This was announced by Cut2Black, the events company awarded with the three-year contract to run the Johannesburg's Arts Alive Festival.

Dance Umbrella 2, this year’s second edition of the Dance Umbrella festival, takes place from 2 to 9 September at various venues in and around Johannesburg. It heralds the beginnings of a new chapter in its history. Being part of the annual Arts Alive Festival will be an exciting and challenging phase of creating new opportunities for the dance sector in South Africa and beyond.

Dance Umbrella 2 at the 2012 Arts Alive Festival offers eight programmes. These include:

The ever-popular youth programme, Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones will be presented at Uncle Toms in Soweto on Sunday, 2 September from 10:00 and will feature works from community groups, young artists and dance organisations showing their achievements of the past year. Entrance to this programme is free.

Be Still..., choreographed by Shanell Winlock and created for the Forgotten Angle Theatre Company, can be seen at The Market Theatre on Tuesday, 4 September and Wednesday, 5 September at 20:15. As writer Eckhart Tolle states: "Humanity is under great pressure to evolve because it is our only chance of survival as a race. This will affect every aspect of your life and close relationships in particular. Never before have relationships been as problematic and conflict ridden as they are now. As you may continue to pursue the goal of salvation through a relationship, you will be disillusioned again and again. But if you accept that the relationship is here to make you conscious instead of happy, then the relationship will offer you salvation, and you will be aligning yourself with the higher consciousness that wants to be born into this world." The work reflects on relationships and life and is funded by The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.

On Wednesday, 5 September at 18:00, Vincent Sekwati Mantsoe’s new solo-work Skwatta will be presented at the SPACE.COM, The Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein. Based on the idea of what we in South Africa call squatter camps, where anybody and everybody can stay, Skwatta is a work following Mantsoe’s NTU/// which focused on the ‘underprivileged’ settlements usually referred to as 'squatter camps'. The work reflects on the poverty, friendly neighbours and the laughing or smiling acts, which are portrayed in every corner of this man-made hell.

Beauty Tips by Kristin Wilson can be seen on Thursday, 6 September at the Joburg Theatre SPACE.COM at 18:00. There is no denying the significance society places on youth and beauty; invasive and unavoidable adverts dominate public spaces and popular media and people relentlessly pursue the perceived perfection of airbrushed images, putting enormous pressure on themselves to live up to an unrealistic, distorted ideal of 'beauty'. This can lead to self absorption and a fragmented concept of the body and appearance. Dye, lift, tuck, pluck, shave, pad, wax. Vanity alters. Anorexia, bulimia, tanning, botox, plastic surgery, steroids. Vanity kills. Beauty Tips is a multi-media installation piece using projections, dance and animations, conceptualized and choreographed by Kristin Wilson with photography and animation by Rob Mills.

Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance recipient for 2012, Bailey Snyman, created a work called Moffie, which premiered at the National Arts Festival 2012. Dance Umbrella 2 at the 2012 Arts Alive Festival is presenting it on Thursday, 6 September at The Market Theatre at 20:30 for one performance only. This work reflects on being gay in the military, and how for centuries it has been a matter of debate. Only recently has the USA lifted their 'Don’t ask, Don’t tell' policy. In South Africa, although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission went a long way to expose and exorcise some of the atrocities committed in the name of apartheid, very little has been revealed about the adversities faced by gay people under the old regime. Moffie is a story about love, sexuality and violence.

Afternoon of a Foehn version1 by French choreographer Phia Menard is a beautiful rendition of creativity at its best. After rave reviews at the 2012 National Arts Festival, Johannesburg audiences now have the opportunity to discover the work.

What is the life expectancy of a plastic bag? From crude oil polyethylene to the moment it is thrown away? For how long is it actually in use? Not long at all … compared to the length of time it will then stray across the planet, blown and buffeted by the wind. This is where its real life begins …let’s hope there is a strong will to help it. This performance piece uses a simple turbine in order to create a vortex; little plastic bag characters evolve in the air space, responding to the movement of the air, which is in turn, controlled by the protagonist. Performances are on 8 and 9 September at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00. This work is presented in association with the French Institut of South Africa and France/South Africa Season 2012 and 2013.

Dada Masilo’s Swan Lake can be seen at the Dance Factory on 8 September at 18:00 and 9 September at 14:30. This work originally premiered at Dance Umbrella 2010, and followed with a renewed version at the 2010 National Arts Festival. It is a contemporary look at the legendary story of the classical ballet story Swan Lake. Following this short season in Johannesburg, Dada Masilo’s Swan Lake will embark on a six week international tour.

Umqombothu Kabar by Via Katlehong (South Africa) and Lindigo (La Reunion) will be presented at The Market Theatre on 8 September at 21:00 and 9 September at 15:00. The energy of South African dancers, Via Katlehong and the musical madness of the Reunion island group, Lindigo, will give everyone absolute pleasure. Lindigo gives a taste of Maloya power spiced with its Indian/African and Madagascan origins. Maloya music transcends the slaves lament through its rhythms, songs, traditional and modern sounds: it is call to honour their ancestors who made Reunion Island with a Malagasy touch and a marked Indian Ocean colour.

The Apartheid system in South Africa in the 1960s forced black people to move to townships. Situated outside the main cities, these housing areas is where a new culture was born: Pantsula. The Via Katlehong Dance Company, launched in 1992, comes from the Katlehong Township, east of Johannesburg and they have mixed Pantsula and neo-traditional dances like gumboot and Steps creating they own style: Mogaba. This show mixes to strong stories of black history.

Tickets can be booked at Computicket and range between R60 and R100. For tickets at SPACE.COM please book at 0861 670 670 or www.joburgtheatre.com. There are block booking discounts and special discounts for dance organisations and Friends of Dance.

For further information contact Dance Forum 011 492 0709 or href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]. Alternatively click through to www.artslink.co.za/arts.