A week of music, music, music, plus a few notable book events too

MUSIC FROM DRC, ETHIOPIA, CAMEROON, SOUTH AFRICA

Thanks to the Pan African Space Station there is a festival of extraordinary music from all over the African continent in Cape Town this week.  All of the shows are only R30 pre-booked (at computicket) or R50 at the the door.



TUESDAY: STUDIO KABAKO

Perhaps not for the faint-hearted -  Studio Kabako is a dance collective from Kisangani in the DRC which "infuses the hybrid rhythms of Ndombolo music with hefty doses of punk rage and cosmic energy... they merge explosive dance and experimental theatre, mysticism, and millitancy, riddle and confrontation...weird worlds of sounds open up before us."   It includes the talents of a poet, choreographer, fashion designer and band.

City Hall
Tuesday 28  19h00



WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY:  BRICE WASSY TRIO AND IMPERIAL TIGER ORCHESTRA

Brice Wassy is a Cameroonian drummer and percussionist who has been a band-leader for Manu Dibango and Salif Keita and has worked with an impressive array of stars including Miriam Makeba and Busi Mhlongo.  His music is described as "bringing together jazz and Afro-pop... a full-frontal rhythmic attack, profoundly rooted in Africa, but open to all genres."

The Imperial Tiger Orchestra is based in Geneva and is brought to SA by Pro Helvetia.   They perform "songs of the Golden Age of modern Ethiopian music " but "are not to be mistaken for a covers band.  Instead the Imperial Tigers explore uncharted territory with their powerful instrumentation of horn, percussion and keyboards....hypnotic rhythms and fierce grooves... beautiful new pieces based on the Ethiopian originals."

Slave Church       40 Long Street
Wednesday 29   19h00

Albert Hall    208 Albert Road Woodstock
Friday 1 October  22h30



THURSDAY AND SATURDAY:  PHILIP TABANE

Philip Tabane and his Malombo Jazz Makers, an "ever-shifting cast of musicians" have been part of the South African music scene since the 1960s.  "The master lets loose with intricate improvisation and free-form solo-ing.....that speaks to the soul while insisting that you get up and dance."   The programme also features the Kyle Shepherd Trio.

St George's Cathedral
Thursday 30  19h30

Guga S'Thebe Centre   Washington Road   Langa
Saturday 2 October  12h00 - 18h00



FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: THANDISWA MAZWAI TRIO

Since her days as a member of 90s Afro-pop crew Bongo Maffin, Thandiswa Mazwai has gone solo and has "travelled deeper into traditional Zulu and Xhosa melodies and rhythms to map out a fiercely individual route from past to present, sign-posted with borrowing from jazz, funk, Mbaqanga, reggae, quasi-gospel and thumping kwaito."

Slave Church   40 Long Street   Cape Town
Friday 1  19h00

Guga S'Thebe Centre   Washington Road   Langa
Saturday 2 October  12h00 - 18h00




MORE MUSIC

In addition to this packed programme of music is a concert by Eric Omba "a guitarist and composer of Spanish, classical jazz, Latin American, African and French music" with an impressive list of collaborations behind him.  At the Alliance Francaise this Thursday he will be showcasing his band and guest stars including Steve Newman and Mambote, and his new album Bella Vie.

Alliance Francaise   155 Loop Street
Thursday 30   20h30    R60




THIS WEEK ONLY:  EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY

Photographs, rare books, and items from the manuscript collections of the SA National Library are on exhibition this week from Monday to Saturday.
National Library   5 Queen Victoria Street
Monday 27 to Saturday 1   10h00-17h00    
Free entry




DAMON GALGUT AT THE BOOK LOUNGE

Damon Galgut's In a Strange Room has been shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker prize and the Book Lounge has organized a "celebratory evening" at  which we're invited to "raise a glass of bubbly....and listen to Damon read from this quite astounding novel."

Book Lounge
Wednesday 29   17h30 for 18h00

Performances, Festivals, Celebrations, Big Questions

My apologies for posting this blog a day late.  The Monday deadline has not been abandoned, just very occasionally it's impossible and it stretches to Tuesday!  

