogny who is often quoted as the ‘Mother of African contemporary dance’ shares an incredible and definitive solo work (“somewhere at the beginning”) danced at the age of 73. And the exquisite feminist artistry of India’s Anita Ratnam is featured in her challenging revision of Indian mythology. 

Long time JOMBA! guests, INTRODANS from The Netherlands, grace the festival with neo-classical work made before lockdown that never quite had a life on stage. In an on-going partnership with the US Consulate, two remarkable American dance companies that have had a huge impact on JOMBA! over the years are also featured; both hailing from Durban’s twin cities of Chicago and New Orleans. Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre from Chicago and Leslie Scott’s New Orleans BODYART Dance Company. 

The JOMBA! Digital Edge has provided grants to nine Durban dance-makers who continue to make waves on the local dance scene, to create short dance films that will premiere on the opening night of the festival, and will be available to view on the JOMBA! website for the duration of the festival.

The dance-makers were asked to work loosely around the theme of “Intimacies of Isolation” and there were interesting differences in modalities of filming, from cell phone to cameras. Feature choreographers are, Jabu Siphika, Kristi-Leigh Gresse, Leagan Peffer, Nomcebisi Moyikwa, Sandile Mkhize, Sifiso Kitsona Khumalo, Tegan Peacock, Tshediso Kabulu, and Zinhle Nzama

Continuing its partnership with the USA, JOMBA! has invited guest US-based curators Lauren Warnecke, Peter Chu, Rachel Miller, and Tara Aisha Willis to put together a collection of “Dance on Screen” films in an inspired and poetic one hour package of short dance films that explore the length and breadth of film dance in the USA. 

The Digital JOMBA! Fringe showcases 18 African-based dance-makers work from an open application process. JOMBA! will award prizes to the top three dance films in this section. 

Four globally significant dance-makers who have embraced digital dance making under lockdown will host a live conversation around their work and what it means to have made this shift in a programme called Conversations…Dance in a Digital Age. Featured choreographers/dancers are Vincent Mantsoe (South Africa/France), Jürg Koch (Switzerland), Themba Mbui (South Africa), and Ongiege Matthew (Kenya). Both Mbuli and Matthew will offer the world premiere of their new ‘lockdown’ dance works on this JOMBA! platform. 

Once again the JOMBA! blog and digital newspaper - JOMBA! KHULUMA - will involve the on-going support of dance writing and dance criticism through a series of closed webinars/seminars for graduate dance students. 

After years of photographing JOMBA, the fest photographer  Val Adamson will share her work in an exhibition - 21 Years of JOMBA! Through The Lens. This not only honours her extraordinary photographic eye, but it is also a moment of visually remembering the festival’s history through her evocative capturing of dance on stage with her Nikon cameras. 

Digital JOMBA! 2020 runs from 25 August to 6 September off the website, jomba.ukzn.ac.za. All platforms for 2020 are free of charge and a full programme is available via the website. 

For more information and updates on the programme visit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance Company on the vFringe

DESERT FLOWERS

Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance Company on the vFringe

Available until the 31st July 2020 on www.nationalartsfestival.co.za

The Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance company has a special treat in store for lovers of dance and music around the world. We are very excited to join the vFringe programme of the National Arts Festival by presenting a never-before-seen recording of our 2018 performance “Desert Flowers”. Along with being able to watch a world-class performance we also offer the added incentive that by purchasing a ticket you will also help raise funds for our home province of KZN Dance Teachers who have (and will continue to have) their income affected by COVID-19.

“Desert Flowers”, choreographed by Linda Vargas, is a reworking of the much-acclaimed 2004 production of the same name for “Vida Flamenco” the 35 year anniversary celebrations of the Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance Company at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in July 2018. Featuring special guests: Flatfoot Dance Company, Senta Duffield, Katherine Anderson and Kevin Ellis, it brings together a diverse range of dancers and musicians in a work that particularly locates Flamenco dancing and rhythm within the South African context.  With a compelling score arranged and composed by Demi Fernandez, it also features musicians Neil Gonsalves, Martin Sigamoney and Bryan Stone.

We had been thinking of a way during this global pandemic to help out our friends and colleagues who have had their income affected, and the vFringe of the National Arts Festival is a perfect platform to allow you to watch a recording of a production that we are very proud of and speaks to our current times and at the same contribute to a very worth cause.  Tickets cost only R25 and all proceeds will be distributed to teachers in need in the province.

