Welcome to our 26^th JOMBA! festival and 13 days of incredible dance!

“finding our way home”

Set against a backdrop of both local and global political renegotiations of what it means to be human, to belong, to have a home, and to be a citizen of a country (and of a planet), against an occupied Gaza, a ravaged Ukraine, anti-foreigner right-wing political movements in Europe, a South African Government of National Unity that is so busy maneuvering for power, but who has said very little about unity within or economic freedom without… JOMBA! begins to ask what it means to “find our way home”. As a critical dance festival, we have curated a series of artistic encounters that question ideas of home, belonging and citizenship. We have invited dance works that ask us to relook at home as not just a physical space, but as a metaphoric and poetic space where we are either seeking to return, or to leave. We honour dance makers who will be bringing beauty, humour, pathos and politics to our stages and hearts, to audiences who come back again and again to support this work, and to our partners and funders who consistently ‘show up’ for us and make it all possible.

Our 26th festival features dancers and dance makers from all over South Africa, France, America, India, Japan, and Germany, as we offer dance enthusiasts a treat of 13 days of world-class contemporary dance that will see both local and international dance makers converging on Durban. This 26th edition offers a powerhouse of performances, workshops, panel discussions, and digital screen dance.

Our 26th JOMBA! is honouring artists who, through their work, generate a new sense of belonging that questions who we are at this moment in history. I hope you will join me and the CCA/JOMBA! team as we celebrate this incredible festival packed full of beauty and provocation – but mostly incredible dance!