This Picture of Us

Henk Opperman (Bloemfontein) and Ipeleng Merafe (Johannesburg), two young vibrant creatives debut their original contemporary dance and performance art production THIS PICTURE OF US this year at the Volksblad Vryfees in Bloemfontein.

The concept for this production was conceived by two young artists who wanted to generate a performance opportunity for themselves and to explore the possibilities of creatively combining their various artistic skills to form a theatre work. This initiative was fueled by the reality that dance, as a performance art form, has extremely limited to no funding across the country and therefore fewer and fewer performance opportunities for young dancers entering the industry.

Opperman and Merafe both started training and shaping their dance technique at a very young age and worked continually to pursuit a professional career as performers. Both eventually graduated from the Cape Academy Of Performing Arts with a diploma in contemporary dance, drama, musical theatre and related theatre studies. This three year intensive course was where their performance skills were refined and their professional careers began. Opperman and Merafe worked very closely with professionals in the performing arts industry and were exposed to performing on a national and international scale.

The duo entered the industry as professionals at a time where government funding for performing arts was reduced severely and full time professional dance companies were forced to close down. Opperman and Merafe decided to make the most out of a difficult situation and find a way to make their aspirations a reality.

In this 55 minute production, original contemporary dance choreography, dialogue, fashion design, physical movement and creative writing are some of the elements used to create an invigorating exhibition. All the artistic aspects presented in THIS PICTURE OF US is their very own material and was specifically created for the production.
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Performances take place on 17, 18 and 19 July 2014 at the Civic Theatre in Bloemfontein.
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