PROGRAMME
Thamsanqa (Thami) Majela is an award-winning artist – dancer, choreographer, and teacher – originally from the Free State, South Africa. He studied at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, and later graduated from the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (PARTS) in Brussels, Belgium.
Majela has worked and collaborated with both local and international dance companies and arts institutions. He was part of Dada Masilo’s touring company – RSA – and performed in works such as Carmen, Swan Lake, Sacrifice, Giselle, and other projects through the Dance Factory in Johannesburg. He also worked with the Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative as a company member.
His collaborations with independent artists include the dance film A Last One in Color, created with choreographer Manaho Shimokawa and cinematographer Axel Stansky. He has participated in numerous residency programmes focused on research and creation, including projects supported by Pro Helvetia Johannesburg/Switzerland. One such collaboration with Swiss artist Margarita Kenny toured South Africa, Maputo, Madagascar, and Switzerland.
Majela also worked on POP, a piece supported by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), which underwent research residencies in both South Africa and France. In 2021, the work premiered at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda and later toured France and South Africa. He was an invited artist for Season 7 of The Centre for the Less Good Idea, curated by William Kentridge and Phala Ookeditse Phala.
Original Works include DITORO (2023/24) that was produced by Muda Africa Dance School in Tanzania, this work has been staged at the Batalo Festival (Kampala, Uganda), Kigali Triennial Festival (Kigali, Rwanda), and Jukwaa Huru Septemba Special (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), among others. It was reimagined for four dancers and, supported by Standard Bank, premiered in South Africa. It has been nominated for Best Production and Best Performance at the 2025 Naledi Theatre Awards. As well as, POP (2021) – a collaboration with a France-based artist supported by IFAS. The work toured in France in both performances and residencies. DON’T LET THE SUN SET ON YOU HERE –commissioned as part of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award (2022), this contemporary dance piece explores themes of Afrofuturism and socio-political issues in South Africa. His work MOMMY MOMMY – a duet addressing LGBTQIA+ themes and socio-political concerns – was performed online as part of the Virtual National Arts Festival in 2020.
Majela’s body of work addresses social issues, especially LGBTQIA+ rights, socio-political concerns, African mythologies, and healing through performance art. His vision is to create work that resonates with communities and to re-establish dance as a respected and supported art form.
Beyond performance, Majela is deeply passionate about dance education and training. He aims to make dance training more accessible through his workshop series, Movement Studies: Floor Work. He has conducted workshops in Madagascar, Tanzania, Switzerland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Most recently, he was invited to share his practice at The Centre for the Less Good Idea.
02.05.2025
