Following the 28th edition of the Centre for Creative Arts’s JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience in Durban, the acclaimed festival expands access to groundbreaking contemporary dance by bringing a selection of the JOMBA! festival’s most celebrated productions to Johannesburg audiences. The carefully curated four-night season celebrates exceptional contemporary dance. Running from 9–12 September 2026, the programme features African and European internationally acclaimed artists and companies alongside two of South Africa’s most influential choreographic voices.
Opening this 4th iteration of JOMBA! @ The Market Theatre is the extraordinary HEROES, presented by the acclaimed Dutch company Introdans in collaboration with Uganda’s Joseph Tebandeke and Durban’s FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY. This remarkable programme spans celebrated choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Iratxe Ansa and Igor Bacovich, including new South African choreography by Zinhle Nzama. The programme also features the inclusive masterpiece IUNGO by Adriaan Luteijn, bringing together performers of different backgrounds, generations and physical abilities in a powerful celebration of humanity, diversity and connection.
The season then honours two previous JOMBA! Legacy Artists whose work has transformed contemporary dance in South Africa and beyond.
Acclaimed choreographer Mamela Nyamza presents her breathtaking ensemble work THE HERD/LESS, a visually arresting meditation on community, conformity, vulnerability and survival. Characterised by Nyamza’s fearless choreographic language and uncompromising social commentary, the work powerfully interrogates belonging and resistance.