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Nobonke Dances

1996

When Luyolo was born my attention swung 180 degrees to the significance of this event – raising a child. But it did not happen without its complexities.

Apart from needing to navigate a mixed race relationship, the presence of a child, within such a relationship and the prospect of how we would make meaning of our lives from now on, kept me thoroughly occupied.

The dance remained in the side wings for many years. Every now and then I would have a spontaneous happening at my house with the hidden motive to be able to feel what it was to perform again.

One such an event sparked me to take the prospect of performance a little further than the kitchen-front. There was Die Kleinteater, run by Carl Trichardt, somewhere downtown Pretoria. I booked two evenings, and selected my favourite musical tapes, wound them to where the best tracks were – ready to perform.

Many people from the farm where we were living near Irene attended these two performances. They were artists and filmmakers who have all become stalwarts in their own professions. Our children were scattered around the same age that lead us to found The Village Waldorf School on the farm. It still stands and is thriving.

The two performances was an abandon of all limitations and a public declaration that ‘I can still dance’, after four years of dedication to another beautiful being, our son Luyolo.