For the first time the project unites dancers and choreographers from Russia and South Africa. It includes creating process of the piece and a series of its performances on the stage. The piece has been specially put on for FNB Dance Umbrella Festival (Johannesburg/ SAR). Within the latter the premiere is going to take place in February 2009. Right after the premiere in Johannesburg the piece Zebra is to be performed in Russia. Besides the piece is included in the programme of the National Art Festival in SAR in the summer 2009. 

The project has been launched on the initiative of Dialogue Dance (Kostroma/ Russia) which is responsible for its organization process from the Russian side. The leading choreographer PJ Sabbagha, widely famous and who has a rich working experience, is in charge of the choreography part. Moreover, skilled performers have been invited to participate in the project, each of whom is an original choreographer and artist.

Background of the Project

*In 2007 by the invitation of the Centre of International Theatre Development (USA) Ivan Estegneev and Eugeny Kulagin attended FNB Dance Umbrella Festival (SAR) 

*On recommendation of Georgina Thomson (art director of FNB Dance Umbrella) in 2008 Dialogue Dance invited PJ Sabbagha and the Forgotten Angle Thatre to take part in the International Diversia Festival of Contemporary Dance Duets in Kostroma and perform their piece “ Back”. The piece “Back” has been subsidized by FNB Dance Umbrella. 

*While in Russia PJ Sabbagha put on a piece for Dialogue Dance. Its premiere took place in October 2008 in Kostroma. This is when Ivan and PJ decided on making a collaborative work and put it on the schedule of their companies and festivals in 2009.

The Project Concept

The project focuses on the creation of a hundred per cent male only performance and a research of personal body language of each and every. The project is targeted at exploring general perception of Russian dancers in Africa as well as of African dancers in Russia through creating a work in the genre of physical theatre. The piece has nothing to do either with the Russian ballet or the traditional African Dance. Performing the task of the choreographer , the dancers themselves will be moderators of the body movement research. The focus is placed not only on a separate story but also on an individual story of each performer that has a vital meaning for the unifying process of all the performers’ creative potential. 

The project creates a ground for a new type of thinking and a palette of movement related to different cultures. Various languages and dance patterns are researched and they cross to create a visual idea of the work in the universal human language of movement that is “inserted” into both Russian and African dance culture. The Zebra Project represents a part of contemporary dance culture and also gives a different view of Russian and African contemporary dance on the two continents.

Dates of the Project Fulfillment (2009)

February 10- March 10: rehearsals of the piece in Johannesburg 

March 11-12: premiere of the piece at FNB Dance Umbrella Festival 

March 28: the piece performance in Aktovy Zal (TSEKH), Moscow 

March 30: the piece performance in Ostrovsky Drama Theatre in Kostroma. 

April 2: the piece performance in TUZ, Yaroslavl 

July: the piece performance in Grahmstown at the National Art Festival (SAR)

Basic information about the piece

Title: Zebra 

Co-production: Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative (South Africa) and Dialogue Dance 

Company (Russia) 

Choreography part: PJ Sabbagha and the dancers 

Costume design: Justin Elliot 

Set design: PJ Sabbagha, Tabo Pule 

Music: Steven Reich, Meredith Monk, Kevin Volans, Phillip Glass, Eugene Ysaye. 

Music compilation: Tabo Pule 

Light design: Declan Rundel 

Performers: Ivan Estegneev ( Russia), Sergey Kremnev (Russia), Songezo Mcillizeli (SAR), Ivan Teme (SAR ), Daniel Mashita (SAR). 

Duration: 60 minutes 

The premiere took place on March 11th 2009 within FNB Dance Umbrella Festival (Johannesburg/ SAR) 

The project has been supported by FNB Dance Umbrella Festival (SAR), South African State Council of Culture and Ford Foundation

(Moscow) Partners of the Russian tour: Dance Agency TSEKH (Moscow), the Regional Agency of Creative Initiatives (Yaroslavl).

The inner concept of the piece

Zebra is a fascinating new all-male work conceived and created by PJ Sabbagha in co-production with highly talented South African dancers Daniel Mashita, Ivan Teme, Songezo Mcilizeli and innovative Russian dancers and choreographers Ivan Estegneev and Sergey Kremnev. 

This South African/Russian collaboration is targeted at exploring “explosive” dynamic and entanglements among five men. By means of a rich and provocative multimedia language of dance and physical theatre Zebra “starts a journey” and as a result the camouflage of masculine identity is removed and the world of fragile, violent, intimate, territorial and volatile relationships is exposed. 

The project brings together men working in contemporary dance and physical theatre. The all- male company intentionally explores and challenges myths and preconceptions about the role and identity of men involved in contemporary dance and contemporary art. ZEBRA unveils both the private and public spaces that shape our spectrum of perception of male sexuality and sexual identity. Performed on a zebra black and white patterned floor the piece explores the dynamic fluidity and fragility of the male ego and the content of masculine identity. We live in a harsh brutal masculine world dominated by war, conflict, industry, sexual harassment and diseases like HIV and AIDS. The work investigates the role of men and powerful relations of male identity and how they contribute to this destructive process in the modern world often fueling the humanitarian crises. Worldwide the question of social and personal transformation of men needs to be raised as they need to be involved in some positive activity-since men are most often the perpetrators of the most devastating personal and public violations. ZEBRA is our contribution to this current thinking and it is aimed at exploring the necessary role of men in forging the positive future for everybody.