Thamsanqa graduated from Performing Arts, Research and Training Studios in Belgium. He is well-trained in improvisation, and studied dance and dance teaching at the Tshwane University of Technology.

Thamsanqa choreographed Neverland, a theatre-dance film motivated by dissociative identity disorder. This film aimed to educate the black community that the disorder ia not a work of witchcraft but a condition that requires treatment and care.

To Thamsanqa, dance isn’t just movement, it’s an expression of energy, storytelling that breaks down stereotypes and norms. “Space” plays a critical role as he defies traditional restrictions of his artform to become one of the most captivating dancers of his generation.

Over the past decade, Bloemfontein-born Thami Majela has danced his way around the world, developing a distinctive repertoire that fuses classical ballet, contemporary dance and various African dance styles.

Early in his career, Majela had the opportunity of working with prominent South African dance practitioners like Dada Masilo and P.J. Sabbagha. In 2015, he was selected by Pro Helvetia for a research residency in Switzerland, where he created the duet Interim with Margarita Kennedy. Majela’s first solo piece, A Last One in Colour, developed into an international collaboration with dancer-choreographer Manao Shimokawa and filmmaker Axel Stasny. This spurred Majela into various short film projects: Sub Zero, Layered Waves, Each Passing Minute, iNxeba and Lilith, Lucifer and Eve.

Undeterred by Covid, Majela has continued to perform on various platforms over the last three years. He created The Last Supper for UJ Arts & Culture’s Pandemic Project, and his SPACTRAL (first featured at the Centre for the Less Good Idea) was part of the Virtual National Arts Festival in 2020. He has become a firm National Arts Festival favourite during the subsequent return to live performance, presenting Mommy Mommy in 2021 and POP (with Matthieu Nieto) in 2022. Majela also features regularly at the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience.

Majela situates his most recent work, like POP, within the context of the struggles of queer communities in South Africa and beyond:

"Most of my subject matter is “heavy”, especially pieces such as Mommy Mommy. I engage with real issues that reflect on the situation of our LGBTQIA+ communities, which go through a lot of turmoil. Lightness is necessary, it is needed, but we forget that the “clown” has emotions. 

Having studied dance at Tshwane University of Technology and P.A.R.T.S (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios) in Belgium, Majela is deeply committed to arts education. In addition to his choreographic and performance work, he has taught young dancers at studios around South Africa.