Projects that are part of the festival include Dance Forum featuring NAC panellist Mamela Nyamza; the Vuyani Dance Group showcasing Luyanda Sidiya; Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM); the Cape Town City Dance Ballet and the Jungle Theatre Company.

Dance Forum will be staging the world premiere of The Last Attitude, choreographed by and featuring Nyamza together with Nelisiwe Xaba. This dynamic duo met in 1997 in the studios of the PACT Dance Company when Nyamza had just graduated from the then Pretoria Technikon and Xaba had returned from London after spending a year at the Ballet Rambert. They are delighted to be doing a ballet together again and premiering it at the National Arts Festival before taking it to the Zürcher Theater Spektakel Arts Festival in Zurich in August.

“The origins of classical ballet can be traced back to the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th and 16th centuries; since then many shifts have occurred with various techniques being the focus at certain periods,” says Nyamza. “Tackling this classical genre of dance, born out of elitism, is not an easy feat.”

Nyamza and Xaba are both fascinated by the sense of abundance and exaggeration of the art form – the dancers, the costumes, the orchestra and the scenography. The Last Attitude will examine the politics of this ancient art form: including the male posture and the relationship between the male principal dancer and the ballerina.

Grahamstown audiences will also have the opportunity to see Vuyani Dance Theatre choreographer Luyanda Sidiya’s new work Siva at the National Arts Festival, which will be followed by a season at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre in August.

Says Sidiya: “Siva is inspired by the number seven which recurs in the scientific, geographic and theological worlds and speaks to things I’ve been questioning in my life. It interrogates the completeness and wholeness that one yearns for. It’s an ensemble work with live music.”

MIDM will showcase Man-Longing, which raises awareness around the dark world of human trafficking through dance and poetry while Cape Town City Ballet will celebrate its 20th anniversary with two works by John Neumeier – Spring and Fall and Le Sacre.

The National Arts Festival takes place from Thursday, 2 to Saturday, 11 July.

For more information, visit www.nationalartsfestival.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.