Diminutive and dynamic, choreographer Dada Masilo brings the vibrant energy of her African hometown, Johannesburg, to the international stage. Her choreographic language combines classical, contemporary, and African dance, and in her re-visioning of popular ballet stories, she confronts controversial issues head-on with a mix of humor and wisdom. A dancer who reluctantly became a choreographer, Dada Masilo is passionate about making the theatre a place to experience emotion. In her new work, The Sacrifice, she brings both the pain and the healing.

Read the Full Interview with Dada Masilo 

ICONS INSPIRE is a monthly digital portrait and a one-on-one interview with a groundbreaking choreographer. Get the insider point of view on an important dancemaker's creative process, background, and training to inspire, provoke and challenge your intellectual repertoire.

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Welcome to ICON SMART! We are happy to announce the establishment of the first-ever ICONS Choreographic Institute at the Atlas Performing Arts Center here in Washington, D.C., USA --- a long-needed educational platform to foster creativity and professional development for emerging choreographers. More information is available here. 

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• WHO INSPIRES YOU AND WHY?
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Your responses...

• Mattew R. - There is a long list of choreographers who inspire me and I am learning from. In addition, I also love cinema and find a lot of ideas which can be translated into dance, for examaple let me mention the great Charles Chaplin.
• Rachel T. - When I'm working, I'm most inspired by my dancers. My choreography doesn't take shape until I'm in the studio with my dancers. Watching them perform a new phrase or discussing a concept with them inspires me to expand the idea in directions that I couldn't have come up with on my own.
• Yako O. - Seeing myself in mirror. I look at the person and think about how to move her. What movement will look interesting on her...

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