[full]The catwalk will meet the stage in a new production by Vuyani Dance Theatre in collaboration with South African fashion label Black Coffee. Full Moon is a contemporary African dance show celebrating Vuyani’s 15th anniversary this year.
”We’re putting on a lavish contemporary dance production on a scale seldom seen on Johannesburg stages,” says Gregory Magoma, award-winning dancer, choreographer and founder of the company. “The show will represent the aesthetic of the company and will explore the African landscape and the different ways we deal with space, time and our universe.”
Magoma says his show is intended to evoke emotions and stimulate the senses, so a collaboration with the conceptual style of Jacques van der Watt of Black Coffee seemed a great match. “Jacques is a phenomenally creative mind who uses his designs to extend the themes of my work. He is a multi-dimensional thinker who speaks to notions of form, ecology and beauty. Full Moon will tap into environmental issues and will also touch on notions of the divine.”
For their fifth production together, Van der Watt is aiming high with the costumes.
The clothes are integral to the story, says Magoma.
“We work well together – his dance is vibrant, modern and edgy. The costumes set the mood for the production,” says Van der Watt. ”They’re designed specifically for movement and flexibility. They become part of the landscape of the narrative.”
Magoma met the designer at a fashion show more than a decade ago. “I was taken by Jacques’ versatility and his bold designs. Like me, he isn’t afraid to push the envelope. We both defy rules to create our own forms and aesthetics while remaining current and unique,” says Magoma.
Costume design is not new to Van der Watt. ”It’s my little secret that I started in productions,” he says. ”Nobody knows that my first job was at Egoli – doing wardrobe. I worked on more than 100 episodes. It gave me a very broad learning curve in terms of different kinds of clothes, but, as anyone who’s worked in television before will understand, it nearly killed me.”
Full Moon premieres at the Joburg Theatre on April 30[/full]