Nelisiwe Xaba
Nelisiwe Xaba | |
---|---|
Nationality | South African |
Education | Johannesburg Dance Foundation, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance |
Occupation(s) | Performance artist and choreopgrapher |
Nelisiwe Xaba, born in Soweto, South Africa, is a South African performance artist and choreographer.
Biography
Born and raised in the Dube neighborhood of Soweto (Johannesburg, South Africa), Nelisiwe Xaba is a performance artist and choreographer who began her career as a dancer in the early 1990s when she received a scholarship to study dance at the Johannesburg Dance Foundation. In 1996, Xaba won another scholarship to the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London,[1] where she studied ballet and contemporary dance techniques, under the artistic direction of Ross McKim. On her return to South Africa in 1997, Xaba joined the Pact Dance Company before embarking on a freelance career, which allowed her to work with many recognized choreographers, including Robyn Orlin.
Career
Since launching her solo career, Xaba has worked on a number of multimedia projects and has collaborated with visual artists, stylists, theater and television directors, poets and musicians. Xaba's seminal works, Plasticization and They Look At Me & That's All They Think, have been presented internationally for several years. For They Look at Me & That's All They Think, inspired by the story of
Xaba's work is largely influenced by her feminist and anti-racist positions, which challenge stereotypes about the black female body and common notions related to gender. In 2011, Xaba was one of the artists featured by the Goodman Gallery South Africa, which showcases leading contemporary artists from the African continent. In 2013, Xaba was selected to present The Venus in Venice as part of "Imaginary Fact, Contemporary South African Art and the Archive" at the South African Pavilion at the 55 Venice Biennale.[4]
Xaba's art reacts to its social context, and in particular to the condition of women.
A recent issue of The Drama Review devoted several academic articles to Xaba and shifting global audience perspectives on her work.[5]
References
- ^ a b c Jason, Stefanie (3 March 2015). "Nelisiwe Xaba makes her moves on the politics of exoticism". Mail & Guardian.
- ^ Lepidi, Pierre (5 April 2018). "D'Haïti au Mali, la danse transgressive de Kettly Noël". Le Monde (in French).
- ^ Boisseau, Rosita (21 November 2011). "Nous sommes toutes des Vénus hottentotes!". Le Monde (in French).
- ^ "Nelisiwe Xaba". Charleroi danse. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ a b Manning, Susan (1 June 2020). "Nelisiwe Xaba: Dancing between South Africa and the Global North". MIT Press Direct. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
- ^ Boisseau, Rosita (10 September 2013). "La "nation arc-en-ciel" se danse en Blancs et Noirs". Le Monde (in French).
- ^ "Afrique du Sud : danser l'Histoire". TV5 Monde. 5 October 2013.
Bibliography
- Iolanda Pensa (ed. ), Public Art in Africa. Art and urban transformations in Douala, Geneva, Metis Presses, 2017 ISBN 978-2-94-0563-16-6.