You can access “Desert Flowers” on the National Arts Festival’s vFringe (as well as the full curated programme) through their website https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za – vFringe content will be available for the whole month of July. Users will need to register their details and then be able to purchase a ticket through their secure online platform.

“Desert Flowers” acknowledges the sponsorship of the Spanish Embassy of South Africa & The KwaZulu-Natal Performing Arts Trust in supporting the production of “Vida Flamenco” of which “Desert Flowers” was a part of.

Ends

Issued by Wesley Maherry

on behalf of the Linda Vargas Flamenco Dance Company     

maherry@ukzn.ac.za

Artist Biographies:

LINDA VARGAS has performed for SABCTV, the Spanish Embassy in SA, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and been invited numerous times to perform as guest artist globally. She has choreographed various opera productions including, La Traviata and Carmen as well as her critically acclaimed “Desert Flowers” (2004). Recently Linda has explored the fusion of flamenco with Indian, African, Brazilian, Celtic, and Jazz musical genres and has presented numerous productions. She co-founded the international flamenco dance organization Alianza Flamenca in 1996 and is a member of its Board of Directors and Examiners. She facilitates corporate and educational workshops, performs, teaches and examines dance all over the world. Her qualifications include: Enrico Cecchetti Final Diploma: ISTD London (dance performance) and Licentiate Teachers: ISTD London Cecchetti Method (classical dance). She lectured at UKZN for over 8 years and currently lectures social cohesion and diversity at DUT. She is the founder and director of STAMP Dance and her educational workshops and performances at schools promote a better understanding of dance and culture.

DEMI FERNANDEZ is a Flamenco guitar maestro who was born in Brazil to Spanish Parents and spent many years living and performing in Flamenco Tablaos in Spain. He has also appeared as leading flamenco guitarist with numerous South African and international Spanish Dance Companies. He lectures music at UKZN and has composed musical scores for several SABC TV productions and also appeared in numerous productions including “Guitars for Africa” in Durban and at the National Arts Festival.

Dancing in a Digital Space - JOMBA 2020

Media Release

Dancing in a Digital Space

JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience Calls for Fringe Applications

For its 2020 Online Edition

In the wake of the COVID-19 global upheaval and its impact on live performance, the much-loved JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, calls for Fringe Applications as it announces its move online for its 2020 edition in August/September.

“It is clear that we will not be able to deliver JOMBA! in the same manner as previous years,” says JOMBA’s Artistic Director Lliane Loots. “COVID-19 has shifted the arts world very significantly and we will remain one of the hardest hit sectors both now and even post COVID-19.  But as an artistic entity, which offers a time and space for artists to engage in serious and important new art and dance-making for audiences, we believe we must continue with our work and so have begun planning in an environment of fragile uncertainty for a re-visioned digital JOMBA! 2020. “

Loots goes on to explain, “The idea is to imagine JOMBA! to be a benchmark of what a dance festival could possibly be or become at this zeitgeist in our history. As we began to curate what will be a fascinating programme, we would like to reach out for digital submissions for the JOMBA! Fringe 2020.”

Professional, experimental and up-coming choreographers, dancers and dance companies are invited to apply for participation on the JOMBA! Digital Fringe platform.

As JOMBA! is a contemporary dance festival, works that are located within the broad spectrum of contemporary dance will be considered, and preference will be given to South African and African submissions. 

For the JOMBA! Digital Fringe, works that are specifically conceived, and created for film and for a  digital platfom, and that develop interesting dynamics between dance and screen/digital/film disciplines will be considered.

A panel of experts (local and international) will adjudicate the works presented as part of the JOMBA! Digital Fringe, and our “Pick-of-the-Fringe” works will be announced publically.   

Application forms which outline all the submission criteria can be requested via e-mail from jombafestival@gmail.com with the subject line “Request for 2020 JOMBA fringe application form .

Applications close at 4pm on Friday 10 July 2020.

Flatfoot dance Company presents - Seeing Red

Media Release

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY presents BUSY SEEING RED

KZNSA GALLERY: 21 February 2020 @ 6.30pm

Durban’s Flatfoot Dance Company celebrates its 17th anniversary this year as one of South Africa’s leading contemporary dance companies with a new dance theatre work, Busy Seeing Red at the KZNSA Gallery on Friday 21 February.

With an international touring reputation for excellence and a host of national awards under its belt, Flatfoot’s arrival at this momentous 17th mark is a testament to a dedicated team of dancers and administrators.

