Johannesburg audiences wait in anticipation for opening of Vuyani Dance Theatre in Partnership with Arts Alive’s groundbreaking CODE/DNA at UJ Arts Centre
Vuyani Dance Theatre in partnership with Arts Alive presents CODE/DNA, an exciting innovative work opening soon at the University of Johannesburg’s Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre. The work signals a moment for Johannesburg audiences as an opportunity to encounter one of the most innovative and fully realised interdisciplinary productions to reach the city’s stages in a long time.
For those lucky enough to be in the audience, this will not just be a performance to observe, but rather to witness and feel – where dance, live music and theatrical performance meet as one continuous language, unfolding in real time.
Choreographed and directed by acclaimed senior dancer and Vuyani Dance Theatre’s Assistant Artistic Director Otto Andile Nhlapo, CODE/DNA draws on the idea that the body carries its own archive, holding memory, trauma, ancestry and lived experience beneath the surface. Through layered choreography and performance, the work traces how identity is formed, remembered and re-expressed through the body. “The company has been working with incredible focus and intensity in rehearsals and we are deeply excited to finally bring this work to the stage and share it with audiences,” he says.
Nhlapo brings a deeply embodied and evolving practice to CODE/DNA. His journey began in traditional Zulu dance before expanding into a contemporary career shaped by his training at Moving Into Dance. He has performed extensively both locally and internationally, including touring France and performing at the South African Presidential Inauguration. His choreographic work, including Interpellation, Gister Maoba and Man Up, reflects a strong interest in identity, masculinity, memory and the body as a site of lived experience, all of which find further expression in CODE/DNA.
Across the production, there is no separation of form. Movement drives sound, music carries narrative, and light shapes emotional cadence. The stage becomes a living system that is responsive, fluid and charged; where each element is in constant dialogue with the next.
Founder of Vuyani Dance Theatre, Gregory Maqoma, reflects on the significance of the work: “CODE/DNA speaks to something we often overlook: that the body remembers what the mind cannot always hold. This work brings together artists who understand how to listen to that memory and translate it into something that can be shared with audiences. It is in these intersections of movement, sound and story that we find new ways of seeing ourselves and each other.”
An original score by Sbusiso Shozi, a Durban-born composer, theatre-maker and performer with an international footprint spanning Paris, Berlin and New York, anchors the production’s sonic world. His work, which includes African Exodus (Off-Broadway, 2025), compositions for Shaka iLembe and Queendom, and the Berlin-premiered chamber opera Selemo brings a layered, contemporary musicality that is integral to the performance.
Lighting design by award-winning designer Oliver Hauser, whose work has been seen across Barcelona, Paris, Zurich, Berlin, Beijing, Lagos and New York, shapes the visual and emotional landscape of the production, deepening its immersive quality.
The production brings together a powerful and diverse ensemble of artists whose collective experience spans theatre, dance and music.
Joining the creative team is Simphiwe Sanele Skhakhane, a Naledi Award-winning musical director whose work includes Shaka Zulu: The Gaping Wound and Pula, as well as contributions to Shaka iLembe and Queendom. His role adds further depth to the production’s musical architecture.
The live musical layer is brought to life by Thokozani Nsibande, a multi-instrumentalist rooted in African indigenous music traditions, and Sipho Reuben Dhlamini, a Soweto-born bassist whose performance experience spans major festivals and collaborative projects.
The cast features Khanyisile Ngwabe, an acclaimed actress, singer and theatre-maker and Naledi Award nominee, known for her work with KWASHA! Theatre Company and productions including No Easter Sunday for Queers, Xova and 1789, alongside television roles on Mzansi Magic and e.tv.
She is joined by Teboho Cecil Motaung, a vocalist and performer with international touring experience across Europe and Turkey, whose musical range adds both accessibility and emotional depth.
Also featured is Ziwe Fihlani, a saxophonist, educator and arts facilitator whose work spans the National Arts Festival, international collaborations and youth development initiatives, bringing both performance excellence and a strong educational dimension to the production.
Together with dancers from Vuyani Dance Theatre and a broader creative team spanning costume design, multimedia, dramaturgy and technical production, CODE/DNA unfolds as a fully integrated performance environment that is both technically accomplished and emotionally resonant.
At its core, the work reflects on what we carry as human beings — what is inherited, what is lived, and what remains. It is a production that lingers, not through spectacle alone, but through its ability to connect across disciplines and across experience.
Performances:
• Friday, 24 April at 19:00
• Saturday, 25 April at 15:00
Tickets:
• Students: R100
• General Public: R150
• Available via Quicket