ONE-OFF PERFORMANCE TONIGHT

Tonight is a one-off fundraising performance of Hatched by  Mamela Nyamza. She has been invited to present the show at this year's Danse l'Afrique in Bamako, Mali, one of the largest dance festivals in Africa, showcasing established choreographers around the African continent.  I retrieved my review of the show from an early blog posting:

After seeing Hatched, I would go out of my way to see anything by dancer/performance artist Mamela Nyamza. ... it's like a film in which almost not a single frame is wasted - there is so much that is beautiful, strange, and arresting. It works through images and movement, and I won't try to describe it further - just to recommend this incredible artist.

Fugard Theatre
Tuesday 21 20h00




LAST TWO NIGHTS: QAPHELA CAESAR

"Jay Pather’s contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar takes the audience through 14 rooms of the historic City Hall, alternating between installation and performing art while incorporating dance, spoken text, multimedia and opera."

City Hall
Tues 21 - Weds 22   20h00
Cost: R 65    Tel: 078 4060 509 




HERITAGE DAY CELEBRATIONS AT THE MUSEUMS

All Iziko museums are free of charge this week in honour of Heritage Day (the Planetarium and the Castle only on Friday.)  There are various talks, tours, performances, symposium - see Iziko's website www.izikomuseums.com

Pedro will be telling stories on the grass in front of the SA Museum on Thursday at 10h00.

For more information021-4813800 or email wkasibe@iziko.org.za




THREE TALKS CO-INCIDE ON THURSDAY

1. BOOK LAUNCH
"Writing the City into Being: Essays on Johannesburg 1998-2008 is Lindsay Bremner’s long-awaited collection of essays, spanning more than a decade of work on Johannesburg. It is both an unflinching analysis of the characteristics of an extraordinary city and a work of imagination – a bringing of the evasive city into being through writing. Her intimate knowledge of the city makes this a deeply personal but authoritative collection of essays."    Lindsay Bremner is Professor of Architecture at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. She was formerly Chair of Architecture at Wits. She will be in conversation with Iain Low, Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture and Planning at UCT.

Book Lounge
Thursday 23   17h30 for 18h00.
021 462 2425

2.  GIPCA GREAT TEXTS/BIG QUESTIONS TALK

Here's the invite:

3. WOLPE TRUST DIALOGUE ON CORRUPTION

The Wolpe Trust Dialogues are always worth going to.  This one's on Corruption In Our Society.

Thursday 23   17h30 for 18h00
LT2  Zoology Building  Upper Campus  UCT

HOMESTEAD PARK MARKET

I heard of this market from the Book Lounge newsletter:
"On Friday, 24 September, Heritage Day, the Book Lounge will have a stall at the lovely Homestead Park Market in Upper Orange Street, Oranjezicht from 10 - 4pm. There will be crafts and food stalls to support, guided walks about the Heritage part and a jazz quartet, a fun outing for families who are staying in town over the long weekend. Please come along and support the Oranjezicht Higgovale Neighbourhood Watch who have organised this great day out."




POETRY LAUNCH AT KALK BAY BOOKS

Leon de Kock will launch his new collection of poems, Bodyhood, at Kalk Bay Books on Friday. The "seductive and powerful new poems" are "at once reflective, wistful, wry and ironic, they chart the individual’s imprint on a world accessible only through the bonds and affiliations of an embodied life."

Leon de Kock is head of the School of Literature and Language Studies at Wits University. He has received the Pringle Prize for Poetry (1985), the FNB Vita/English Academy Prize for Poetry Translation (2000) and the SA Translators’ Award for Outstanding Translation (2000) for his translation of Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf.

Kalk Bay Books
Friday 24  18h00

PIANO CONCERT

Spencer Myer is a graduate of the Juilliard School, "garnering stellar audience and critical acclaim from around the globe, rapidly establishing himself as one of the most outstanding pianists of his generation."  At the Baxter Concert Hall on Saturday he'll play Handel, Jancek, Beethoven, Schumann, Granados.

Baxter Concert Hall
Saturday 25    20h00

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY OPEN NIGHT

Another open night at the Observatory on Saturday, a chance to see the historic telescope and buildings as well as the night sky.

South African Astronomical Observatory    Observatory Rd   Observatory  
Saturday 25   20h00    Free entry
021 447 0025     enquiries@saao.ac.za

POETRY AFRICA IN CAPE TOWN

1. 

