An Online National Arts Festival Evolves
Published on 8 June 2021
Continuing to hold space for the rise of online performance and virtual audience interaction, the Festival’s month-long Online National Arts Festival programme will be announced soon. Alfred Hinkel’s Garage Dance Ensemble will be part of the online showcase with Gat innie Grond, Wond in My Siel (Hole in the Ground, Wound in my Soul); an innovative, socio-culturally relevant dance theatre production of +- 45mins, choreographed by Byron Klassen under the mentorship/ direction of Alfred Hinkel and John Linden.
The project combines local knowledge, academic inquiry and artistic practice to uncover stories of post-mining towns. The piece documents and highlights the embodied aftermaths of extractive mining practices on communities of the Nama Khoi region with a focus on exploring and translating the memories, trauma and current lived experiences of the Khoekhoegowab (South Africa’s first people).
A first for South African audiences, Galician producer Baiuca presents Embruxo. Accompanied by the cantareiras Lilaina and the percussionist Xosé Lois Romero, this filmed work was created to accompany the release of the album which will premier at the National Arts Festival. With the support of the Spanish Embassy, this is Baiuca’s first time presenting work to a South African audience.
The expanding National Arts Festival Experience programme can be found at https://
Tickets will go on sale on 21 June 2021.