In keeping with its reputation of creating and performing edgy, controversial, beautiful and intelligent dance, Flatfoot partners with the KZNSA Gallery to offer a site responsive dance work that ask the audience to engage all the different space of the gallery. In a fluid display of exquisite technical training, Flatfoot’s 7 resident dancers dive heart first into the inner politics of ‘seeing red’. Asking questions that are on all of our lips as South Africans, Busy Seeing Red, negotiates the personal politics of anger. From exploring remembrances of colonial race and current gender violence, this dance theatre work offers a surprisingly gentle embodied encounter with dance that will leave audiences breathless.

Embracing a collaborative creative process of making this performance, the three senior Flatfoot dancers (Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika and Zinhle Nzama) have jointly collaborated in the choreography with Artistic Director of Flatfoot, Lliane Loots. “As a dance maker I am increasingly interested in the power of multiple voices to tell stories and what better way than to encourage the profound dance voices of the senior Flatfoot dancers to bring their vison to this work”, says Loots. She continues, “it is and has been a remarkable journey making this collaborative dance work and seeing what we share and where we differ as South Africans – I remain deeply humbled by the power of our dance/art to allow dialogue – especially at a time in history when there is so much rage and anger”. 

Also featured in Busy Seeing Red is Flatfoot junior company dancer, Mthoko Mkhwanazi stepping into his first professional choreographic role in the company. “Seeing this young Flatfoot dancer in the role of choreographer in this work is a testament to not only his own talent and drive, but to the nurturing role that Flatfoot had played in offering this space to our up and coming practitioners”, says Loots.

Dancing in Busy Seeing Red are; Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika, Zinhle Nzama, Sbonga Ndlovu, Ndumiso Dube, Siseko Duba, and Mthoko Mkhwanazi. Lighting and sound design by Wesley Maherry and Clare Craighead.

The Busy Seeing Red  will be performed at the KZNSA Gallery is on Friday 21 February at 6.30pm. Tickets cost R60 and seating is limited. Tickets can be pre-booked via flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com or on a first come first serve at the KZNSA Gallery on the night. Door sales and Gallery open from 5.30pm. The KZNSA restaurant and coffee bar will be open for pre/post show meal and drinks.

This dance work will travel onto the Hexagon Theatre in PMB in early May 2020.

-ends

Disconnecting to reconnect. A techno-savvy American communications expert learns to unplug and connect with nature in the South African Wilderness. (Copy)

Disconnecting to reconnect. A techno-savvy American communications expert learns to unplug and connect with nature in the South African Wilderness.

Interview with Bo Wood By Sharlene Versfeld 

“For as long as I can remember, I had never been truly disconnected from technology until going on a Wilderness trail in the Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa last year,” muses Bo Wood, a Communications Director from South Carolina, USA. “To be honest, it took some getting used to. I thought the fruit I was carrying in my pocket was my mobile phone a number of times – that cannot be good, right?”  

Bo who was sent to experience the African Wilderness through the Wilderness Leadership School in Durban, works for Black Knight International, the international company representing the legendary conservationist Dr Ian Player and celebrated SA golfer Gary Player brands. Dr Player was instrumental in ensuring the Imfolozi Wilderness in KZN (amongst many others wilderness initiatives) was set aside as a place for nature to exist without human interference, and he established the globally renowned Wilderness Leadership School that offers trails into the wilderness so that people can be reminded of its value to the human spirit. “When I first started working for Black Knight International, I quickly learned the organization was not just all about Gary Player. Several different entities fill the company’s umbrella, including all the intellectual property of Dr Ian Player. The Wilderness Leadership School is very much a part of Dr Player’s legacy. I went on trail to get a first-hand experience of what he left behind and to understand how we can help going forward,” explains Bo.   The Foundation has started formally archiving Dr Player’s legacy, to ensure there is a consolidated bank for future generations to access. Bo elaborates, “We are thinking big. We want to build on the legacy of one of the world’s most influential environmentalists so his legacy will extend through time and impact our global society years from now. Ambitious, we know.”  

