JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience is once again proud to present its ‘by application’ platform, JOMBA! LIVE OPEN HORIZONS, as part of the 28th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, running from 25 August to 6 September 2026.

The initiative gives both emerging and established choreographers the opportunity to showcase their work in a professional setting, backed by a full technical team. It remains one of the festival’s key strategies for nurturing choreographic talent, offering artists access to high-quality performance spaces. Participants are selected through an application process, reviewed by a panel of expert adjudicators.

For 2026, JOMBA! LIVE OPEN HORIZONS presents a rich and varied programme featuring five shortlisted dance works:

Out of the Closet: Choreographer / Company: Khaya Mbili (Khayankonzo): KZN

The Meeting:
Choreographer / Company: Gabriel YoungStar featuring the International School of Performing Arts (ISPA): KZN

What Happened To The People of Bantu?
Choreographer / Company: Thembani Ngxelo; I M H O 𓋹 E P: Eastern Cape & KZN

Range of Motion:
Choreographer / Company: Iqraam Rahim; Rampage Dance Company: KZN

Ikuphi Lapha??
Choreographer / Company: Lelethu Tshangela:KZN

The 2026 JOMBA! LIVE OPEN HORIZONS jury includes: Clare Craighead (non-voting chair), a Durban-based dance writer and DUT lecturer; Jabu Siphika, a senior FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY member and choreographer; Tammy Ballantyne, a respected Johannesburg-based dance writer and journalist; and Warone Seane, an acclaimed actor and theatre director teaching at UKZN.

One choreographer from the platform will walk away with the Pick of the Platform Award, worth R3 000.00.

For more information, go to www.jomba.ukzn.ac.za or to book, go to Webtickets.

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