Phakamisa Dance Commission
This is a National Arts Festival, The Market Theatre and JOMBA! Dance Festival (Centre for Creative Arts) co-production, with contributing funding from Standard Bank South Africa. It is choreographed by Asanda Ruda, 2025 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance and recipient of the 2025 CCA JOMBA! and The Market Theatre Phakamisa Dance Commission. Asanda Ruda is presented as part of a double bill at the Market Theatre Foundation
Titled the Phakamisa Dance Commission – with reference to the isiZulu idea of lifting up and holding – this joint commission is an ongoing commitment to the illustrious JOMBAand The Market Theatre partnership – started in 2023 to grow and support South African dance. As an extension of JOMBA@ The Market, the second instalment of the innovative joint commission will be presented by this year’s recipient, Soweto-born Asanda Ruda.
The two dance pieces taking the stage are:
KEMET – Black Lands: A solo work that traverses generational alienation, political defiance, and personal emancipation. Rooted in Afro-contemporary expression, it navigates the intersections of space, politics, and culture, transforming the body into a vessel of ancestral memory and self-liberation. Ruda’s movement affirms presence in a world that often marginalises difference.
Alkamal Walkamal Almutlaq or Completeness and Absolute Wholeness (ancient Arabic), explores the eternal bond between spirit and soul. It delves into how these elements interconnect to heal and revive. Ethereal Afro-contemporary movement and symbolic rituals invite audiences to contemplate love, health, and balance.
The commission aims to support and make space for innovative and provocative South African dance makers. For one week only, this is a chance for audiences to see the work of one of South Africa’s most exciting dance-makers.