“Going into the Wilderness in Imfolozi is quite daunting,” says Bo. “For five days, you are right there walking in a “Big Five” reserve with elephants, leopards, lions, rhino and buffalo. You sleep under the stars and keep watch alone at night. You carry in all your equipment and food, collect wood, make the fire, clean pots and plates and cutlery with sand, dig a hole to go to bathroom, and wash off in a river. No soap allowed. The idea is for us as humans to connect with nature, as we would have thousands of years ago. To become tuned in to the sounds and sights. To truly have time to think about what we have done to the planet.”   “No doubt I was out of my comfort zone, being from America. But it was more a feeling of excitement. Invigorating. On the other side of the “boundary” – as our guide called it –  escaping and disconnecting from the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life gave me a certain tranquility I had never experienced,” he says.  

Bo says that the trail helped him to recharge. “Even though I was exhausted from the physical burdens of being on trail, my mind came back excited,” he enthuses. “I have come to realize how connected the world is even without our modern technology we rely so heavily on for unnecessary convenience.”   While walking, Bo and fellow trailists came across the carcass of a poached rhino. “Our guides on trail explained how the entire ecosystem is affected if a rhino becomes a victim of poaching. Seeing that carcass lying there really hit that message home for me.”   

Night watch on one’s own for one to two hours, is always a little intimidating for first-timers, but Bo loved it. “I thrived under the responsibility of watching over our group. Some people had done the trail before, but I did not know what to expect. So, for me, developing the right routine was crucial - checking that no dangerous animals were in the proximity of the camp and tending to the fire. But I felt it also was important to take many moments during the watch to give gratitude to mother nature.”   And mother nature delivered for Bo. “There are no tents on trail. You sleep on a flat platform of rock and it was surprisingly easy and comfortable in a way,” he laughs. “Although it does make you more thankful for a mattress and clean sheets.

We named the one camp “Pride Rock” (like in the Lion King) overlooking a river. One afternoon, all of us huddled in the water under the rock’s shade to escape the blistering sun. Mindful that we were in shallow enough water not to be eaten by a crocodile. An elephant appeared out of the bush for a quick afternoon drink. This majestic creature put on a show. He strutted along the bank as we watched in reverence. A moment in time I will never, ever forget.”

The quiet yet driven 31-year-old, says that he was truly humbled and grateful for the experience. “At the end of the trail, as we exited the wilderness, I realized exactly why the Foundation wanted me to do this. It truly is a life-changing experience for the human spirit. By having this experience, I believe that I can now truly play an important part in keeping Dr Player’s legacy alive.”

ends

Note:

As director of communications travels to South Africa to lead the communication efforts for the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player for Black Knight International. His most recent visit was for the November 2019 event as well as the Gary Player Invitational charity golf tournament at Sun City which raised money for the Gary Player Foundation. He went on the Wilderness trail in November 2018.

The Wilderness Leadership School offers 4 night, 5 day trails with experienced guides for individuals and groups (as well as corporates) in various areas aimed at reconnecting humans to nature. For more information contact 031-462 8642 or email info@wildernessleadershipschool.co.za. For more information about Wilderness Trails go to https://www.wildernesstrails.org.za/

(Sharlene Versfeld is a Durban-based nature guide and communications consultant)

Results of Durban North Regional Ashton International College: Sunday 8 March

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge

Durban North Regional

Ashton International College: Sunday 8 March

Reclaiming the title, Our Lady of Fatima were victorious for the fourth time in the Durban North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge at Ashton International College on Sunday 8 March.

In a scorcher of a game, Fatima met Crawford La Lucia in the regional final, their second meeting of the day. In the previous encounter the result went Crawford’s way with a 1 nil victory but in the main game of the day, Fatima dug deep and after a tough encounter were triumphant.

In a fast, flowing game, Crawford La Lucia managed to open their account with a sterling charge in from Laiken Brisset with just over 5 minutes left to play. Brisset wasted no time as she entered the top of the circle and quickly rocketed in her attempt that flew past the keeper. Fatima didn’t let the late score get to them, and pushed hard at the Crawford defence. Their perseverance paid off as Emma Loftstedt found some space in a last gasp surge with just over 90 seconds left of play. She skilfully chipped the ball in, levelling the score at 1 all.

As the time ran out, 3 players from each side lined up for the deciding penalty shoot out. First to go was the 2019 defending champs, Crawford La Lucia – Alison Beck set off. Charging down Beck’s attempt was the young keeper Hannah Donkin, who deflected the ball out of reach. Fatima’s Caitlin Cotterell made a dash goal-wards, steering right and slotting in her shot neatly. In the second round, both Teneal Moriarty from Crawford and Paige Horn from Fatima veered right as they got into the circle and knocked in their strokes. The scoreboard was now 3-2 to Fatima. Brisset set off for the final round, weaving in both directions as she charged towards the goals but Donkin paid attention to the fancy footwork and stifled Brisset’s chance to keep Crawford in the game.

