Vuyelwa Phota
Vuyelwa Phota is a Johannesburg-born dancer, raised in the East Rand, who began her dance training at the age of eight with Joan Goosen at Dinwiddie Primary School. Her artistic journey has since developed into a rich and diverse contemporary career spanning performance, creation, and education.
Vuyelwa has received critical recognition from The Guardian and Dance Art Journal for her performance in Dane Hurst’s Requiem: Journey of the Souls, which premiered in Leeds, United Kingdom. She has toured a double-bill dance production with ACE Dance and Music in Birmingham and has performed as a dance improviser alongside Nduduzo Makhathini. Her choreographic work includes solos created during her tenure at the National School of the Arts, as well as works presented at the Smart is Cool Symposium and Live Art Weekend.
Vuyelwa is an artist with WGRUV Dance Company, a contemporary dance teacher at pre-professional and occasional professional levels, and assists with the company’s social media.
“Being part of WGRUV means being given the opportunity to do what I love on home ground—to share what I’ve learned through my experience as a contemporary dancer and to work beyond the limits of what I imagine possible. Dance holds my life’s work and experiences; it is an expression of my resilience, intelligence, and creativity.”