After twenty-six years of artistic excellence, Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT) today announced a bold new organisational model that places artists at the centre of ownership, entrepreneurship and long-term economic participation.

From July 2026, the organisation has transitioned from a traditional full-time employment structure to a project-based model that empowers dancers, creative practitioners, technicians and collaborators to establish independent creative enterprises while remaining an integral part of VDT’s artistic family.

Founded in 1999 by Gregory Maqoma, Vuyani Dance Theatre has grown into one of Africa’s leading contemporary dance institutions, presenting acclaimed work across Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East. Since expanding its business structure in 2014 through Vuyani Dance Company (Pty) Ltd and the Vuyani Dance Trust, the organisation has steadily diversified its income streams and reduced its reliance on grant funding.

The new model builds on that evolution by supporting artists to become registered businesses, intellectual property holders and creative entrepreneurs. Through partnerships with legal, financial and business development specialists, VDT will assist its artists in building sustainable careers that extend beyond individual productions, while advancing the goals of South Africa’s National Development Plan and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act.

“For twenty-six years we have invested in developing extraordinary artists. Our responsibility now is to help them become owners,” says Gregory Maqoma, Founder and Creative Director of Vuyani Dance Theatre.

“The future of the arts cannot depend on employment or grant funding alone. It must also be built on artists who own their skills, their intellectual property and their businesses. If we succeed, our greatest legacy will not simply be the productions we created, but the entrepreneurs we helped shape.”

The transition comes at a time when South Africa’s performing arts sector continues to face mounting financial pressures, declining public investment and an incomplete legislative framework that still limits performers’ ability to benefit fully from royalties generated by their work. While recent Constitutional Court developments mark important progress, VDT believes that artists cannot afford to wait for legislative reform alone.

Instead, the organisation sees this new model as a practical response to the sector’s changing realities – one that prioritises ownership, sustainability and long-term economic participation.

Importantly, this transition is taking place during one of the busiest periods in the company’s history. The 2026/27 calendar features an extensive programme of performances, collaborations and new commissions across Europe, North America and Asia, including international tours of BANTU, GENESIS: The Beginning and End of Time and CION: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro. The expanded touring schedule reinforces the continued global demand for South African artistic excellence and ensures that the benefits of this growth are shared more directly with the artists who create it.

“The future of the creative industries lies not only in supporting artists, but in enabling them to become entrepreneurs, business owners and active participants in the economy,” says Paseka Letsatsi, Chairperson of Vuyani Dance Theatre. “This is not a story of contraction; it is a story of evolution and shared ownership.”

As Vuyani Dance Theatre enters its next chapter, its commitment to artistic excellence, innovation, international collaboration and cultural leadership remains unwavering. What changes is the mechanism through which that work is created, placing artists not only at the heart of the creative process, but at the centre of its economic value.

Twenty-six years after its founding, Vuyani Dance Theatre is reaffirming a simple belief: the future of the arts lies not only in artistic excellence, but in artist ownership.

For Enquiries:
Bonolo Mabasa
Projects@vuyani.co.za

About Vuyani Dance Theatre

Founded in 1999 by Gregory Maqoma, Vuyani Dance Theatre is one of Africa’s leading contemporary dance institutions. Through internationally acclaimed performances, educational programmes and global collaborations, the organisation has played a defining role in shaping contemporary African performance while creating opportunities for generations of artists.

Gregory Maqoma
projects@vuyani.co.za
079 591 8771
Vuyani Dance Company
http://www.vuyani.co.za