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AFIA

AFIA is a non profit organisation that produce culture events and performing art to celebrate, acknowledge and strengthen African traditions/cultures and Streetdances from the African Diaspora, and to broaden the culture range of expressions. AFIAs aim is to create plattforms where people can meet, exchange, educate, learn and celebrate.

AFIA is founded by Joanna Holewa Chrona and Theresa Gustavsson, both born and raised in Sweden and currently situated in Malmö/Johannesburg. The NGO has since then grown and now consist of board members and resident artists/ambassadors from both Sweden, South Africa and many more countries. Sibusiso Mthembu, Patricia Mofokeng and David Mokale being three of the artistic ambassadors and board members.

Yebo Yes!

AFIA [SE,ZA] - Yebo Yes! - December 12, 2024 - Kampnagel / Nordwind Festival, Hamburg, Germany - 19:30
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  • Kampnagel / Nordwind Festival, Hamburg, Germany
  • December 12, 2024
  • 19:30

Yebo Yes!

AFIA [SE,ZA] - Yebo Yes! - December 13, 2024 - Kampnagel / Nordwind Festival, Hamburg, Germany - 19:30
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  • Kampnagel / Nordwind Festival, Hamburg, Germany
  • December 13, 2024
  • 19:30

Photo credits: Erik Linghede

Yebo Yes!

“Singing more than one part, telling more than one story, at the same time,
No voice surrenders its individual identity, nor does any one voice steal the show,
There is no front person, no soloist, no leader.”
“When I soften my hearing, something happens.
The many songs coalesce to make one song that doesn’t exist in any of the one voices alone.
It is an emergent song that I can’t find by unravelling the music into its separate strand!”
– “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake

Fast-paced sequences, rhythmic movements, and precise group choreographies characterise the South African dance isiPantsula, which is simultaneously marked by virtuosity and a spirit of
resistance. The subculture Pantsula emerged in the Sophiatown district of Johannesburg during the violent expulsion of Blacks during Apartheid. It became a shared expression and identity that unified the 11 ethnic groups of the country. The dance style isiPantsula evolved from traditional dances and theatrical gestures of daily life and was used as a means of communication during demonstrations.

YEBO YES! is a full lenght dance performance starring artistic leaders Joanna Holewa Chrona and Theresa Gustavsson from Sweden together with co-creating dancers and pantsula choreographers Sibusiso Mthembu, Patricia Gugu Mofokeng and David Mokale from South Africa.

The dancers blend isiPantsula with freestyle and club culture emphasizing character, individual expression, playfulness, unity and drive in an homage to the expressive power of this dance – an electrifying group dynamic and a strong community that never seems to end.

Premiere: 12 November 2021, Dansens Hus, Stockholm

Credits
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Artistic leaders: Joanna Holewa Chrona and Theresa Gustavsson
IsiPantsula choreographer: Sibusiso Mthembu
Co-creating Dancers: Sibusiso Mthembu, Patricia Gugu Mofokeng, David Mokale,
Joanna Holewa Chrona, Theresa Gustavsson
Music: Yared Tilahun Cederlund
Vocals: Ntsika Fana Ngxanga
Costume: Victoria Denise Tcha
Light: Erik Wiedersheim-Paul
Producer: AFIA
Co-producer: Norrlandsoperan, Dansnät Sverige, Dansens Hus, Nordberg Movement
Distribution: Nordberg Movement

With support from: Konstnärsnämnden, Vusi Art project, Riksteatern, Kulturrådet

Duration: 60 min