On Broadway Presents RHYTHM ESSENCE

RHYTHM ESSENCE is a music and dance recital, a sonic and visual tapestry of jazz, funk, jungle and African rhythms, the focus is on virtuosity and mastery of both instruments - the body and drums. The show celebrates the drum tradition ie. African call and respond concept and jazz improvisation.

This is, however, not a conventional undertaking - rather the music is visible in the dance - the dancer interacts with the instrumentalist trading musical lines and rhythm patterns making the dancer a visual physical musical instrument - this unique approach forms the basis for the language applied throughout the continuum of the musical conversation.

ABOUT Thule Malgas
Orlando East born Thule began his ballet training at the age of 10 with Audrey King and a year later became a member of the Johannesburg Youth Ballet Company. A chance encounter with Adele Blank changed his life and that would be his introduction to modern and contemporary dance. Whilst training with Adele Blank he would also take jazz classes with Lynton Burns and contemporary dance with Sonje Mayo.

As a young dancer Thule worked with director Ashley Lazarus on a dance film called "Dancing is the way" with Lynton Burns as choreographer and later "Dancing is the way 2". He continued his training and worked as a freelance dancer leading to work in TV and freelance work with various choreographers.

Through the years he has worked with legendary South African film director Ian Gabriel and went on to star and choreograph commercials and music videos. He started his own dance company with BLACK DANCE INC. - a highly progressive dance troupe. Later he collaborated with a young gifted commercial and film director Gerch Gkamedi on music videos and a short dance film called Above Ground and Jazz Maestro Abdullah Ibrahim's video Shosholoza from the CD 'Township one more time'.

Thule then took a sabbatical from dancing and began focusing on the conga drums. He would later start a band that comprised South African musicians and American musos and featured South African rapper Pitch Black Afro and the late great SA R&B singer TK Tsakane Mhinga and US jazz piano maestro Anthony Wonsey and lead to gigs at the Cape Town Jazz Festival 2005 with the band named Brooklyn Soweto Connection.

Bookings on 021 424 1194, www.onbroadway.co.za or through any branch of Computicket

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