Design label, Black Coffee team up with Vuyani Dance Theatre for a cosmic affair

The catwalk will meet the stage when Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT) teams up with fashion label Black Coffee for the epic dance work Full Moon, which premieres at the Joburg Theatre on 30 April 2014.
The internationally renowned contemporary dance company, founded by award-winning dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma, celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2014 with a lavish contemporary dance production of a scale seldom seen on Johannesburg stages.


Full Moon was conceived and directed by Maqoma with co-choreographer Luyanda Sidiya, VDT’s artistic director. It will feature 25 dancers, the South African National Youth Orchestra (SANYO), original music composed by Isaac Molelekoa and costumes by Black Coffee, gracing the theatre’s main Mandela stage from 30 April to 11 May 2014.
Maqoma explains that his collaboration with the Black Coffee label, headed by designer Jacques van der Watt, goes back as far as 2003, when he created his first solo work, Miss Thandi. Full Moon will be their fifth production working together.
“I like the boldness in their designs, but also I find their designs to be an extension of the themes of each piece,” he says. “Also, their attention to detail is remarkable and always surprising and challenging conceptually. The marriage of fashion with movement brings something new to the arts.”

Back row Lulu Mlangeni Front row L to R Kalima Mipata, Peter Lenso, Xolisile Bongwana Photo by Marijke Willems by Costume Black Coffee

Van der Watt believes that Black Coffee’s long-standing relationship with Vuyani makes the design process very easy for everyone involved. “We know how far we need it to be pushed visually and we can work together very intuitively because it is very easy to gauge expectations,” he says.
“Before designing the costumes, I like to watch the dancers rehearse. This gives me a very clear vision of the movement and what is needed from the costumes. At times we use very dramatic shapes to create high impact, but some of the choreography calls for almost quiet costumes to allow the bodies to shine and speak for themselves.”

Now that the choreography and concepts are coming together for the final work, Maqoma is already in awe at the textures, colours and ideas that Black Coffee is bringing to the table, tying in with the production’s themes of purity, distortion, hope and loss, dark and light, myth and the unknown.
“Costumes are an integral part of a performance,” explains Maqoma. “They define the character and bring the theme to life, so it is an important element that requires a designer who has a clear understanding of movement and theatre – and I do find that comfort in Black Coffee, as they are always about pushing the envelope.”

Keaoleboga Seodigeng Photo by MarijkeW illems -Costume by Black Coffee

Full Moon is a dance odyssey that is set to take the audience on a stirring, surreal journey from outer space to the landscapes of Earth, drawing on ancestral memories and myths. The production is set against the backdrop of Molelekoa’s original score, performed by the SANYO.


Book for Full Moon through www.joburgtheatre.com, or call 0861 670 670.
For more information, visit www.vuyani.co.za or check out Vuyani Dance Theatre (http://www.facebook.com/VuyaniDanceTheatre) on Facebook or @VuyaniTheatre (https://twitter.com/VuyaniTheatre) on Twitter.