The JOMBA! Masihambisane Dialogues is a pioneering online colloquium and evolving digital archive that centres contemporary dance scholarship rooted in Africa and the Global South. Launched in 2021 by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Dialogues emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a global rethinking of how artists and scholars gather, share, and sustain conversations. What began as a necessary digital adaptation has grown into one of the continent’s most dynamic spaces for critical engagement, accessible scholarship, and decolonial knowledge-making in dance.

The isiZulu word Masihambisane means “let us walk together”—a guiding philosophy that defines the project’s collaborative and inclusive spirit. At its core, the initiative is a space where choreographers, dancers, scholars, cultural practitioners, and students from across Africa and the diaspora come together to explore pressing ideas around embodiment, memory, identity, tradition, disability, politics, and the evolving nature of contemporary performance.

Each annual issue brings together a curated selection of peer-reviewed academic papers, video lectures, creative essays, panel discussions, artist reflections, interviews, and archival media. These contributions not only document diverse dance practices but also provide critical insight into how movement operates as a language of resistance, care, culture, and transformation.

The Masihambisane Dialogues continue to grow as an open-access resource that supports the development of Southern-based dance knowledge. It offers an alternative to traditional academic gatekeeping, opening space for voices that have historically been excluded from dominant discourses in performance studies.

As an extension of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, the Masihambisane Dialogues affirm dance as more than just performance—it is a vital tool for research, community building, and imagining new futures rooted in dignity, creativity, and shared humanity.