Artists & Projects Directory
Boyzie Cekwana/Floating Outfit Project
Soweto born choreographer-dancer Ntsikelelo "Boyzie" Cekwana is known
for creating visceral dance works informed by a seemingly ceaseless interest in
questions of the human condition. This interest is driven by a world view which
Cekwana calls "the Third World prism"- a view
made real by its persistent definition of the world as a boundaried, racialised
and complex puzzle.
In 1997, he formed his own company, Floating Outfit Project,
to break away from the strict forms of traditional African dance and the work
of South African ballet companies. Based in Durban, South Africa,
the company is structured engage in collaborative projects with both artists
and non-artists throughout the world. To date these have included projects with
The Fantastic Flying Fish (Durban, South Africa), La Camionetta (Montpellier,
France), Davis
Freeman-Random Scream (Brussels, Belgium), Eager Artists Theatre Company (Durban, South Africa)
and Gladys Agulhas' ATW (Johannesburg,
South Africa).
Most recently, Cekwana has been collaborating with choreographer Panaibra
Gabriel from Mozambique
on the INKOMATI project, and to develop the South-South Think Tank, a
group working to promote artists and circulate their work within the Southern
Hemisphere.
Recognized
as a leading choreographer of his generation in South
Africa, Cekwana has toured throughout the world and
received prestigious prizes in Africa and Europe, including First Prize for Rona at the Third Platform III of African Contemporary Dance in Madagascar in
1999. His choreography is in the repertoire of companies such as Ballet de
Lorraine, Scottish Dance Theatre, and The Washington Ballet (commissioned with
The Kennedy Center for its celebrated African Odyssey Festival). He is currently working
on the second and third parts of the Influx Controls trilogy, On the
12th Night of Never I will not be held black and Pass!,
which will premiere in 2010 and 2011, respectively.