Sonder is a visceral dance theatre work exposing the double lives of queer men in Johannesburg’s mining hostels —where apartheid’s ghosts linger in cracked walls and stifled desire.

SONDER |

SONDER |

johannesburg, 2025

Seven male dancers embody oral histories of clandestine love, violence, and survival; their movements fusing pantsula and Zulu war dance.

A live female quartet soundtracks their struggles; their voices a chorus of remembrance.

Two dancers in white costumes performing on a stage with a gray floor and green curtain backdrop.
Two dancers in white costumes performing on a stage
Two dancers in white costumes performing on a stage with a gray floor and green curtain backdrop.

Through documentary film and experimental choreography, Sonder asks:

How do men touch when every system says they shouldn’t?

A person playing a grand piano surrounded by a group of dancers in black robes on a gray floor.

Owing to their distinctive shapes and fortress-like exteriors, many hostels are considered dangerous and impenetrable; synonymous with xenophobic violence, crime, and the perils of the modern urban experience.

A collage of aerial satellite images showing different types of residential and commercial urban layouts, including organized housing developments with square and circular patterns, rectangular blocks, and some areas under construction or development.
A group of identical nude statues with arms raised, aligned against a wall in a room with a sink, papers on the floor, and an air vent on the wall.

The hostels, once apartheid-era worker compounds, now house thousands of men in crumbling, violent limbo. Sonder interrogates Black masculinity, clandestine intimacy, and the resilience of queer love in a landscape designed to break bodies.

johannesburg, the "city of gold”, was built on the wealth of expendable Black labor — men who mined gold worth billions while their own lives were valued at less than a bicycle.

People working in a flooded indoor space, possibly cleaning or repairing. Some are standing, others are crouched or kneeling in water, with tools or containers.

This dance theatre piece excavates the layered lives of queer men surviving in Johannesburg’s decaying mining hostels.

creative team

Side profile of a man with a short haircut, wearing a beige trench coat over a white shirt, standing against an orange background.
A person with dark skin wearing a bejeweled headdress and large earrings, facing to the right.
A man resting his head on his hand, sitting indoors with a bookshelf in the background.