Dive into the world of performing arts with Figure of 8

 

Grant Van Ster and Shaun Oelf from the Figure of 8 dance collective:

The morning cruise welcomed Grant Van Ster and Shaun Oelf - two experienced dance theatre practitioners and award winning choreographers with a long list of achievements having worked in the Performing arts industry. Their love for dance and youth development lead them to founding a dance collective called The Figure of 8. Khusi had the pleasure of picking the brains of these two talented individuals.

Before diving into the conversation around the Figure of 8 dance collective, Khusi asked the pair how it all began and how they were introduced to the performing arts industry – with two very different beginnings, both Grant and Shaun eventually accepted their fates as dancers in the performing Arts. Grant has his mom to thank for encouraging him to take on Ball room dance after having to perform for a family’s members 21^st birthday party, this lead to him getting the opportunity to tour doing ball room dance with Jazz-Arts whereas Shaun who started off as an athlete, always knew something was missing until dance entered his life and the for both individuals – the rest is history.

 After meeting one another at the JazzArts festival, having trained together and gained insight of the industry, the two decided to start the figure of 8 dance collective despite turbulent times and 15 years later – they have stuck by their principles and although they are project based and only employ dancers when needed they have developed boundary pushing work and has told stories of the nation through the art of dance. The collective explores many genres of dance but mainly uses contemporary dance and visuals as a means to tell stories to the audience. When asked what the highlight of their careers , the pair mentioned a long list of achievements ranging from Baxter theatre performances with David Krahmer and Marc lottering to international tours with Jay Pather and have collaborated as choreographers on projects such as Danger in the dark at the Baxter theatre.

 You can look forward to a production called Karatara that will be brought to you by the Figure of 8 dance collective, a production they have already received an award for. Although funding remains to be a challenge, Grant and Shaun are true testaments that with persistence, you can achieve anything.

 

Presenter – Mkhuseli Khusi Veto

Producer – Riyaaz Semaa