Poetry Africa has become a major festival on the Durban calendar, and this year they're adding on a tour to Cape Town, Harare and Blantyre (Malawi.)  The show's on Sunday at the CTICC and the programme includes touring poets from Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Jamaica, Zimbabwe as well as SA. 

CTICC
Sunday 26   19h30

2.
A Poetry Africa discussion, The Poet as Wayfarer, will take place on Monday at the Planetarium.This event is free.
The Planetarium     25 Queen Victoria Street

Monday September 27  17:30 

A week for performance art: Foofwa d'Imobilite, Hip Hop Indaba, Molly Bloom, Qaphela Caesar, Pianessence

A relatively unannotated listing for a week strong in performance art:




FOOFWA D'IMOBILITE DANCE EVENTS (REPEATED FROM LAST WEEK)

1: THE MAKING OF SPECTACLES
Acclaimed Swiss contemporary dance artist Foofwa d'Imobilité   and his company of dancers present two shows in Cape Town from Monday 13.   In The Making of Spectacles the audience is " the audience is invited to collaborate with the artistic team in order to compose a unique performance. The elements presented ie. dance phrases, dramatic scenarios, music, lighting design, and costuming are carefully crafted in advance and offered as tools to the spectators for the creation of a dance to their taste. After playful, democratic voting, where humor is invited, the spectators can enjoy the synthesis of their group decisions." (Sounds like Theatre Sports but I've never seen it applied to dance !)

Monday 13 and Tuesday 14   20h00
Little Theatre   Hiddingh Campus  021 4807129




2: PINA JACKSON IN MERCEMORIAM
"A choreographic comedy" by Foofwa d'Imobilite to look forward to next week.  The dancer explains:
"Since, within one month, three Greats of Dance died and since this dismal fate brought them together, I decided to evoke altogether the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, the Queen of Tanztheater, Pina Bausch, and the Emperor of Dance Revolution, Merce Cunningham, in a triple « humoriscritic » and vivifying tribute."

Wednesday 15   20h15   Theatre Arts Admin Collective   Methodist Church   Observatory  021 4473683
Thursday 16:  Hiddingh Hall   (details still to be published by Gipca)

 (www.foofwa.com)




MOLLY BLOOM AT THE BAXTER

"Molly is the wife of Leopold Bloom in James Joyce's classic novel Ulysses. In the final section of the book, lying in bed next to her snoring husband, she muses over her marriage, her lovers, her body and her children, among other topics. Acclaimed South African actress Jennifer Steyn performs Molly Bloom's erotic, witty, bawdy, sensual, shocking, moving and highly entertaining stream-of-consciousness monologue, which has been condensed and adapted for the stage, as well as directed, by Nicky Rebelo."

Baxter Studio
from Tuesday 14   20h15




ARTWORKS IN PROGRESS

On Wednesday is the opening of the Michaelis School of Fine Art's exhibition of works showcasing the creative activity of the school's academic staff.
Michaelis Galleries   Hiddingh Campus
Opening Wednesday 15 Sept     18h00 for 18h30
Till  6 October    Tue - Fri  10h00 to 15h00   Sat 10h00 to 12h00




ART: BLISSFUL DISTURBANCE
Already open at the Michaelis Galleries and on until 2 October is an exhibition of works by the Wits University Fine Art Masters students, curated by Portia Malatjie.
Michaelis Galleries   Hiddingh Campus
Till  2 October    Tue - Fri  10h00 to 15h00   Sat 10h00 to 12h00




AFRICAN HIP HOP INDABA
For two days on Friday and Saturday is the "African qualifier for the World Break dance Championships which will see various forms of dance including Nu Skool, Popping, Krump and U13 b-boy battles"
Good Hope Centre   Sir Lowry Rd
Friday 17 to Saturday 18     19h00
Cost: R 50
www.africanhiphopindaba.co.za




THEATRE: QAPHELA CAESAR

Opening on Saturday, Jay Pather’s contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar takes the audience through 14 rooms of the historic City Hall, alternating between installation and performing art while incorporating dance, spoken text, multimedia and opera. Each of the five performances of Qaphela Caesar are limited to an audience of 50 people.

