Young dancers from five Johannesburg schools are set to take centre stage when the inaugural Joburg Moves Junior festival comes to the University of Johannesburg on 22 September 2026.
The festival is presented by UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA), in partnership with Moving into Dance (MID).
The event will take place at the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre at the UJ Arts Centre and will give Intermediate Phase learners in Grades 4 to 6 an opportunity to showcase their dance skills in a professional theatre environment.
The initiative is the brainchild of UJ Arts & Culture Head Pieter Jacobs and MID CEO Nadia Virasamy.
Five schools take part
Learners participating in the festival come from Greenside Primary School, Melpark Primary School, Saxonwold Primary School, Pinnacle College Linden and Blairgowrie Primary School.
In the lead-up to the performance, the learners will work with experienced MID facilitators to develop their dance abilities while building creativity, confidence, discipline and teamwork.
For many of the young participants, the festival will be their first opportunity to perform in a professionally equipped theatre.
The programme is also designed to create stronger links between schools, communities, higher education institutions and the professional arts sector.
Extending the Joburg Moves vision
Joburg Moves was originally established as a platform aimed at supporting and rebuilding Johannesburg’s dance community, encouraging collaboration and developing audiences for dance across generations.
Joburg Moves Junior takes that vision into schools by introducing children to dance participation and professional creative practices at an earlier age.
The organisers say the programme is part of a broader commitment to strengthening Johannesburg’s dance ecosystem and showing young people that dance can be more than a recreational activity.
“Joburg Moves has always been concerned with the long-term sustainability of dance in Johannesburg,” says Lakin Morgan-Baatjies, Marketing Manager at UJ Arts & Culture.
“If we want a strong and thriving dance sector in the future, we must create opportunities for young people to encounter dance, participate in it and see themselves as part of its future.”
Morgan-Baatjies says the junior festival is intended to help learners build skills while giving them an understanding of what it takes to prepare for a professional performance.
“Joburg Moves Junior allows us to begin building that relationship at school level. It creates a space where learners can develop their confidence and creativity while experiencing the discipline, collaboration and excitement of preparing for a professional stage,” she says.
Partnership brings schools closer to the arts
The collaboration combines UJ Arts & Culture’s institutional and theatre infrastructure with MID’s experience in dance education, artistic development and community engagement.
MID brings professional dance expertise and experienced facilitators to the programme, while UJ provides the young performers with access to a professional theatre and the experience of preparing for a public production.
MID CEO Nadia Virasamy says exposure to quality arts education can play an important role in a young person’s development.
“Moving into Dance believes that access to quality arts education can have a lasting effect on a young person’s development,” she says.
“This partnership enables us to work directly with learners in their school environments and support them as they develop the skills and confidence required to take their work onto a professional stage.”
Virasamy says the programme is about developing more than future dancers.
“It is an investment not only in future dancers, but also in creative, expressive and engaged young people,” she says.
More than just a dance performance
Beyond the stage, Joburg Moves Junior is intended to support learning and personal development.
The programme promotes creative expression, confidence, discipline, collaboration, physical coordination and exposure to professional dance practices. It will also introduce learners to potential careers within the arts and wider creative industries.
Bringing the learners onto the UJ campus gives them an opportunity to experience university life and consider possibilities beyond their immediate school environment.
The festival is also intended to create a pathway for young people to become part of Johannesburg’s wider dance community.
The next generation takes the stage
The public performance will give families, teachers, fellow learners and members of the community an opportunity to celebrate the participants’ progress and support the development of future dancers and audiences.
The organisers hope Joburg Moves Junior will become part of a longer-term effort to reconnect young people with dance and create sustainable opportunities for participation in the city’s arts sector.
Performance details
Joburg Moves Junior will take place on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, at 18:00 at the Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre, UJ Arts Centre, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus.
Tickets cost R100, with bookings available through Quicket.
Participating schools are Greenside Primary School, Melpark Primary School, Saxonwold Primary School, Pinnacle College Linden and Blairgowrie Primary School.