In the bronze medal game, Danville Park Girls’ High met the surprise dynamite package from Curro Mount Richmore. In their first appearance at the Durban North Regional, Curro held strong as Danville pounded down to the Curro goals with five Danville penalty corners being defended by the newcomers. With only a handful of minutes left, a shock shot hit the post and landed in free space in the circle. An alert Tayla Jansen pounced on the opportunity and netted her teams first and only goal, earning a third for Danville.

In the first semi-final, Crawford La Lucia took on Curro Mount Richmore and dominated the game, winning the game 4 nil. In the second semi-final, Danville – who had topped the pool log took on Fatima. Fatima managed to edge ahead with a run down the left, running along the baseline and finding the back of the box in the only goal in their semi. Both teams played superbly with some fierce duels mid-field seeing loads of long passes, plenty of turn-overs and not a lot of chances on either end of the field.

Umpire of the Day went to Danville Park High School’s Christy Gilmour.

Fatima is the third team to have a run at the Grand Finals in the tenth year of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge. In their three previous Grand Finals appearances, they have earned a respectable fifth place in 2011, 2017 and 2018. They join newcomers Hoërskool Pionier from the Northern KZN Regional and the only team with a 100% record at the epic conclusion of this tournament, Durban Girls’ College will be representing the Durban Central Regional. Next weekend two teams will earn their spots representing the Pietermaritzburg Central and Northern Regionals.

For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge Durban Central Regional Durban Girls’ College: Saturday 7 March

Time for a spot of hockey, the 101st overall tournament in the tenth year of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge heads to 031 for the Durban Central Regional, hosted by Durban Girls’ College.

Eight teams will take to College’s astro. Split into two pools, Durban Girls College will face Durban Girls’ High School, Inanda Seminary and Ridge Park in Pool A. While Pool B sees St Henry’s School, Maris Stella, the INK team and Port Natal School battle it out.

The duration of the matches will be 20 minutes, with no half time. A win in the pool games will see a team awarded 4 points, a draw with goals 2 points, a goalless draw only 1 point and a loss equating to no points.

A total of 12 pool games will be played, followed by the two semi-finals. Teams who finished fourth in the pool games will then face each other to reveal seventh and eighth places. Third place in the pool games will challenge each other for the positions of fifth and sixth places. In the penultimate game, the losers of both semi-finals will then take to the turf, with the winner earning third spot. And finishing the day off will be the main regional title game featuring the two winners from the semi-finals.

Only one school has been crowned the regional champion in all nine of this area’s tournaments and is the only team in the history of this tournament to have a 100% record at the Grand Finals. Nine times winners, Durban Girls’ College will be keen to continue their outright dominance in this region in the hopes of notching up their tenth overall title.

This will be the second regional this year, with the tournament having travelled to Vryheid last weekend (29 February). The first team to earn a spot at the Grand Finals is Hoërskool Pionier.

The next regional, the Durban North Regional, takes place at the recently launched astro at Ashton International in Ballito the day after the Durban Central Regional, on Sunday 8 March.

For more info, like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram.

ENDS

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge 2020 Dates Announcement

SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge

2020 Dates Announcement

Leaping into its tenth year, and notching up a momentous milestone, the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Hockey Challenge’s first tournament of the year significantly tips off its 100th overall tournament.

The first date in this jam-packed, action-filled hockey calendar that travels to ten regions in KwaZulu Natal takes place on the added bonus day this leap year, on Saturday 29 February. Host for this year’s Northern KZN Regional are Pioneer High School. 

The first of four regionals in March heads back to Durban for the Durban Central Regional where Durban Girls’ College will host teams at their astro on Saturday 7 March. The following day, Sunday 8 March, the tournament moves to Ashton International College in Ballito for the Durban North Regional. Ashton welcomes the tournament onto their recently unveiled international-spec astro turf. The fourth and fifth tournaments travels to Hilton where both the Pietermaritzburg Central and Pietermaritzburg North Regionals will take place at St Anne’s College on Saturday 14 March. 

