Posting this from snowy Maine. We are having perhaps our biggest snow of the winter on March 1! School and work have been called off. From my window I hear the giddy delight of  neighborhood kids playing in the fresh fallen snow. Quite a change from the glorious soundscape of birds outside my window at Tama Rumah Guest House in Melville.

On my last full day in Joburg Neli offers to take us out of the city today to the Cradle of Humankind, otherwise known as Maropeng.  She, Mamela, Philip Bither , Edward (Neli’s partner) and one of their friends (whose name I didn’t quite master) head north into the Mahliesburg hills, a beautiful area one hour north of Joburg. I made this trip in 2010 but its’ totally worth another visit. Maropeng is a great museum that traces the development of planet earth and humankind. The museum is designed to meld into the landscape. Much of it is covered by earth like a berm house. There is a decidedly environmental slant to the presentations along with a message of equality. Ironic for it to be in South Africa with its still present Apartheid mentality.  It’s a wonderful place for young people to learn about evolution and consider the future of the planet.

My favorite aspect of the property on which the museum sits is the long views across the open rolling hills. Today there is haze that creates layers of horizons. It’s very peaceful after the bustle of Joburg. Maropeng is a large preserve where some of the oldest human and animal remains have been discovered. Skulls like Ms. Ples were unearthed here.  There appear to be trails throughout the property and today there are over 100 mountain bikers here for the third leg of a 70k a day bike event.

After our tour of the museum and a nice sit in the sun we head off in search of a decent lunch. Its past the noon hour so possibilities are sketchy. After a bit too much discussion we finally end up at the Maropeng Hotel, a very swanky place near the museum with an infinity pool on the terrace and even more beautiful views. By now I am beyond hungry but the service is horribly slow and the food mediocre. Oh well.

At the table we are two arts curators, a surgeon, a corporate marketer/arts board person with a deep grounding in the visual arts scene, and two choreographers. It makes for interesting conversation and a glimpse into a particular slice of life in Joburg. We jump from politics to art to food to music and more.

By the time we get back to Melville I am exhausted and opt to miss the final performance of Mark Hawkins and go to bed early in preparation for my 24 hours of travel tomorrow.

As I prepare to depart I keep thinking about what I am taking away from this visit. Everyone we ask (our drivers, waiters, artists, funders, innkeeper) say that things are getting better in South Africa — the government is taking better care of the people and crime is down, but gas prices keep going up and jobs are too scarce. in Soweto there has been some successful development like a new theater complex and more restaurants and B & Bs. This is where the next Danse Afrique Danse platform will be taking place in November. Still the government bureaucracy is maddeningly inefficient, corruption is rampant and many are still suffering. This is still a very young democracy with a legacy of injustice under Apartheid. It is shocking to hear informed, intelligent South Africans say that they feel Mandela helped the whites more than the blacks in the end.  Traveling across the city one sees the disparities of great wealth and poverty.  Depending on which neighborhood you visit it might resemble the Hollywood hills or some other wealthy US suburb. On the other end of the spectrum are the dismally poor shantytowns of the townships.

What has also come across through people’s personal stories and several of the works on Dance Umbrella is the pervasive threat of sexual violence against women, children, gays and lesbians. The children who are raped and impregnated by their teachers, the raping of children as young as two as a way to avoid HIV/Aids, the grandmother who was raped and murdered, the corrective rape of lesbians (could there be a more absurd notion), the casual one night stand and resulting contraction of HIV/Aids. The threats are so pervasive to be more the norm than not and I can’t help but sense that there is a degree of acceptance that this is just life, along with a sense of horror. Rarely do these cases get prosecuted and so it goes on and on.

