Nomsa Kupi Manaka (born 1965) is a South African dancer, choreographer and actress.

Biography

Manaka was born in 1962 in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, in the urban area of

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. Having been trained in classical ballet, she teaches dance at the Funda Center, which was founded by her husband, Matsemela Manaka. In 1989, she performed in a play, ''Gorée'', set in this gathering place for slaves bound for America, and dealing with the spiritual journey of a young black woman. This woman learns of African dance, leading her to self-discovery. She travels the continent and ends up in

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; Wolof: Beer Dun) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade ...

, Senegal. There, she meets an older woman, played by

Sibongile Khumalo Sibongile Khumalo (24 September 1957 – 28 January 2021) was a South African singer and song writer. She sang classical, jazz, opera and traditional South African music. She was noted for singing at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 199 ...

, helping her become aware of her African heritage. In 1991, Manaka founded a dance magazine, ''Rainbow of Hope'', and created choreographies, including that of the opera ''Daughter of Nebo'', in 1993. In her choreographic creations, she fuses African traditions and approaches to contemporary dance. Her husband, Matsemela Manaka, died in 1998 in a car accident. In 2010, Manaka appeared in the Tiisetso Dladla-directed short film ''Exiled'', about a woman coming to terms with her political exile in the United States in 1990. During the 2010s, she lived with the musician

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

, who was suffering from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

. She herself had been diagnosed with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

in 2016. She said about their approach to the disease: "It was important for both of us to send the message that we should celebrate our life and who we are. We should not let cancer bring us down." Hugh Masekela died in January 2018. Manaka recovered from the disease after months of chemotherapy. During her recovery, Manaka came up with the idea for the dance production ''Dancing Out of Cancer'', staged at the

Joburg Theatre Joburg Theatre Complex, previously known as the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, is a group of four theatres situated in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1962, refurnished in the late 1980s and reopened in the early 1990s bef ...

to raise money for cancer patients.

References

External links

Nomsa Manaka
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manaka, Nomsa 1962 births Living people South African actresses South African female dancers South African dancers South African choreographers South African women choreographers People from Soweto