HATCHED ENSEMBLE

Ten dancers balance on pointe shoes with their backs to the audience, while Camille Saint-Saëns’ famous melody “The Swan” plays. With their faces still hidden, the dancers display small, handcrafted ironwork sculptures. This choreography, captivating from the very first second, was created by South African artist Mamela Nyamza, who demystifies and deconstructs the history of dance. Back in 2007, Mamela Nyamza reflected on her personal biography as a Black lesbian mother and artist in her highly praised solo HATCHED. Now in collaboration with ten ballet dancers, an opera singer, and a live musician, she is pushing with HATCHED ENSEMBLE her confrontation of identity and belonging, (gender) norms and tradition a step further. Together they juxtapose the movement vocabularies of diverse cultures, challenge stereotypes and reflect on their own senses of belonging. Minor gestures and major sensitivity merge into a poetic and emotional universe of new dance history.

Mamela Nyamza is a dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. She completed her training in classical dance in Cape Town and Pretoria. In her choreographic works, she addresses social grievances as well as the personal social challenges she is confronted with. She has become a prominent voice within the contemporary art scene in South Africa and beyond. In addition, Mamela Nyamza is actively involved in promoting talent within the South African dance scene and advocates for the rights and recognition of marginalized artists in particular.