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DJ Competition
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2010 Programme
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Background
Approach
The approach to the Gauteng Pale Ya Rona Carnival is based on international best practice. It was an approach that was defined and adopted at the Carnival Summit in 2004. The purpose of the Carnival Summit was to identify the carnival arts and cultural skills available in the province to showcase a world-class carnival event.
The programme is broad-based and decentralised. Programmes include skills training and recreational activities in recreation centres and community art centres across each region in Gauteng province. Success depends on the level of involvement of each region, as the unique identity of each contributes to the richness of the final parade.
Carnival in general
Carnival has its roots in many cultures, drawing mainly from African and European traditions, merging strongly in the Caribbean region. The festivities originated from religious events, celebrations of harvest or in honour of spirits and ancestors.
Important to Caribbean festivals are the ancient African traditions of parading through villages in costumes and masks. Africa was one of the first places where carnival emerged; now it is returning to its place of origin. African dance and music traditions transformed the early carnival celebrations in the Americas with drum rhythms, large puppets, stick fighters, and stilt dancers.
Carnival is a living, breathing creation of cosmopolitan society. The organisers spend many long, sleepless nights creating the costumes, designing the floats and training less experienced artists. It is a time to celebrate, a way to get in touch with our roots as humans ... and a chance to get in touch with each other.
Gauteng Pale Ya Rona (tell your story) Carnival
In 2004 the Carnival summit paved the way for a Gauteng Carnival, which gives the province vibrancy during heritage month. Our first carnival in September 2005 had 3000 participants formed into 15 troupes comprising Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Sedibeng, Mogale City and Johannesburg to form a huge moving street party.
It was an expression of telling our story, thus the name "Pale Ya Rona" Carnival. Trained in carnival camps by artists and artisans across the province, the procession officially launched 2005 Heritage Month festivities.
Carnival became a stepping stone in the promotion of Arts and Culture as a form of job creation and poverty alleviation. Pale Ya Rona Carnival not only builds social cohesion and national identity, it also provides a platform for the development of skills in many art forms, ranging from performance skills and visual arts to costume design and events management.
By 2008 the Carnival had grown to 45 troupes with 12 000 people gathering on Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown. It was also carnival's first time to implement an international skills exchange programme with Stephen Derek who is one of the leading exponents of the cultural art form of carnival costume design and construction in Trinidad and Tobago. The department also struck partnerships with the French Institute, Thailand and Embassy of the People's Republic of China to bring their lion and dragon dancers.
Geraldo
Last year the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation brought in legendary giant carnival costume-maker, Geraldo Vieira Sr, from Trinidad. In Trinidad carnival is a central part of their culture, and a great money-spinner for the island. Geraldo has won the coveted carnival king title nine times, and has been participating in carnival since he was a boy. He revolutionised carnival costume making by using plastics. His costumes have to be seen to be believed!
Creating Carnival Costumes
In order to put a carnival costume together, it takes many weeks of welding, sewing, gluing, applying feathers, sequins, foil papers, glitter and lots of creativity, energy, and patience. The first step is to come up with a theme or overall concept for the troupe and to develop costume illustrations for each section of dancers.
Costumes are then sewn, decorated, and fitted to each individual dancer. All this creative activity takes place in what are referred to in the Caribbean as "mass camps" where teamwork and organisation are crucial to creating an award-winning production.
The larger costumes are more difficult to design and build. Huge frames are created welding metal and by bending wire into shapes, then covering them with paper mache', foam, and other such materials. Physics play an important role, as the costume must be able to be transported across stages and streets, and the smaller costumes must not fall apart when danced in! Many different forms of decorations and materials, both natural and man-made, are used to transform the costume from concept to reality.