Dance

SOCIAL DANCES

Eddie Yeadon hosts regular social evenings of ballroom and Latin American dancing at two venues:

Oct 17 (20h00): Durban College of Education, corner Queen Mary Avenue and Nicholson Road. Venue unlicensed, so BYO. Entrance fee R10.

Oct 23 (19h30): The Italian Club, 82 Fairway, Durban North. This venue is licensed.

To book phone 207-2424 or 84-2567.

SINEMA SINEMA

The Dare 2 Dance Company in association with Durban Umhlatuzana Rotary will present Sinema Sinema at the Chelsea Drive Primary School Hall on October 1 at 19h00. Booking essential. Phone Sharon on 204-2711.

QUENTIS WINS

The 1997/98 FNB Vita Cape Town Dance and Choreography Winners inclu-ded former University of Natal drama graduate Quentis Ashby who won the award for most promising choreography for his work Tort.

"Although gratified and delighted by Quentis's success, I am not surprised," says drama department head Professor Mervyn McMurtry. "Quentis was an excellent student - totally committed to the course and the department, a gifted dancer and an aspiring playwright. In his final year, the first year of our New Playwright's Festival, two of his entries were selected for presentation: One Night Two Many and Uh Doorweigh Too?. The same year he devised and directed Boi Gurl to offer junior students the opportunity to perform. I believe we shall see more evidence of his creativity and ability in the future."

RJC IN RESIDENCE

From October 11 onwards, the Reggae Jazz Contemporary dance company (RJC), a young, ebullient and talented company from Leeds, will be working with Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre and other dance groups in KZN.

The company, funded and brought to South Africa by the British Council, is distinguished by its combination of exciting, technically-accomplished dancers who are also rigorous and inspiring teachers.

RJC will appear in the FNB Vita Dance Shongololo from October 22 to 25.

MARY POPS-IN

The Springwood School of Dancing will stage its version of the children's classic, Mary Poppins, at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on October 2 at 19h00 and October 3 at 14h30 and 19h00. Titled Mary Pops-In, it moves away from the traditional music and aims to raise funds for the Reach for a Dream Foundation. Tickets at R24,50 are available from Computicket.

"The aim of the Springwood School of Dancing is to instill a sense of love and caring for the art of dance, an art that today needs continual encouragement if it is to survive for future generations," says principal Norma Wood.

The studio encourages children from 3 years of age to experience tap, ballet and modern. Phone 84-1498.

TEA DANCES

Judy Victor and Bobby Minter hold regular social ballroom dance evenings at the Morningside Sports Club on the last Friday of the month with an entrance fee of R10 pp. (October 23)

For further details phone Bobby on 303-1642 or Judy on 84-8893.

DANCE WINNERS

Last month, Durban Arts co-ordinated the Durban and Tongaat regions of the Azibuye Emasisweni/ African Renais-sance competition of traditional dance.

Scooping the first prize was the acclai-med SA Breweries dance team which toured London and Washington, USA, with Umabatha. Leader Mafika Ngwazi said that the R10 000 prize money would help to develop the 46 member team. SAB only provides a rehearsal venue and occasional transport costs.

REACHOUT

This year's Reachout, The Playhouse Company's annual youth dance perfor-mance project, culminates in a series of performances in the Playhouse Drama Theatre on October 9 and 10.

The project brings together over 100 children from various communities. Having worked with professional cho-reographers and dance teachers such as members of Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre, its artistic director Jay Pather and other dance specialists for an inten-sive two-week rehearsal period they will present the exciting and dynamic dance work, Rite of Spring.

Some of the children have attended the Playhouse Company's Steps into Dance classes but to most of them this project is their first introduction to dance.

RAINBOW DANCE

The days are not lost of having an relaxed evening, enjoying a fine meal and dancing to good music. Dinner/dance evenings started in June by the Hilton Hotel's Rainbow Terrace proved so po-pular that they are now held regularly. The Rainbow Terrace Dinner and Dance evenings take place every Saturday from 19h00 until late with vocalist Celia Nel on keyboard with backtracks.

This month you can dine and dance on October 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. Dress is smart casual and the price includes an extensive buffet for R105.

To book, phone 336-8203/4.

SHONGOLOLO

KZN's foremost, most daring, challen-ging and exciting new contemporary choreography can be seen at the 1998 FNB Vita Dance Shongololo which showcases a variety of dance idioms and demonstrates differing technical styles and levels of choreography and performance.

Dance Shongololo is open to all estab-lished and new choreographers who wish to present new work on a professional stage. Entrants are encouraged to be daring, experimental and challenging.

This year, FNB Vita has invited three guest artists. Jeanette Ginslov and her company will present Walking Against the Wind and Jeanette will also perform a solo piece called Hinterland.

Jayespri Moopen's Tribhangi Dance Theatre Company from Johannesburg will appear, as will Reggae Jazz Contem-porary (RJC), an exciting young dance company from Leeds in England attached to Britain's Northern School of Contemporary Dance, which is on a tour of Southern Africa.

Three evening main programmes take place from October 22 to 24 with a day fringe programme on October 25. Tickets for the main at Computicket. Entrance to the fringe is free.

FFDC AT ADAMS

After its successful first season, the Fantastic Flying Fish Dance Company will perform a programme of solos, duets and trios titled ...One, Two, Three ... at the Adams Playwright Festival on October 29 at Kwasuka at 21h00.