FREE Workshops at JOMBA! Durban

Eight workshops are available FREE of charge to dancers and dance-makers, and associated arts practitioners at this year’s JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience which takes place from 26 August and 7 September 2025 in Durban.

Five dance-focussed workshops will be hosted at the Drama and Performance Studies Department (Dance Studio), UKZN Howard College Campus, and are open to dancers 16 years and older.

27 August (Wednesday):  4 – 5.30pm

Sbonakaliso Ndaba (Cape Town, South Africa) offers participants a full body class experience in the technical dance training methods of Sbo Ndaba. It is a high impact class that pushes dancers to think with their bodies!

28 August (Thursday): 4 – 5.30pm

Barbara Diaz Rios (Valencia, Spain), a dance teacher and choreographic assistant for Taiat Dansa, offers a glorious and fluid technique class and share some of the repertoire of FLOOD – a work featured in the festival.

30 August (Saturday): 10 – 11.30am

Oulouy (Ivory Coast/Spain) offers an opportunity to step into a high-energy journey across some of the most vibrant street dance styles from the African continent and its diaspora. This workshop is a deep dive into the expressive power of movement as language, identity, and connection.

3 September (Wednesday): 4 – 5.30pm

Artistic Director of the internationally renowned South African dance company, Moving into Dance, Sunnyboy Motau (JHB, South Africa) will lead a workshop in MID’s signature dance genre: Afrofusion. 

6 September (Saturday): 10 – 11.30am

Didier Boutiana (Reunion) provides a workshop that draws on disparate influences as hip-hop, yoga and contemporary dance.

JOMBA! also offers the following bespoke workshops:

2 September (Tuesday): 11 – 12.30pm (Music Department, UKZN)

A very special digital music workshop from Benoit Bottex (and Desiré Davids). The workshop will provide an understanding of how sound synthesis works and will explore the benefits of modular synthesizers in live performance. Several instruments will be presented, and a demo will be performed collectively. 

3 September (Wednesday): 2 – 4pm: 

Dramaturgy: Theme and Storytelling Workshop - Led by Greg Homann (SA)

Drama Prac Room (UKZN Drama Programme – Howard College Campus)

Artistic Director of The Market Theatre Foundation, Greg Homann, conducts a workshop on theme, structure, and storytelling. This session invites participants to engage with dramaturgical tools and strategies that unlock meaning, sharpen intention, and strengthen the emotional and thematic clarity of their work. Ideal for performers, directors, and choreographers alike, the workshop offers practical insights into shaping compelling thematic and narrative experiences for an audience.

5 September (Friday):  2 – 4pm

Centre for Creative Arts, Boardroom, UKZN (Howard College Campus)

Getting the most from your Festival Appearance: Optimizing your own publicity at a dance festival led by Sharlene Versfeld (Durban, South Africa), a veteran publicist across numerous genres and multiple festivals. Sharlene offers dance-makers an opportunity to understand why they need to pay heed to developing their own publicity materials, how they can maximize their exposure, and work with festivals to help grow their own audiences. An interactive and career changing workshop!

Booking is essential for all these workshops via e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information and to see the full programme go to: https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/