Jeremy Nedd & Impilo Mapantsula

The powerful South African pantsula dance style, with its high energy virtuoso footwork, lays a base for this dance dive into our place in the future. The performers respond to the cosmic and spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Bheki Mseleku, and draw on phenomena found in the cosmos as metaphoric inspiration: from the birth of a galaxy to the death of a star. South African collective Impilo Mapantsula and choreographer Jeremy Nedd dig deep into topics that navigate entangled avenues of Black diasporic and Afrofuturist experience, whilst also echoing “past” struggles against oppression. Is progress towards possible futures just a human illusion? Using the astonishing dance language of pantsula, the dance form that gave voice to a whole generation during the Apartheid years, the performers contemplate the cosmic compression of space and time in search of a truer sense of place in the bigger scheme of things. 

This performance falls under the The Old Now New theme and you can get theme discounts. For more information, check out this page

Jeremy Nedd is a choreographer and performer born in Brooklyn (New York). He currently resides in Basel, Switzerland. Nedd has had engagements at the Semperoper in Dresden (2010-2012) and Ballett Basel (2012-2016). He is associated with the Schauspielhaus Zürich as a guest performer, where he has collaborated with Trajal Harrell. Nedd has realised and presented his previous productions at the Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, Arsenic - centre des art scénique contemporain (Lausanne), Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and Münchner Kammerspiele, among others. In 2023, Jeremy Nedd received the Swiss Performing Arts Awards "Shooting to fame around the world". 

Impilo Mapantsula is a global network of high-level professional dance artists who specialize in pantsula, a South African urban dance form. They are a professional organization that promotes the development of pantsula dance and culture, creates formal standards, and acts as an industry representative. The organization aims to document and protect the living legacy of pantsula and support dancers in professionalizing and further developing their art. Impilo Mapantsula creates learning opportunities and supports artistic creation and self- expression through educational, artistic and professional programs, with an emphasis on job creation, international collaborations and exchange programs. 

Credits: 

Concept / Choreography / Performance | Jeremy Nedd
Performance / Choreography  | Sibongile Mathebula, Sicelo Xaba, Thomas Motsapi, Bonakele Masethi, Sello Modiga
Technical management & lighting design |  Thomas Giger
Stage design | Laura Knüsel
Costume | Tara Mabiala
Sound design | Fabrizio Di Salvo, Rej Deproc
Dramaturgy | Anta Helena Recke
Production | Caroline Froelich (Moin Moin Productions)
Touring | Arina Frölich
Technical management Touring | Chiara Leonhardt 

In co-production with 
ARSENIC Centre d’art scénique contemporain, Internationales Sommerfestival Kampnagel, Kaserne Basel, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival Tangente - Festspielhaus St. Pölten, SPIELART Theaterfestival

With the kind support of 
Fachausschuss Tanz & Theater BS/BL, Pro Helvetia