iThemba labantu Arts program

iThemba Labantu’s dance classes expose the children to various styles and forms of dance, like African traditional dance, contemporary dance, Hip hop and free-style. The Jazzart Dance Theatre supports us in this effort by once a week offering contemporary dance classes.

African dances classes are the most popular classes and we would like to extent them in order to accommodate more children. African traditional dance encourages children to learn more about their cultural heritage and practices and helps them to build their own identity.

An additional benefit of all dance classes is that is keeps the children fit and provides them with a space to move around freely which they can do hardly anywhere in the overcrowded and crime-ridden township.

We furthermore offer our children the opportunity to attend classes on Saturdays which are taking places externally. Those classes, namely the “Sibonele dance project”, a music class by the UCT department of ethnomusicology, a UCT dance class by Maxwell Rani and “Dance for all”, help them to develop their talents further and open a door into a professional artists network.

Excursions to art shows at the Artscape and the Baxter theatre expose them to the professional dance world.

Regular performance opportunities give the children a platform to showcase their newly acquired skills and give us a platform to assess the knowledge they gained.

In our music department we offer classes in three disciplines, namely

• Marimba – three times a week
• Steelpan – once a week
• Brass – twice a week
• Choir – once a week
• Piano classes – daily
• Music theory – once a week

We all understand that  indigenous African music coexists with the music of other cultures and that both play a significant role in shaping our young minds.

Therefore we have included both – Western and African music – in our program.

Marimbas serve as a medium to teach indigenous music, while the brass and steelpan classes concentrate on western music.

The repertoire of our choir accommodates both, traditional and modern songs.

It is widely believed that musical training at a young age accelerates brain development. The stimulation of the children’s minds through music is therefore extremely beneficial for their academic performance.

In addition to instructing them in various musical skills, we make sure that the children get opportunities to exhibit what they have learned through external performances. This builds confidents and strengthens their knowledge of being valued.