Boyzie Cekwana is one of many black male dancers and choreographers that is currently receiving widespread support and recognition for his contribution to the field of contemporary dance in South Africa. Why certain images of the dancing body - as presented by this individual dance practitioner - are currently being promoted as artistically more viable than others by dance critics and the media is the central concern of this thesis. An analysis of the dancing body in contemporary South Africa must take into account the current post-apartheid condition, a condition of transformation and reconstruction that allows people greater freedom to select the country's leaders, popularize its heroes and heroines, market and capitalize on images and icons of a New South Africa. By opting to look specifically at a black male dancer, social appreciations of the body in terms of ethnicity and gender can be challenged. This latter area of research - the role of gender in the production, presentation and appreciation of the dancing body - is largely unchallenged in South Africa. Yet, if South African's want to truly rid themselves of the shackles of hegemonic rule, gender-construction is an area of social experience that needs intensive confrontation. Chapter one will suggest some of the obstacles that might limit the South African dance researcher seeking an indepth analysis of the black dancing body, taking into consideration the country's history of elitist and autonomous rule. Attention will be drawn to multidisciplinary sites of information that might assist the researcher in such an excavation. The context of the research, however, is less interested in historical descriptions of the dancing body than with current motivating factors behind the preferential promotion of certain images over others in contemporary dance. Personal interviews and observations will therefore also provide crucial resource material. In chapter two, a case study of Boyzie Cekwana will be made looking at his personal background and the way in which it may have informed his contemporary experiences as a black male dancer and choreographer. The underlying belief of such a case-study approach is that "it carries implications about the extents to which the resulting analysis is applicable to other similar cases" ¹. This individual analysis includes information gathered from persona1 interviews with Cekwana; the author's own observations and experiences of Cekwana' s work at the Vita FNB Dance Umbrella, the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, and the Durban Playhouse Theatre; and analyses of articles on Cekwana by journalists, and performance reviews by dance and theatre critics such as Adrienne Sichel (The Star Tonight!), Tommy Ballantyne (The Natal Sunday Tribune) and David Coleman (The Mercury). Further examinations in chapter three and four will assess to what degree Cekwana re-presents culture-specific images of gender-modelling in his own performing body and the bodies of his multi-racial and multi-gendered dancers in selected dances. To prevent placing sole responsibility at Cekwana' s feet for the representation of the dancing body to a society in transformation, the role of dance critics and mass mediators in this process of artistic communication will also be dealt with. It is hoped that the ensuing discussion will suggest the possible effects that present frameworks of aesthetic appreciation may hold for choreographers and dancers in the country's future cultural development; this involves confronting a still controversial issue in South Africa the relationship between dance and politics, choreographer and social responsibility. The thesis will round-off very briefly with suggestions to dance practitioners and educators in South Africa of alternative ways of perceiving and appreciating the dancing body based on gender, and· not just racial, constructions; this is especially invaluable in the light of current efforts to include dance as a core-curriculum subject in all schools.

This thesis examines the principles and policies underlying the need for transformation within the Playhouse Dance Company (PDC) in Durban and the actualities of implementing these visions and procedures. It is proposed that artistic structures, ideals and processes cannot remain impervious to the climate of change. Alterations in the political arena demand radical permutations within arts councils and their concept of repertoire, educational programmes and training. Transformation is linked to the problem of identity and it is suggested that the company is in the midst of a journey towards "becoming" rather than "being". Chapter One comprises an overview of changing trends in the arts globally and the impact on South Mrican art forms and processes. There is also an examination of the past, the establishment of arts councils and the colonial heritage of the dance companies within these councils. The formative years of the NAP AC Dance Company and the strategies formulated by former artistic directors have, it is suggested, hampered the transformation process. Chapter Two focuses on the PDC's endeavours to transform between the years 1993 and 1997. Lack of funding, conservative public tastes and training processes are. all' issues confronting management, choreographers, educators and performers in attempting to provide a clear direction towards transformation. The company walk a tightrope as they struggle to balance the heritage of their artistic past while giving birth to a new heritage for the future. Chapter Three discusses two areas that reveal measurable attempts at transformation. Hawkins offers re-inventions of the classics which encourages innovation, and Siwela Sonke was conceived to draw on dance forms located in Kwazulu-Natal in the search for a South Mrican dance aesthetic. Chapter Four investigates whether transformative visions are becoming a reality and suggests how the company could extend the process further. This chapter concludes with .. ideas about the nature of culture and how this informs,the exercise of transformation. This thesis proposes that transformation within the PDC is occurring even though it has its shortcomings. The main thrust of the research is to investigate, identifY and document factors that are contributing to current dance trends in Durban.

