The South African performance art and club music phenomena Desire Marea is performing at this years edition of OSLO WORLD FESTIVAL. Three mesmerizing dance performances are also a part of the program: Jazz Ain't Nothing but Soul by Tabanka Dance Ensemble will be presented at Rikscenen, The Answer is Land by Elle Sofe Sara will be presented at Oslo Konserthus, and Via Injabulo by Via Katlehong at Dansens Hus. All artists use dance, choreography and performativity as tools for change.
Together with OSLO WORLD FESTIVAL we invite Desire Marea, Thomas Talawa Prestø (Tabanka Dance Ensemble) og Buru Mohlabane (Via Katlehong) to talk and reflect about their work. The talk will be moderated by stage- and video artist and community organizer Jessica Lauren Elizabeth Taylor.
During the discussion, they will explore the power of dance and performativity as a medium for social expression, the blending of diverse dance styles and cultural influences, and the role of music in inspiring movement. The panelists will share their creative processes and insights into how dance can be a transformative force for both performers and audiences.
Bios:
Desire Marea is an artist who exists in the spaces in between. At the forefront of a generation of South African black queer creatives, Marea has found for themselves a distinct path that filters the outsider melancholy of Nkhane through edgier intersections with performance art, underground club culture and all-round bad assery. The thesis statement of DESIRE is familiar; a focalisation of the nightclub as a sacred space, a church for the disenfranchised, the misfits, the club kids.
Thomas Talawa Prestø is a renowned dance artist and researcher who is dedicated to promoting inclusive and diverse approaches to dance and performance. As the founder and artistic director of Tabanka Dance Ensemble and the creator of the Talawa Technique, a unique and comprehensive approach to African and Caribbean dance, Prestø has made significant contributions to the dance world. He is also a research fellow at Østfold University College and is set to become one of Scandinavia's first Ph.D. candidates to focus on decolonial dance and performance practices. With over 25 years of experience working to make the Norwegian art field more open and inclusive, Prestø continues to inspire and educate dancers around the world.
Buru Isaac Mohlabane is the Creative Artistic Director and Co-Director of the legendary Via Katlehong, which is currently rated amongst the top 5 internationally rated urban dance companies. He was born in 1983 in Katlehong Township in the Eastrand and raised by a single parent mother. From an early age he involved himself in many different activities in his community participating in club soccer and school athletics. In 1996 he joined the company Via Katlehong to learn the dance discipline and began performing in 1997. Soon after his exposure to the possibilities of dance he started to take dance seriously as a career. In 1999 he got an opportunity to perform at the All Africa Games opening and closing ceremonies. He then went on to perform in different cooperate events around South Africa and Europe.
Jessica Lauren Elizabeth Taylor is an artist, filmmaker, writer and community organizer. Her roots are in the Southern United States, born in Mississippi and bred in Florida on former Timucan land. Taylor's work manifests through text, dialogue and video. Her work centers on themes of ritual, social politics and identity mythology of Black and Indigenous folks. She is chiefly concerned with the creation of racial equity in art and theater.
The panel discussion will be in English and will last for approximately 50 minutes.