Hlengiwe Lushaba

Born in the Durban township of Kwa-Mashu (South Africa), Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala is an actress, singer, dancer and choreographer.

She studied at the Tecknikon Natal, now the Durban Institute of Technology (DUT), specialising in dance, theatre, singing and comedy. In 2001, she created her first piece “Sacraments” for the Jomba! festival in Durban. In 2002, she created “It’s not over until the Fit Fat Phat Lady sings” originally for the EDGE programme under the direction of the Siwela Sonke Theatre Dance Company. In 2005, she presented “Is this Africa put a cross on the appropriate woman” in Paris at the Rencontres chorégraphiques de l’Afrique et de l’Océan Indien (Africa and Indian Ocean choreographic encounters) and at the Dance Umbrella Festival (Johannesburg).

She was awarded the Standard Bank Award for Dance in 2006 and presented the piece “Ziyakhipha Come Dance with us”, which won the Gauteng MEC Choreographic Award the following year, at the National Arts Festival of Grahamstown. She created “Lest we forget”, performed at the Dance Umbrella Festival Johannesburg in 2007. In November 2013, she put together the project “Highway to Heaven/Paradise Road” subtitled “a simple tale of colonial exploitation”, with Sduduzo Majola, who had already worked with her on her previous creations (“It’s Not Over Until the Fit Fat Phat Lady Sings”, “Ziyakhipha Come Dance With Us” and “Lest We Forget”).

A multi-talented performer, she collaborated in the creation of “Trapped”, a piece written and produced by her compatriot Princess Zinzi Mhlongos, which dealt with the concept of gender, created in 2012 at the National Arts Festival of Grahamstown and presented at the Salzburg Festival (Austria). She collaborated with the Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula on “What is black music anyway / Self portraits” (2012) and performed “Baron Samedi” (2011) for the French choreographer Alain Buffard. In 2013, she directed “Cabaret” at the invitation of the Via Katlehong dance company.

As a singer and an actress, she has performed in many musical and theatrical works on the South African stage, including “Far from the Madding Crowd”, “Lost in the Stars”, “Hairspray The Musical”, “African Queens”, “The Girls in their Sunday Dresses”, “Touch my blood”, “Modus Vivendi” and “Curl up and dye”. She is also an actress for cinema and television, with roles in the blockbuster “District 9” (2009) and the series “Gaz’lam” (2005).

She set up the “Giving Back and Giving Thanks” programme in collaboration with other leading figures from the arts scene to raise funds for NGOs, notably by organising charity performances.

Source: http://hlengiwelushabamadlala.blogspot.fr/2013/08/dear-blog-desperation-desperation.html

Updated: November 2013