NEW TECHNIQUES XVII: Naledi Majola

In October 2026, Sophiensæle will welcome choreographer Naledi Majola and team as part of the dance residency program NEW TECHNIQUES.

The research is inspired by the story of black South African musicians during apartheid, particularly those who lived in exile in the West. It locates the political circumstances and personal paths that led these musicians to international stages in the second half of the 20th century, on a historical continuum on which contemporary Afro-diasporic artists find themselves today. What does it take to get to these stages and what happens on them? The sounds and movements of these musicians meet the work of performers Naledi Majola, Sarhaly aka Goldie and Chiyedza Mukada as well as musician and singing teacher Lindiwe Pale, who develop group performance practice together. Your starting point is the question: “How do we sing through the body? ”

They transfer principles that are anchored in music, such as rhythm, choral unison, call-and-response and repetition, to movement and voice research. The choreographic formations of singing groups such as the disco trio Joy become a catalyst for topographical explorations of the question of how an ensemble moves through space together. What affects, images, and stories arise as practice develops?

With the NEW TECHNIQUES residency program, Sophiensæle supported artists at the beginning of their careers in Berlin and at the same time reflect on the concept of technology in the contemporary dance scene. The title NEW TECHNIQUES refers to an attempt to re-examine the term “technology” together with aspiring dance makers — a term that has been increasingly replaced by “practice” in dance discourse, education and criticism in recent decades.

It is not only about the question of how existing dance techniques from education and studio (such as ballet, modern, contemporary dance or urban styles) are linked to cultural identity, power relations, historical contexts or social practices. It is also examined how other forms of embodied knowledge and self-technologies, which are passed on in communities and societies, shape the field of dance and the artistic practices of invited choreographers.

The NEW TECHNIQUES residency program is part of residency funding for Berlin dance artists, which was initiated and awarded for the first time in 2020 by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.