After a short two week break, Kingsway High School will host the Durban South Regional at 3 Schools Trust on Sunday 5 April. Staying south, the tournament hits the road travelling to Matatiele for the Southern KZN Regional where King Edward High School will host teams on Saturday 18 April.

In May, schools from the timber-rich areas gather for the uMvoti, uThukela and uMzinyathi Regional on the astro at Wembley College in Greytown on Saturday 9 May. Back-to-back action takes the tournament to Curro Hillcrest on Sunday 10 May for the Highway Regional. Concluding the regionals, the tenth tournament takes place on the familiar turf at Grantleigh School that hosts teams for the Northern KZN Coastal Regional on Saturday 16 May.

Max Oliva, Managing Director of SPAR KZN said, “SPAR KZN is delighted with the success of this tournament that began in KwaZulu Natal in 2011 quickly became a highlight on the sports calendar; and has since been introduced to a number of our neighbouring provinces.”

“With the upcoming milestone of the 100 overall tournaments next month, we look forward to watching the action unfold and its success in the future. With 2020 being a big year for sports, with the Olympics taking place in Tokyo – we are delighted that our South African hockey teams will feature as well and look forward to seeing how many ladies donning the green and gold in Japan have been a part of our humble journey.”

Mid-July, the top team from each region will represent their school and their regional at the Grand Finals which takes place at St Mary’s D.S.G.. The two day final starts on Saturday 18 July with the pool games and then the cross pool and medal games on Sunday 19 July. 

For more info like the tournament’s Facebook page or follow on Instagram. 

ENDS

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY presents BUSY SEEING RED KZNSA GALLERY 21 Feb 2020

Media Release

FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY presents BUSY SEEING RED

KZNSA GALLERY: 21 February 2020 @ 6.30pm

Durban’s Flatfoot Dance Company celebrates its 17th anniversary this year as one of South Africa’s leading contemporary dance companies with a new dance theatre work, Busy Seeing Red at the KZNSA Gallery on Friday 21 February.

With an international touring reputation for excellence and a host of national awards under its belt, Flatfoot’s arrival at this momentous 17th mark is a testament to a dedicated team of dancers and administrators.

In keeping with its reputation of creating and performing edgy, controversial, beautiful and intelligent dance, Flatfoot partners with the KZNSA Gallery to offer a site responsive dance work that ask the audience to engage all the different space of the gallery. In a fluid display of exquisite technical training, Flatfoot’s 7 resident dancers dive heart first into the inner politics of ‘seeing red’. Asking questions that are on all of our lips as South Africans, Busy Seeing Red, negotiates the personal politics of anger. From exploring remembrances of colonial race and current gender violence, this dance theatre work offers a surprisingly gentle embodied encounter with dance that will leave audiences breathless.

Embracing a collaborative creative process of making this performance, the three senior Flatfoot dancers (Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika and Zinhle Nzama) have jointly collaborated in the choreography with Artistic Director of Flatfoot, Lliane Loots. “As a dance maker I am increasingly interested in the power of multiple voices to tell stories and what better way than to encourage the profound dance voices of the senior Flatfoot dancers to bring their vison to this work”, says Loots. She continues, “it is and has been a remarkable journey making this collaborative dance work and seeing what we share and where we differ as South Africans – I remain deeply humbled by the power of our dance/art to allow dialogue – especially at a time in history when there is so much rage and anger”. 

Also featured in Busy Seeing Red is Flatfoot junior company dancer, Mthoko Mkhwanazi stepping into his first professional choreographic role in the company. “Seeing this young Flatfoot dancer in the role of choreographer in this work is a testament to not only his own talent and drive, but to the nurturing role that Flatfoot had played in offering this space to our up and coming practitioners”, says Loots.

Dancing in Busy Seeing Red are; Sifiso Khumalo, Jabu Siphika, Zinhle Nzama, Sbonga Ndlovu, Ndumiso Dube, Siseko Duba, and Mthoko Mkhwanazi. Lighting and sound design by Wesley Maherry and Clare Craighead.

The Busy Seeing Red  will be performed at the KZNSA Gallery is on Friday 21 February at 6.30pm. Tickets cost R60 and seating is limited. Tickets can be pre-booked via flatfootdancecompany@gmail.com or on a first come first serve at the KZNSA Gallery on the night. Door sales and Gallery open from 5.30pm. The KZNSA restaurant and coffee bar will be open for pre/post show meal and drinks.

This dance work will travel onto the Hexagon Theatre in PMB in early May 2020.

-ends