Award-winning singer and songwriter Simphiwe Dana has proven that she is a creative powerhouse with her concept Moya.

She started on her concept Moya last year, developed out of a great need to find acceptance, comfort and solace after losing her mother in 2021. Born in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, Dana is a well-travelled musician who has explored her sound extensively including performing with orchestras. She says the production revaluates her relationship with the creator’s meaning and purpose in her life.

She explains that Moya is about spirituality and a healing relationship with God. The music concept is a fusion of music and movement which will be performed by Vuyani Dancers. In the show she is working with decorated dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma and jazz vocalist Titi Luzipho.

She staged her first show last year at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein and later took it to the South African State Theatre in Pretoria, which was a success. The show returns again next month for a brief season at the Joburg Theatre from March 3 to March 5. Dana says the project is deconstructing the music and going back to the past. 

Please share with us the inspiration behind the concept Moya? 

Moya came out of a great need to find acceptance, comfort and solace after suffering the loss of my mother. Grief is a painfully lonely process that really can’t be shared with others. It requires that you dig deep into yourself and the guides that have shaped who you are to find that which is beyond the physical.

Moya is also a fulfilment of my mother’s wish that I acknowledge the spiritual past of my life, which to her was in the form of religion. Moya thus becomes a healing circle where we are allowed to feel and process our emotions in a safe space where we don’t feel alone. 

Since it’s an annual event, are you introducing any changes this year?

Definitely there will be changes here and there, but the main theme will remain the same. The aim of the project is for it to become a household name and storyline. 

Do you see yourself introducing other artistic elements as part of your exploration?

In the pursuit of artistic expression anything is possible. 

For those music lovers who love and have been following you, what are they going to take away with them after watching the show?

I would hope they take away a sense of peace and a feeling of being part of the whole.

When composing, which one comes first, melody or lyrics?

It’s usually the melody first that comes and then I have to figure out what the melody is trying to tell me. The melody informs the lyrics. I don’t think I have ever written a song before where the lyrics came first.