Music, Drama and Literature Institute

Also known as MDALI (from umDali, “creator”). Founded in 197*. An umbrella organisation for several groups in the greater Johannesburg area (including Mihloti), notably in townships like Alexandra and Soweto. Similar in its aims and purpose to the Durban based SABTU through its support of the Black Consciousness Movement and sharing a number of activities, MDALI neverhteless had a more hard-line approach to black emancipation, emphatically rejecting any affiliation with white facilitators or so-called integrated theatre and cultural groups, and deploring the crass commercialization of Gibson Kente’s work and works such as Ipi Tombi. The leader of MDALI in 1973 was Molefe Pheto.**?? ***Short-lived black theatrical group, it was closed down by a banning order in 19**. (

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