This mini-thesis is situated in the discourse on patriarchy, nationhood and its artistic forms. It is argued that an uncritical pursuit of commonality as a political aesthetic strategy for dance in South Africa repeats the metaphysical foundationalism of this discourse. It is further suggested that a postmodern ethos subverts this heritage, while at the same time offering a viable alternative for accommodating and representing the cultural diversity and plurality characteristic of current theatre dance in South Africa. Chapter One examines the way dance has historically structured its patriarchal form the postmodern discourses Chapter Two as a site and practice through explores the potential of deconstruction and destabilisation of this dance heritage. This chapter also assesses the relevance of a postmodern alternative in a South African dance context. Chapter Three analyses the postmodern choreographic strategies of two South African choreographers, Gary Gordon and Robyn Orlin, in order to reveal how their dance vision to patriarchal aesthetic form and offers an uncritical alternative notions of commonality. In conclusion, it is argued postmodern ethos embodied in the work that the of these choreographers provides viable directions for formulating and articulating new dance directions for theatre dance in South Africa while, at the same time, bearing witness to the diversity that will always structure expressions of commonality in South African dance.

Pantsula dance is a performing art born from the townships of Johannesburg. It is a dance form performed across South Africa, in a variety of contexts; in theatres, music videos and competitions in community halls, on national and international stages and on television, and in the streets of townships, cities and suburbs across South Africa and abroad. Its performance is widespread, but it has its beginnings as a dance form born in areas created to marginalise and oppress. There is a scarcity of academic scholarship related to pantsula dance. This thesis aims to be a contribution to that pre-existing body of knowledge in the hope that there can be further engagement on this important, and increasingly mainstream, art form. I have focused my thesis on analysing pantsula dance as a performance of 'the township'. This has been attempted through an ethnographic engagement with pantsula dancers based in different township areas of Johannesburg and Graha mstown: various members of Impilo Mapantsula, Via Katlehong, Intellectuals Pantsula, Via Kasi Movers, Dlala Majimboz and the cast of Via Katlehong's Via Sophiatown. The research was conducted between 2013 and 2016 and serves to represent various moments within the ethnographic research process, while coming to understand various aspects of pantsula dance. An engagement with notions of 'the township', the clothing choices of the pantsula 'uniform', the core moves, inherent hybridity in the form itself, and the dedication to the dance form as a representation of the isipantsula 'way of life', are addressed throughout the thesis. As well as engaging with the memory and representation of Sophiatown as an important component to pantsula dance. Pantsula dance, an intrinsically South African dance form, provides a celebratory conception of 'the township' space and allows people from different backgrounds to engage in an important part of South Africa's past, present and future.

In the years following the fall of Apartheid in South Africa, dance and choreography have undergone considerable transformation. This investigation stems from one observation relative to this change that has been articulated by two of South Africa's most respected dance critics, Adrienne Sichel and Matthew Krouse. Both critics have noted a growing concern for narrative in South African contemporary choreography, coupled with an apparent propensity for narratives of a distinctly personal and 'autobiographical' nature. In Part One: 'Just after the beginning', the proposed preoccupation with narrative in South African contemporary choreography is discussed in light of the relationship between narrative and the notion of personal identity. The use of the performed narrative as a medium to explore questions about identity is offered as one explanation underpinning this increased proclivity, where the interrogation of the form of the danced narrative provides a site for exploration of personal identity. Part Two: 'Somewhere in the middle' interrogates the notion of form through an in-depth discussion of the experimentation with form within theatrical and antitheatrical dance traditions over the last fifty years. Specific works by three selected South African choreographers (Ginslov, Maqoma and Sabbagha) are discussed in terms of their general approach to narrative form. This provides an illustration of some of the approaches to narrative form emergent in contemporary South African choreographic practices. Part Three: 'Nearing the end' offers Acty Tang's Chaste (2007) as a case study to illustrate the practical application of the dance narrative as a means to interrogate questions relating to personal identity. A detailed analysis of Tang's particular approach to forming the narrative of Chaste is conducted, exposing the intertextual, multimedia and multidisciplinary approach to creating the danced narrative.