Another ugly truth that emerges through my conversations is the deeply embedded racism among some whites. As in the Y.S. there are people who seriously consider themselves neutral, open-minded and supportive of blacks. Yet they convey a deep rooted sense of superiority and desire to maintain physical distance. As though the black race was in some way polluted, dirty and less. Many whites grow up with black nannies who they adore to their death but god forbid they get too close to any other member of the race. Geez Louise in the 21^st century can we move on to a more enlightened and humane way of being in the world together. Our blood is red, our tears are salty and we are all going to die someday. Let’s be the best people we can for the short time we are here.

We are now mid-festival but sadly cannot stay to see all of the performances. I am here for the longest stint but am still missing shows by Vincent Mantsoe, Dada Masilo and others. We have quite a busy schedule so keeping up with my blog has become a priority during my few free hours.

Today we had our second consortium meeting — a chance to hear from everyone around the table (and from several artist who sent news). Among us there is an amazing array of exciting thinking and work happening. Yerba Buena has just hired Marc Bamuthi Joseph as their new performing arts curator and we are all eager to see how he reinvents their programs.

Ken Foster fresh off the plane

651 Arts in hoping to move into their own space and establish more of an identity in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

Shay Wafer

Seattle Theatre Group is bringing a kickass program next season including MAPP’s Voices of Strength, Amadou & Mariam, Fela, Dance Theater of Harlem, and more. The Walker staff is rethinking their focus to reflect a more global perspective.

Vivian Philips

VSA Arts of New Mexico is conceptualizing a new mini series called Journeys featuring small works by international artists.

Cathy and Marj

Likewise the artists are deeply engaged in developing new work and dreaming big. Greg is fine-tuning Exit/Exist and has several other projects in the hopper. His big dream is to create a dance center is Soweto.

Gregory Maqoma and Phlip Bither

Boyzie is working on the final part of his trilogy and trying to live a saner life. Neli is exploring how to extend “Uncles & Angels” into a video installation and photographs for galleries. They are all and strategizing ways to change the arts culture in southern Africa to be more responsive to artists.

Boyzie Cekwana and Neli Xaba

Together, through honest dialogue, we renew our commitment to our shared goals and discover what the next steps might be.  Thanks to our new funding from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation we will move forward introducing US artists into the mix in a more intentional way. We plan to gather again during the Danse Afrique Danse platform hosted by Cultures France in Joburg next November. We also hope to invite one of our African artist affiliates to the next National Performance Network meeting to introduce them to this important consortium of US artists and presenters.

Moving on… After a much needed afternoon rest we head off to see PJ Sabbagha and The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative’s “One Night Stand”at the Wits Theater. The program notes describes this as “a provocative exploration of the many ways we are infected on a daily basis by the many viruses that invade our lives and take over our bodies.” PJ has been active in the fight against HIV/Aids.  In visiting with him earlier this week he admitted the piece was in an early stage of development and was quite chaotic and messy (his words). After seeing the piece I would have to agree. The dancers were terrifically athletic and daring but the piece seemed to have very little structure or, frankly, much identifiable connection to the theme articulated in the program. The music, run from the sidelines on a laptop, was repetitive, pounding electronica that did not enhance the action from my perspective.

I had loved PJ’s work during the 2010 Dance Umbrella and so wanted my colleagues to be wowed by his new show. Fortunately they are all sophisticated curators and could see the intelligence and intent behind the work.

Next Philip and I head off to Moyo Restaurant at Zoo Park to hear some local music. Philip seeks out music in every city he visits and had been trying hard to find the best venues here in Joburg. His sources told him a bunch of good musicians were gathering at Moyo tonight to jam. When we arrived we discovered one singer with his acoustic guitar just finishing his last set. The dinner crowd seemed little interested in his music, lovely as it was. Since we were there and our driver had departed we settled in for dinner and a chance to catch up one on one. The opportunity to really talk to one another is rare in our field. Most often when we are together it is at a conference where everyone is racing around seeing work or in a big group meeting.  I am always delighted when a chance comes to spend more quality time and hash over issues of common concern. We had another such opportunity in November 2010 when Philip, Marj and I were in the Masa Mara of Kenya.

