THIS year’s virtual Arts Alive festival kicked off on Sunday with Jazz On The Lake, which saw artists Shekhinah, Ami Faku and Zoe Modiga, Andile Yenana, Thandi Ntuli, Blaq Diamond and Mandisi Dyantyis taking the stage.
Joburg City Theatres artistic director Makhaola Ndebele said planning the virtual festival was interesting. He told Daily Sun: “We were limited a lot in the making of this year’s festival. There’s a lot of restrictions and we had to respect that, but that also helped us, because we challenged ourselves to do good. When we recorded the programmes on the line-up, we made sure they would live beyond the moment, so that even after months or years, people would still feel like they’re watching it live.”
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Makhaola said more was coming from the festival and people would be allowed to go and watch. “There will be community workshops, poetry, theatre plays, dance and more music. Jazz On The Lake was just the beginning. And we’re excited we will allow 50 people to watch, especially theatre shows.”
The line-up includes the Urban Clash Comedy this Saturday, the South African Legends Concert with pianist Nduduzo Makhathini and dancer Kitty Phetla on 2 and 11 October, and the annual South African Hip Hop Awards on 26 November. The festival will continue until 12 December and programmes can be watched on the Joburg Arts Alive Facebook page and YouTube page.