Queer Transgressions: The choreographing of a male homosexual presence with reference to selected choreographers explores queer identity and in particular representations of a male homosexual presence in dance. Within the methodological framework of dance studies and queer theory I explore the ―self fashioning‖ of my male homosexual presence in dance. This is achieved by critically deconstructing my choreographic process when making choreography. Therefore this thesis is informed by both academic research and my self-reflexive experience of choreography and dance performance. The deconstruction of my autobiography and choreographic process is discussed with reference to both international and South African queer choreographers. This means that by accounting for my own experiences and approaches toward representing a male homosexual presence in dance, I explore the history and engagements of other queer choreographers also creating such representations. I therefore examine the works of selected choreographers and chart the development of the representation of a male homosexual presence in dance. By exploring the choreographic process of other queer choreographers I identify choreographic tactics that queer choreographers are using when making work. From this point of departure I shift the focus away from international queer choreographers and provide insight into the choreographic processes of South African queer choreographers. By accounting for the works and choreographic processes of South African choreographers, I provide a context in which my choreographic explorations on the subject matter can take place. This choreographic exploration manifests itself through a self-reflexive/autobiographic account on the research and practice of my choreographic process. During my choreographic exploration I set the challenge to both engage with and explore further, established ―queering tactics. This is done with the intention to reveal and create representations of a male homosexual presence in dance.

This thesis spans two fields – South African dance and the philosophy of humour – and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe how choreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the ‘New’ South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attention. Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour’s more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical ‘thinking in action’. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capacities of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba’s Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.

This thesis spans two fields - South African dance and the philosophy of humour - and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe howchoreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the 'New' South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attenfion. In Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour's more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical 'thinking in action'. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capaci~ies of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba's Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.

Using a framework of feminism and poststructuralism, this thesis aims to interrogate the utilisation of the body as a contested site of struggle for meaning in contemporary theatre dance in South Africa. "Both feminism, as a politics, and dance, as a cultural practice, share a concern for the body" (Brown, 1983: 198). A feminist analysis of dance can offer a tool to interrogate the dominant discourses of gender and race that surround and permeate both the female and male body in contemporary theatre dance. The body is not a neutral site onto which cultural codes and conventions are inscribed, as the dancer's body is always marked in the physical sense of gender and race. This thesis aims to decode the body and examine how the discourses of gender and race are embodied by the moving body on stage - specifically in the South African (KwaZulu-Natal) context. By a feminist appropriation of the poststructural endeavour, this research will look at how the body, as discourse, can be interrogated to examine how the interconnected discourses of gender and race surround and permeate the moving body. The utilisation of a poststructural paradigm will aid in the examination of how the dominant discourses of gender and race are hegemonically imposed onto the body. Poststructuralism also offers an understanding that there exist counter-discourses that have the ability to resist the dominant discourses of gender and race. This notion becomes important to the study of contemporary theatre dance as an art form. This thesis will examine how South African (Durban-based) contemporary theatre dance choreographers explore the body's potential to be subversive in performance. The thesis will focus on the body's ability to interrogate the discourses that operate in its surroundings and permeate its lived reality. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

This thesis is structured around an exploration of the global phenomenon hip-hop. It considers how its far-reaching effects, as a cultural export from the United States,have influenced cultural production in South Africa. The investigation focuses specifically on the work of two visual artists: Zimbabwean born, Johannesburg-based Kudzanai Chiurai, and Cape Town born, Berlin-based Robin Rhode. The introduction familiarises the reader with the two artists and briefly outlines their histories and methods, as well as giving a short history of the development of hip-hop as a subculture from its beginnings in 1970s New York. The first chapter follows this brief introduction to outline some of the parallels, especially concerning race relations, between 1970s America and post-apartheid contemporary South Africa. This comparison aims to highlight similarities that gave rise to the hip-hop phenomenon and which also place South Africa in a prime position to welcome such influences. The second half of the chapter explores how migration theory and issues of diaspora have not only influenced the development of hip-hop, but have also become points of focus for both artists, who are in fact disporans themselves. The second chapter explores ‘ground level’ concerns of everyday life in the city. Issues of crime,gangsterism, politics and activism are characterised as focal elements of Chiurai’s and Rhode’s artwork and also of hip-hop musical content. Inner city contexts in different parts of the globe are compared through a discussion of the art and music that come out of them. This comparison of the philosophical and conceptual content of the art and music is extended, in Chapter three, into a comparison of methods of production, considering how these influence various readings of the artistic output, whether musical or visual. Ideas of authenticity are discussed and finally the focus shifts to explore how both the conceptual and practical concerns of musicians and artists are being shaped by an increasingly ‘globalized’ world. The conclusion explores the challenges that globalization poses to cultural practitioners and seeks to highlight some of the artists’ methods as examples with which to facilitate the growth of a more inclusive global aesthetic.