7: Choreographing a New Future with Theo Ndindwa

EKONENI: Street Corner Stories

Theo Ndindwa uses dance for social change, and co-founded the iKapa Dance Theatre with his wife Tanya Arshamian in 2007 to teach dance, empowerment and life skills to youth in townships around Cape Town. iKapa believes that “the transformation of South Africa lies with the development of disadvantaged communities and youth.” Theo returned to South Africa after years in the U.K, where he trained and performed with the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, amongst others. He is a 2014 participant of the U.S. Department of State’s Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI), and founded South Africa’s first international dance festival - the Cape Town International Dance Festival - in 2015. Theo and Tanya have partnered with multiple local and international institutions, people and communities; and ten years after the founding of iKapa, they look forward to changing more lives and communities through the creation of a holistic dance, arts and culture hub space in the Gugulethu township, where Theo grew up.