Jay Pather

(19**-) Actor, dancer, teacher and choreographer. ** Became a member of the JazzArt Theatre Company in Cape Town in 19** and in 199* became director of KwaZulu Natal based Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre, Has directed and choreographed over one hundred productions nationally as well as internationally in India, Angola, Madagascar, London, Germany, Australia, Sri Lanka and New York. Pather has created large scale opening works for the Commonwealth Heads of State Conference, the World Economic Forum and the International Convention Centre in Durban. A recipient of several regional FNB Vita Awards for Best Choreography, Pather has also conceived and directed a range of commissioned works. These include A South African Siddhartha and Home commissioned by the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, and Ahimsa Ubuntu commissioned by Sonia Gandhi and the South African High Commission in India. In 2004 Pather received a Brett Kebble Art Award for his installation performance Kitchen. His most recent project has been a commission he received from the FNB Dance Umbrella to create a full length work entitled The Beautiful Ones must be born which was performed at the Constitution Hill in Johannesburg and at the International Writers Festival in Durban in 2004/5. In 2005 he visited Havana on a government delegation investigating cultural exchange with Cuba. PATHER, Jay: Artistic Director of Siwela Sonke Dance Company, Playhouse.zz.

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