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The image shows four people in a dynamic dance scene on stage. They wear colourful costumes in shades of orange, pink, green and plaid, with ruffles and long flowing strips of fabric. The person in the foreground on the right raises one arm and steps forward energetically. Three other people dance behind them in different poses. The stage is lit with warm, slightly hazy light that creates distinct shadows on the floor. There is no text in the image.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz

Magazine

Joy, grief, and resistance as radical practices

Mzamo Nondlwana in conversation with brut dramaturge Hanna Steinmair about the work Waiting for Fall

by Hanna Steinmair (Dramaturgy & Outreach), 14.10.2026

‘The most challenging yet rewarding moment is the point where the audience shifts from watching to moving with us.’

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Artists

Mzamo Nondlwana

Mzamo Nondlwana is a queer, non-binary performing artist originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. Their work focuses on marginalised bodies and an attempt to subvert colonial fantasy. In 2006, they completed their dance education at MID (South Africa) and in 2014 at SEAD (Austria). They have worked with Michikazu Matsune, Doris Uhlich, Magdalena Chowaniec, Needcompany and Michael Turinsky. Mzamo Nondlwana is one half of Bicha Boo Collective, an audio-visual performative collective active since 2017. They last appeared at brut Wien in 2024 in the production Turning Point.

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Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz
The image shows several people on stage, photographed mostly from behind or from the side. In the foreground on the left, a person wears a patterned top and a layered checked costume with ruffles. In the centre, a bald person with a beard wears a light-coloured T-shirt, checked trousers and long orange fabric strips. Another person in an orange top is visible further back. The scene is illuminated in blue-green stage light. There is no text in the image.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz
The image shows several people in an energetic dance scene on stage. In the foreground, a person wearing an orange-and-green checked sleeveless costume with ruffles points forward with an outstretched arm. Their mouth is open wide and they look towards the camera. Tattoos are visible on their arm and shoulder. Other people dance in the background in colourful costumes. A turquoise pallet stands on the left side of the stage. The scene is illuminated by warm stage lighting. There is no text in the image.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz
The image shows two people in a dance scene under intense blue stage lighting. On the right, a bald person with a beard wears a light-coloured T-shirt with the word “CUM”, checked trousers and long orange fabric strips. They raise one hand and look downwards. On the left, part of another person is visible wearing a patterned top and a layered checked costume. The text “CUM” is visible on the T-shirt.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz
The image shows several people within a stage structure made of metal scaffolding. At the upper right, a person wearing an orange T-shirt and checked costume stands on one of the scaffold bars. Below them, another person is positioned at technical equipment. In the foreground on the left, a bald person with a beard moves across the stage wearing checked trousers with long orange fabric strips. A large surface with circular openings is visible in the background. The scene is illuminated in warm orange and violet light. There is no text in the image.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz
The image shows four people on stage. One person stands on a blue pallet and holds a microphone. They wear a colourful top with a transparent, shimmering silver fabric draped over it. On the left, another person wears a dark patterned top and a layered ruffled skirt. In the foreground, another person wears an orange-and-green checked sleeveless costume. On the right, a bald person with a beard wears a light purple T-shirt with the word “GUM”, checked trousers and orange fabric strips. The stage is warmly lit with a slight haze.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz
The image shows two people on stage in a performance scene. On the left, a bald person with a beard holds a microphone towards the person on the right. The person on the right wears a patterned top and a layered checked costume and appears to be speaking or singing into the microphone. Several turquoise wooden pallets are stacked in the foreground on the left. The stage is illuminated in purple, green and white light. There is no text in the image.
Mzamo Nondlwana – Waiting for fall
© Elif Gündüz

Interview

What inspired you? What gave you the impetus for the topic, or how would you describe the theme of your piece?

The impetus came from a desire to interrogate how queer-feminist perspectives, body politics, and collective memory intersect in a time of anticipating a political future that questions our existence. Growing up in South Africa and navigating migrant realities in Vienna shaped my understanding of community as a living organism, one capable of shifting space and time. I wanted to trace these physical and emotional states. In this piece, we ask how joy, grief, and resistance can coexist on stage as radical practices rather than passive reactions.

Do you have one or more favourite, or most challenging moment(s)? Why this (these) ones?

The most challenging yet rewarding moment is the point where the audience shifts from watching to moving with us. The piece is built as a participatory performance: the audience stands rather than sits, and is invited to join the dancing, so that the room carries the energy of a street rave or a demonstration. Working without a seated, distanced audience means every show holds a different charge, and we can never fully predict how the invitation lands. To prepare, we invited people into open rehearsals and had great pleasure to learn how powerfully the format worked.

‘Joy as a form of queer-feminist resistance’
Mzamo Nondlwana

What further questions or topics did working on the piece bring you to? What would you like to work on further?

Working on this piece opened up deeper questions about long-term care, somatic endurance, and the role of joy as a form of queer-feminist resistance. Moving forward, I would love to explore durational formats, sound-based movement practices, and how these themes translate into non-traditional stage spaces or community-centred installations.

Can you tell us about your collaboration?

The collaboration was rooted in mutual trust, deep listening, and shared experimentation across disciplines. Working with the team (sound, lighting, dramaturgy), we allowed our different artistic languages to overlap organically. Each collaborator brought a unique texture to the creative ecosystem, making the final performance a truly shared, collective gesture.

Do you have a ritual?

Before going on stage, my ritual includes a grounding physical warm-up, a moment of collective breath and connection with the team and tuning into the energy of the room. It helps me center my mind, honor the space, and transition smoothly into the performance state.

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  • Artists

Mzamo Nondlwana

Mzamo Nondlwana is a queer, non-binary performing artist originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. Their work focuses on marginalised bodies and an attempt to subvert colonial fantasy. In 2006, they completed their dance education at MID (South Africa) and in 2014 at SEAD (Austria). They have worked with Michikazu Matsune, Doris Uhlich, Magdalena Chowaniec, Needcompany and Michael Turinsky. Mzamo Nondlwana is one half of Bicha Boo Collective, an audio-visual performative collective active since 2017. They last appeared at brut Wien in 2024 in the production Turning Point.
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