Via Katlehong Dance is named after the township in South Africa's East Rand where it began as a community project in 1992. Young people are challenged to express their hard lives through their music and dance. With a message of unmistakable optimism: a better world is possible. The basis is formed by the pantsula, an ultra-energetic dance that came into existence during the apartheid regime. Via Katlehong's strength is that the group innovatively combines the pantsula with other dances, such as tap, step and gumboot, the 'miner's dance' based on hitting the thighs and calves. But the pantsula is much more than just dance; it is a lifestyle encapsulated in fashion, music, gesture codes and language with which the youth of the townships identify and express themselves.

For the first work in Via Injabulo, førm Inførms, Marco da Silva Ferreira explores the meaning of dance in the social context, how it can lead to a collective identity. Pantsula, house dance and other street dance styles are shaken into a cocktail of pulsating energy. In Emaphakathini, Franco-Senegalese choreographer Amala Dianor draws on the personal histories of the performers to pull down boundaries between people and dance disciplines. The aim is to create a common new space, an 'in-between space', or Emaphakathini in Zulu.

The result is one big feast of rousing rhythms and shared energy. Shouting, whistling, stamping your feet, clapping your hands: everyone can join in. In fact, it is impossible to remain sitting on your chair.