Through music, dance, spoken word and live painting, the New Moon Ensemble crafted a performance that confronted questions of black identity, memory and resistance across the African continent and its diaspora. Bringing together artists from Botswana, South Africa and the United States, the multidisciplinary production used collaboration as its foundation. Yet beneath the theme of friendship suggested by its Setswana title, Ditsala, the performance carried a deeper narrative about the shared historical experiences that continue to shape black communities worldwide. The evening’s musical direction set the tone early.
Vocalists Queen Garekwe and Debbie with a T delivered a series of original compositions written alongside Nicole Martinez, blending traditional Setswana influences with elements of soul and jazz. Their performances moved between reflective and celebratory, echoing the broader themes of heritage and cultural continuity. Dance provided another powerful storytelling tool. The New Moon Ensemble dancers moved between traditional Setswana choreography, hip-hop vocabulary and contemporary movement, illustrating how African cultural expression continues to evolve while remaining rooted in its past. One of the most visually arresting moments came during a segment that projected archival footage of Basarwa communities onto the dancers’ costumes. As the performers moved across the stage, the imagery travelled with them, turning their bodies into moving canvases that connected ancestral memory with present-day identity. The creative vision behind the production belongs to New Moon Ensemble founder and artistic director Moratiwa Molema, who also delivered a thought-provoking spoken-word performance during the programme. At the centre of her poem was a line that captured the spirit of the evening: “African Renaissance calls for rain, and it will rain...”
