About Us

The Sustaining Theatre and Dance (STAND) Foundation is an independent, non-profit and public benefit entity created by individuals within the sector to nurture, promote and celebrate contemporary South African dance and theatre.

STAND Foundation

Frequently asked questions

01.

Why is the STAND Foundation necessary?

The COVID-19 lockdown emphasised the marginalisation of the arts generally and theatre and dance in particular. Even without COVID-19 restrictions, dance and theatre – more than most other art forms – will need support. STAND is an initiative from within the sector to sustain and grow contemporary dance and theatre while it will advocate for more effective public funding of the sector.

02.

What does the STAND Foundation aim to do?

While there is a great need for relief funding during this period that has severely limited income streams, STAND aims to provide opportunities for those who make their livelihoods within the dance and theatre sector to continue to practice their craft and earn income.

03.

Who will be served by STAND?

The whole value chain within the dance and theatre ecosystems will be served (education, creation, production, distribution, consumption, archiving). This includes creative practitioners (actors, dancers, directors, writers, choreographers, designers, etc), administrators, educators, technical crew, publicists, archivists, researchers and the like.

04.

What are some of the projects that STAND Foundation has supported?

Some of STAND’s initial projects include choreographic mentorships, writing and acting opportunities, developing a vision for dance and theatre for advocacy purposes, providing opportunities for upskilling, financial and mental wellness projects and nurturing female stand-up comics.

05.

How will STAND be funded?

STAND’s initial funds have come from individual patrons within the sector, or supporters of the sector who have pledged R10 000.00; this has been supplemented by funding from Business and Arts South Africa as well as funding from international agencies. STAND’s funding of projects will be secured through an ambitious crowdfunding programme.

06.

Who runs the STAND Foundation?

STAND is coordinated by a Steering Committee comprising Gregory Maqoma (Chairperson), Yvette Hardie (Deputy Chairperson), Musa Hlatshwayo, Saartjie Botha, Ismail Mahomed, Mike van Graan, Jean Meiring, Lakin Morgan-Baaitjies, Mxolisi Masilela and Lesego van Niekerk.

07.

How to get in touch with the STAND Foundation?

To contact STAND, send an email to tammy@standfoundation.org.za

Meet Our Team

Greg Maqoma

Gregory Maqoma started his formal dance training in 1990 at Moving Into Dance where in 2002 he became the Associate Artistic Director. Maqoma has established himself as an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher and director. He founded Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT) in 1999. He received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance in 2002. In 2017 Maqoma was honoured by the French Government with the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Arts & Literature) Award. In 2020 Maqoma was honoured by the International Theatre Institute in partnership with UNESCO to be the author of the prestigious International Dance Day Message.

Greg Maqoma

Debbie Turner

Debbie Turner was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Cape Town City Ballet in October 2018.

Debbie is the founding Artistic Director of the Cape Dance Company (established in 1995 and now dormant as a result of her new appointment). The Cape Dance Company’s associated vocational dance school, the Cape Academy of Performing Arts (established in 1985) continues to operate as normal. 

She is an active member of local and international dance communities and is regularly called on to offer her expertise in various capacities in the field.   Recently, she sat on the prestigious panel of judges for the inaugural 2018 season of M-Net’s; Dancing With The Stars SA season produced by Rapid Blue (Pty) Ltd. 

Commencing her dance training in Durban at the age of three with classical ballet, South African-born Debbie went on to study and work with world renowned teachers and choreographers across multiple dance forms with a strong focus on ballet and Spanish dance, including becoming the Latin American Western Province Champion in a short period of time. She also enjoyed a professional performance career in Spanish dance for many years under the direction of Dame Mavis Becker. This varied and rich experience in her early years has largely influenced her teaching methodology, artistic direction and choreographic style. Debbie also has a Bachelor Degree of Music in Dance from the University of Cape Town.

She has won many awards for her choreography including the FNB Vita Award in 1995, and a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival for Cape Dance Company’s Blue in 2014, followed by appearing as the headline dance company on the Main Programme in 2016 to sold out performances. In addition the school received a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival for Bittersweet in 2013, which resulted in the production of Between The Lines in 2014 on the Arena Programme and at the inaugural Cape Town Fringe Festival, both co-directed by Nathalie Vijver, head of Drama at the school.

