UJ honours Gladys Agulhas with Tunkie Award

The UJ Arts & Culture recently presented a very special and moving event which showcased Agulhas' work with people with disabilities. The event was directed by UJ Arts and Culture's resident choreographer, Owen Lonzar, who worked with Agulhas almost a decade ago. According to Lonzar, he wanted to conceptualise a new format for the award presentation that was as unique as the work of this year's recipient. "I would never have guessed that we would come full circle ten years later and I would be conceiving an awards event to honour her work as a choreographer and her unique contribution to dance," he said.

Agulhas studied Integrated Contemporary Dance Teaching with renowned teacher Adam Benjamin, completing a residency programme in the UK and Switzerland. An ex-senior dancer for the former Johannesburg Dance Theatre, she has a long history of involvement with Dance in Education. In collaboration with Remix Dance Project in Cape Town and the International Conference for Disability and Arts in Sweden, she has presented papers and conducted workshops. She is currently working with her company, Agulhas Theatre Works, on various outreach programmes, corporate and mainstream theatre performances.