HIS stage presence leaves many people in tears and with his latest dance piece, Umnikelo, Luyanda Sidiya is guest choreographer at this year's Baxter Dance Festival.
"Umnikelo, which means offering, is about sharing the knowledge that I have gained over the years and it is also about giving thanks to God," the dancer and choreographer says.
It was just over seven years ago that Sidiya was part of the Fringe programme for beginners at this annual dance festival.
The Baxter Dance Festival is in its eighth year and is a showcase for dance styles ranging from contemporary dance to hip-hop and tango. It also contains multimedia pieces incorporating physical theatre.
"This year we had more than 80 entries to look at and we chose 53 dancers. The majority of them are from Western Cape," festival organiser Nicolette Moses says.
The programme is divided into three classifications: Fringe for beginner dancers; off main for semi-skilled dance troupes and main stage for established performers.
Sidiya recalls his journey as an aspirant dancer at the drama group at Sizananani Comprehensive School in Sebokeng Zone 13, Vaal, Gauteng.
Born in Lady Frere in Eastern Cape, Sidiya says his family moved to the Vaal when he was young.
"When there were challenges at home I would turn to dance for love and comfort," he says.
After matriculating from Sizananani his dreams of pursuing dance were put on hold while he studied boiler making.
"I hated the course and did it to please my father, but I never gave up on my dancing, which I did on weekends at the Dance Factory in Newtown in Johannesburg," he says.
After completing his course working as a full-time boiler maker, Sidiya says he couldn't bear the misery of his job and quit within months.
The 31-year-old dancer then enrolled to study dance for two years at Moving Into Dance (MID) in 2000.
"This was the highlight of my career as a dancer because I progressed from dance student to rehearsal director to assistant manager," Sidiya says.
It is through MID that he got to perform for the first time at the Baxter Dance Festival.
While studying, Sidiya met the well-known dancer, Gregory Maqoma, who was three years his senior and a prominent figure at the dance school.
Sidiya left MID after working there for more than five years. He went to the US to teach dancing at Bennington College in Vermont. He later moved to the UK where he also taught dance for three years.
After teaching and studying abroad, prolific coach and choreographer Maqoma offered him an artistic assistant job in his Vuyani Dance Company.
The two have danced and choreographed a number of dances together, including Mayhem, which was shown at this year's Grahamstown Festival.
The pair will be performing their two pieces tonight under the title Mayhem, with Sidiya performing Umnikelo and Maqoma performing a self-titled piece.
"It was after our performances at the festival that we were offered an opportunity to be guests of the festival" Sidiya says.
Among the guest line-up are three other prestigious choreographers, which include Ananda Fuchs' commissioned work titled Fragile Falling and New York based Bradley Shelver, who is best known at the Alvin Ailey dance group.
The Baxter Dance Festival will start today and will run until 13 October in Rondebosch in Cape Town.
Umnikelo at Baxter
HIS stage presence leaves many people in tears and with his latest dance piece, Umnikelo, Luyanda Sidiya is guest choreographer at this year's Baxter Dance Festival.
"Umnikelo, which means offering, is about sharing the knowledge that I have gained over the years and it is also about giving thanks to God," the dancer and choreographer says.
It was just over seven years ago that Sidiya was part of the Fringe programme for beginners at this annual dance festival.
The Baxter Dance Festival is in its eighth year and is a showcase for dance styles ranging from contemporary dance to hip-hop and tango. It also contains multimedia pieces incorporating physical theatre.
"This year we had more than 80 entries to look at and we chose 53 dancers. The majority of them are from Western Cape," festival organiser Nicolette Moses says.
The programme is divided into three classifications: Fringe for beginner dancers; off main for semi-skilled dance troupes and main stage for established performers.
Sidiya recalls his journey as an aspirant dancer at the drama group at Sizananani Comprehensive School in Sebokeng Zone 13, Vaal, Gauteng.
Born in Lady Frere in Eastern Cape, Sidiya says his family moved to the Vaal when he was young.
"When there were challenges at home I would turn to dance for love and comfort," he says.
After matriculating from Sizananani his dreams of pursuing dance were put on hold while he studied boiler making.
"I hated the course and did it to please my father, but I never gave up on my dancing, which I did on weekends at the Dance Factory in Newtown in Johannesburg," he says.
After completing his course working as a full-time boiler maker, Sidiya says he couldn't bear the misery of his job and quit within months.
The 31-year-old dancer then enrolled to study dance for two years at Moving Into Dance (MID) in 2000.
"This was the highlight of my career as a dancer because I progressed from dance student to rehearsal director to assistant manager," Sidiya says.
It is through MID that he got to perform for the first time at the Baxter Dance Festival.
While studying, Sidiya met the well-known dancer, Gregory Maqoma, who was three years his senior and a prominent figure at the dance school.
Sidiya left MID after working there for more than five years. He went to the US to teach dancing at Bennington College in Vermont. He later moved to the UK where he also taught dance for three years.
After teaching and studying abroad, prolific coach and choreographer Maqoma offered him an artistic assistant job in his Vuyani Dance Company.
The two have danced and choreographed a number of dances together, including Mayhem, which was shown at this year's Grahamstown Festival.
The pair will be performing their two pieces tonight under the title Mayhem, with Sidiya performing Umnikelo and Maqoma performing a self-titled piece.
"It was after our performances at the festival that we were offered an opportunity to be guests of the festival" Sidiya says.
Among the guest line-up are three other prestigious choreographers, which include Ananda Fuchs' commissioned work titled Fragile Falling and New York based Bradley Shelver, who is best known at the Alvin Ailey dance group.
The Baxter Dance Festival will start today and will run until 13 October in Rondebosch in Cape Town.
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