 Graduates of the Cape Academy of Performing Arts have gone on to illustrious dance careers with global companies and productions, as well as various local and international accolades, including Londiwe Khoza, who was awarded the 2016 - 2018 Rolex International Mentee for Dance under the mentorship of Ohad Naharin and Mthuthuzeli November winner of 2016 Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees (KKNK) Best Newcomer Award. Alice Godfrey, who spent three years in the world-renowned Nederlands Dans Teater 2 company in Den Haag, Holland before being hired in the first company, NDT1, both under the masterful directorship of Paul Lightfoot. 

Debbie is committed to restoring, revitalising and aligning South African dance with the 21st Century global trends of performance through sustainable, multi-pronged approach to performance excellence, diverse repertory relevant to current times, dance education, and professional development of dancers while preserving the traditions of classical ballet and academic dance in general.

Debbie Turner

Ismail Mahomed

ISMAIL MAHOMED is Director of the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Market Theatre Foundation (www.markettheatre.co.za ) and the former Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival (www.nationalartsfestival.co.za ). He is a multi-award winning arts administrator and he serves on the board of several arts organisations in South Africa. He is also a playwright and a regular contributor of editorial opinions in South Africa. He has a particular interest in theatre for social change.

Ismail Mahomed

Yvette Hardie

YVETTE HARDIE is a theatre director, producer, educator and advocate, focusing on theatre and performance for young audiences. She initiated the launch of ASSITEJ SA in 2007, and leads the organisation as National Director. She is currently serving her third term as President of the international ASSITEJ (2011-2021), which networks across over 100 countries.  She was responsible for hosting the 19th ASSITEJ World Congress & Performing Arts Festival, Cradle of Creativity for the first time in Africa, in 2017. She produced the award-winning Colonnades Theatre Lab production, Truth in Translation, which toured widely for several years. For her own company, FreeVoice Productions, she directs and produces productions, which have toured extensively nationally and internationally. She is valued for her work in Arts Education, having written national curricula and textbooks for Dramatic and Creative Arts. She was the Head of the Drama Department at the National School of the Arts, where she taught between 1991 – 2004. She has also taught at the Market theatre Laboratory, AFDA, University of Cape Town and other tertiary institutions. She has an MA in Theatre Practice from Tshwane University of Technology. She has written and spoken extensively on issues relating to arts for young audiences, arts education and arts for reconciliation and conflict resolution around the globe. She was awarded the Mickey Miner Award for Lifetime Achievement from IPAY (International Performing Arts for Youth), based in Philadelphia, USA, for her contribution to theatre for young audiences locally and globally.

Yvette Hardie

Mike van Graan

Mike van Graan is an independent arts and culture consultant.  He is currently contracted by the Festival Academy based in Brussels to help develop and facilitate the Academy’s programmes.  His interest in cultural policy and in building artists’ networks has had him play leadership roles in a variety of national, African and international organisations.  He is also an award-winning playwright with 35 plays under his belt.  

His most recent play, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Metaphors, (about the Sustainable Development Goals) has been published by Junkets Publishers and is a prescribed text for learners at IEB schools from 2021.

He is the 2018 recipient of the Hiroshima Prize for Peace and Culture and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Pretoria in recognition of his body of work both as a playwright, and as a cultural activist.

For more information, see www.mikevangraan.co.za

Mike van Graan

Saartjie Botha

Saartjie Botha is the award-winning playwright of, among other, Altyd Jonker and Balbesit. Her most recent play, Toutjies & Ferreira, won four kykNET Fiësta Awards. As a producer, she has been involved with more than 50 productions. She has also written for television and film, including the screenplay for Poppie Nongena with Christiaan Olwagen. Botha was appointed as Director of the Stellenbosch University Woordfees and the WOW (Words Open Worlds) Project in 2014. 

Originally started as an all-night poetry festival in 1999, the Toyota SU Woordfees has grown into one of South Africa’s biggest arts and culture festivals. The Woordfees festival programme consists of some 500 distinct productions in drama, poetry, classical and contemporary music, dance, musical theatre, children’s theatre, discourse, books and authors, and visual arts. The festival programme also includes a collaboration with the WOW Project which brings learners and teachers from previously disadvantaged schools in the region to the festival for workshops, extended learning opportunities and the attendance of theatre and music performances.

