Film: The Flyover Show South Africa 2012. Come & join us in Birmingham on 18th August
22 May 2012
Comments Off
Saturday 31st March 2012 saw the first Flyover Show in South Africa. We had a great week in Kliptown, Soweto holding workshops and music sessions in schools and local community centres. We worked with over 2300 young people and children in the lead up to the event. The event itself attracted over 2500 people and involved local MCs that we met during the week as well as musicians that are long established collaborators with Soweto Kinch. Highlights of the day included the exhilarating opening performance by the Kliptown Youth Program Gumboot dancers and a moving moment when Tumi performed his iconic tune 1976 in the heart of Freedom Square.
A few words from Soweto Kinch:
‘Flyover Show South Africa was an incredible success both in terms of transforming the surrounding space and bringing so many different world class artists together. There was a huge amount of artistic good will, which encouraged unexpected collaborations and everyone understood the wider reasons for staging the show in Kliptown. People connected with the historical significance of Freedom Square, and the potential for art to go on transforming communities in the future. Most enduringly for many MCs it was the first time performing with live musicians, and vice versa the first time a number of musicians had encountered the SA Hip Hop underground. In one instance a group had reformed especially for this performance. In a setting where it is hard for groups to tour continuously, it was powerful to have created an outlet for groups to reconnect with their fan base as well as create new followers. The entire week of workshops and rehearsals meant that it was a genuine collaboration between South African and British artists and there is plenty to build on for the future. We want to thank everyone who performed and especially all those who came to watch, we hope to see everyone again next year’