City Hall   Saturday 18   19h45   Sunday 19 to Wednesday  22  20h00      
078 4060 509        ameejay@ananzi.co.za      www.gipca.uct.ac.za
Tickets are R65, available from Computicket www.computicket.com




PIANESSENCE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Swiss musician Petra Ronner returns to South Africa to perform new pieces for piano and electronics. One show only, in Stellenbosch this Sunday. 
Konservatorium Fismer Hall    Stellenbosch University    Victoria St   Stellenbosch  
Sunday 19    16h00       R65 - R85
021 465 9033       communications@prohelvetia.org.za



LAST WEEK FOR PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION AT THE CASTLE

The recent conference on South African documentary photography was accompanied by this major exhibition "featuring the work of 56 photographers and more than 60 photographic essays."  

Castle of Good Hope
till 18 September

High Holy Holidays, Talks & Theatre, Don't-miss Dance

As one would expect in a week containing both Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday night and Eid on Friday, the calendar isn't packed with new shows or book events.  I've included a play that I've listed before, because they are now in their last week, a few good talks, and a film from Madagascar.  Top of the listing is a truly exciting dance event (actually two, by the same company) opening on Monday, a week from today - there're a few shows only and this looks like a hot ticket!

FOOFWA D'IMOBILITE DANCE EVENTS

1: THE MAKING OF SPECTACLES
Acclaimed Swiss contemporary dance artist Foofwa d'Imobilité  and his company of dancers present two shows in Cape Town from Monday 13.   In The Making of Spectacles "the audience is invited to collaborate with the artistic team in order to compose a unique performance. The elements presented ie. dance phrases, dramatic scenarios, music, lighting design, and costuming are carefully crafted in advance and offered as tools to the spectators for the creation of a dance to their taste. After playful, democratic voting, where humor is invited, the spectators can enjoy the synthesis of their group decisions."  (Sounds like Theatre Sports but I've never seen it applied to dance !)

Monday 13 and Tuesday 14   20h00
Little Theatre   Hiddingh Campus  021 4807129





2: PINA JACKSON IN MERCEMORIAM
"A choreographic comedy" by Foofwa d'Imobilite to look forward to next week.  The dancer explains:
"Since, within one month, three Greats of Dance died and since this dismal fate brought them together, I decided to evoke altogether the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, the Queen of Tanztheater, Pina Bausch, and the Emperor of Dance Revolution, Merce Cunningham, in a triple « humoriscritic » and vivifying tribute."

Wednesday 15   20h15   

Theatre Arts Admin Collective   Methodist Church   Observatory  021 4473683
Thursday 16:  Hiddingh Hall   (details still to be published by Gipca)

 (www.foofwa.com)


LAST WEEK FOR WOYZEK

This production, set in Africa, is directed by Lara Foot with choreography by Ina Wichterich, and promises to be "a sensual and visual feast for all serious theatre goers."

Baxter Studio till Saturday 11 
Tuesday 7 18h30   All other days  20h15
 021 685 7880

CINECLUB: ANGANO ANGANO - NOUVELLES DE MADAGASCAR

This film was chosen as one of the 20 best films of 20 years of  the Cinéma du Réel Festival at the Pompidou Center.  "A subjective and impressionist vision ... that pleads for oral tradition.  A voyage between reality and imagination in Madagascar."

Alliance Francaise    155  Loop Str
Wednesday 8    19h00    Free entrance

SOCIAL CHANGE SEMINAR SERIES

TSiBA has launched a seminar series that explores the question, "What Is Social Change?"   On Thursday Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela will talk about "The Face of The Other: Moral Imagination in an Environment of Uncertainty and Change."

Thursday 9   17h30 for 18h00
TSiBA   Mupine Campus    Forest Dr Extension    Pinelands 
021 532 2750     info@tsiba.org.za        www.tsiba.org.za

LECTURE: A SOLAR SYSTEM NEWS FLASH

Another chance to view the night sky through the telescopes at the Astronomical Observatory at one of their open nights this Saturday, with an "informative discussion"  titled "A Solar System News Flash."

SA Astronomical Observatory     Observatory Rd      Observatory 
Saturday 11    20H00     Cost: Free