Saartjie Botha

Musa Hlatshwayo​

Musa Hlatshwayo was born and raised in Maphumulo; a rural area not far from King Shaka ’s grave in KwaDukuza. He is a performing artist, choreographer and creative/artistic director of his own company; Mhayise Productions. Some of his major achievements include the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance for the year 2018, an honorary Award ‘The Eric Shabala Dance Champion Award’ by the CCA and Jomba in recognition of his contribution to the development of dance in KZN, KZN Dancelink’s Choreographer of the Year in 3 consecutive years, and extensive tours in Africa, Europe and America. Musa holds a BA Honours in Performance Studies (UKZN), an undergraduate certificate in Contemporary Dance and Choreography from the Copenhagen School of Modern Dance and a post-graduate certificate in Dance in Education from UKZN. His work is studied in various tertiary education and training institutions where he continues to appear as a guest lecturer, exam moderator and creative researcher. 

Musa’s speciality is in researching creating, staging and producing cutting -edge and socially-conscious contemporary dance theatre and environmentally friendly multidisciplinary site-specific work. He also facilitates engaging creative workshops in arts festivals, schools and alternative or creative learning spaces where he fuses Afrocentric (conventional and non-conventional) approaches to performative contemporary and cultural and artistic expression that sees voice and body as one.

Musa Hlatshwayo​

Lesego van Niekerk

Lesego van Niekerk is an award-winning dancer who serves as the Interim Chairperson of the nascent South African Dance Alliance.  She is also a member of the National Steering Committee of the Theatre and Dance Alliance (TADA).

Lesego van Niekerk

Tammy Ballantyne

Tammy Ballantyne holds an MA (Drama) from Rhodes University (1998) with a specialist focus on dance and choreography. After a few years of teaching in the UK, she landed up in Cape Town where she worked as a publicist at ARTSCAPE. She was the National Coordinator for the country’s leading activist group, the Performing Arts Network of SA (PANSA) for five years (from 2001 – 2006). Her areas of expertise lie in research, writing, editing and teaching. She is an experienced public speaker, having spent many years in theatre and performance, and has worked with the likes of Adrienne Sichel (veteran theatre and dance journalist), Mike van Graan (writer and arts activist) and Sylvia ‘Magogo’ Glasser (founder of Moving Into Dance), among others, on notable book projects, writing and training programmes and festivals. She has been involved with Moving Into Dance for many years and has written for and mentored young writers for the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Festival as well as Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative’s “My Body My Space” Public Arts Festival and the Arts and Culture Trust’s inaugural Warrior Wall project in 2021.

Tammy Ballantyne

Uvile Memory Samkelisiwe Ximba

Uvile Memory Samkelisiwe Ximba is a creative practitioner, a theatre maker, author, and vocal artist. She holds an Honours degree in Politics and International Relations and Dramatic Arts. Her thesis was on creative approaches as dialogue for LGBTQIA+ Intimate Partner Violence. In 2020, her debut novel, “Dreaming In Colour”, was published by Modjaji Books, telling the story of Langa, a young woman navigating relationships, self, and memory. It is Langa’s story of coming out to herself, of discerning the history behind the closed door of conscious memory. The novel has been longlisted for the 2022 Sunday Times Literary Award for Fiction. It is

scheduled for US publication in March 2023. Her short story, “A Ndumbe Meeting”, is forthcoming in the Afritondo Short Story Prize 2022 anthology, “Rain Dance”. Tsibinki_ is a digital platform that Uvile founded and runs, sharing opportunities for African creatives on the continent and across the diaspora. She prioritises interdisciplinary praxis and continues to seek and discover her spirituality in her work.

Uvile Memory Samkelisiwe Ximba
SUSTAINING THEATRE AND DANCE (STAND) FOUNDATION

CHARTER ON AIMS, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

AIMS: What we seek to achieve (and how we will go about doing it)

VALUES: Standards of behaviour we deem important for ourselves, and in relation to others

PRINCIPLES: Beliefs that will guide our external actions and relationships

STAND • An independent, not-for-profit entity committed to nurturing, promoting and celebrating contemporary South African dance and theatre. 

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