Their role as DormantYouth allows them to shape interactions between body and space via music, providing an eye-opening lens on how sound can affect the relationship between architecture and art, as well as the individual and collective.
Picture: DormantYouth is part of Night Embassy and Nightlife residency. Picture: Supplied.
Alexandra is where architect and DJ Thelma Ndebele also known as DormantYouth will present the final Night Embassy Joburg residency by Jägermeister. Groove Biennale: The Ante Experience will happen from 8 – 10 July 2022 in Bramley.
READ: Jägermeister Night Embassy is ready to finish what it started
Groove Biennale is the fourth and final Night Embassy residency that has seen three other ambassadors – Unmuted, Other Village People and Kombonation creating fresh nightlife experiences at iconic spaces in parts of Gauteng.
Now it’s DormantYouth’s turn to make their mark, with not just a musical experience but a celebration of queer communities as well.
“I hope the public goes back home having remembered how it feels to dance all night long. The fun, playful side of Joburg groove is about to be rekindled this winter,” said the DJ.
READ MORE: Kaofela Kaofela by Kombonation takes over Soweto
Masters of Great Musical Taste Sending Good Vibrations to the dance floor #Kombonation #KaofelaKaofela #NightEmbassyJHB #ByJgermeister pic.twitter.com/lAIyHHaOb9
Jgermeister South Africa (@jagermeistersa) June 28, 2022
Ndebele is a non-binary artist with a Masters in Architecture, whose interest lies in music as an alternative translation of place and an archive of lived space. Their role as DormantYouth allows them to shape interactions between body and space via music, providing an eye-opening lens on how sound can affect the relationship between architecture and art, as well as the individual and collective.
They say representation for all marginalised people is important.
“In my opinion, representation is important especially for marginalised people because that visibility can help grow existing communities or even incite new ones. This notion of community is an important aspect of my architectural interest, as well as my personal life because it gets lonely being the only weirdo in a sea of seemingly heteronormative people and spaces. Not to mention how “strength in numbers” is an age-old remedy for exploitation, especially in the still rampant era of appropriation & misrepresentation.”
When Eyewitness News asked them about the interesting Djing and architecture combo – where it comes from, they said: “The answer to this question seems to change as more time goes by. I want to say that it was when I was deciding to go back to school while interning at a firm in Joburg. I had recently started going to bars and clubs in the city and discovered a potential for an architectural typology for an underground/alternative club.”
When DJing, DormantYouth gravitates towards electronically produced bass music, especially sounds that boom from underground scenes in musically undiscovered parts of the world. DJing at identity-specific and femme-focused events such as Vogue Nights Jozi and Pussy Party has become a method of research, providing access to the unique landscape of contemporary Johannesburg nightlife.
They say they may have to make a decision between the two passions.
“After this residency it seems I have to decide between two industries. I have no idea what I want or what I want to do, in the near future; there seem to be a few possibilities on the horizon, but nothing is fully clear yet. For the month of July however, I am focused on executing the party of my dreams, with the super hardworking production team behind the scenes” said DormantYouth.