Another day of torrential downpours and wild thunder and lightning keeps the atmosphere exciting and cool..  I am awakened each morning near 5am by the complex and melodic song of two birds calling to each other…wake up, wake up, the day is coming! After trying for a couple more hours of much needed but fitful sleep I rise for a glorious hot shower with a little yoga thrown in. We are sitting way too much, did I mention that already?

Neli, Boyzie, Vivian & Mamela

This morning we are off to a breakfast meeting with about 40 theater and dance artists at the Market Theatre organized by the director, Malcolm Purkey. There is a bit of confusion at the start as the restaurant we are supposed to gather in is closed. Our empty stomachs growl and coffee is needed by all. We finally get situated across the park in a Sophiatown café and much socializing ensues.  It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet a range of folks involved in the arts. I chat with a retired cultural attaché who serves on the Market Theatre board, and with Michelle Constant who direct BASA (Business and the Arts South Africa). I mention the informal network the affiliate artists are trying to create and their dire need for administration support to form some basic infrastructure. She seems enthusiastic and quickly formulates an idea for how to fund a one-year position to assist them. I lure Greg over to join us and am excited to think something might happen to help their nascent group develop.  Apparently the artists met with BASA last year but nothing came of it. Well one must keep at it and I hope they will.

In the afternoon Neli takes myself, Cathy and Mamela out to Sandton, a ritzy northern suburb of high end shopping malls, the US Embassy, galleries, hotels, etc. We visit the original Goodman Gallery, one to the most established galleries in Joburg where there is a show of work by women including two stunning photographs of Neli’s piece, “Uncles and Angels”. The curator, a smart young woman, joins us for coffee and fills us in on recent shows and activities at the gallery. Neli seems to be quite connected to the visual arts scene. The Goodman is a beautiful space –all white everywhere with nice library.

We move on to a swanky little café for some lunch and enlightening conversation about our individual family histories. We are relishing the chance to get to know one another better and go deeper into our understanding of how we have become who we are. Without sharing any personal details I will just say that the potential for violence is omnipresent in the lives of many people on this continent — especially women. As Americans we are extraordinarily fortunate to live in relative safety and we should not take it for granted for a moment.  For us the violence and abuse is covert if it exists whereas here it is very overt. Listening to stories of the harsh realities and threats that must be endured here adds a powerful dimension and rational for the work we are seeing. These issues must be exposed and what better way than through performance.

Back at the Market we attend performances by Alfred Hinkel and Robin Orlin, both dance icons in South Africa. Alfred’s piece “Dansmettieduiwels”  (an unholy mass) is based on the theme of the stereotypical Roman Catholic priest as a child sexual predator. The piece was created in response to the suicide of a young man who grew up in one of the local missions schools outside of Capetown and was becoming a priest. Set to the sacred music of Johann Sebastian Bach, mostly his Mass in B minor, and with a backdrop of iconography from the Vatican and Roman Catholic Church, the ugly story unfolds through the demented lens of this ‘unholy’ worldview. We see Adam and Eve, Cupid/Eros the erotic angel, the commanding and masculine priest/overlord, and a boy who is ultimately and quite brutally raped.  Sexually suggestive acts course through the work. The dancing is spectacular and very physical.

Alfred has trained these dancers in his technique which he has been developing for more than 30 years, first at JazzArts, the company he directed in Capetown, and now on his own. He is teaching a workshop for about 20 young dance artists in conjunction with Dance Umbrella. One of them is Lucky Kele who has spent two summers at BDF.  From Lucky’s description the approach to training and creation is based on improvisation and internal sensing — working from the inside out. One can see watching the dancing that there is a strong technical foundation but also a level of embodiment and commitment to the characters. The boy is particularly astonishing, as he looks all of 13 and has only studied with Alfred for 5 months, we find out later. In fact, he is 17 but still he does an amazing job of holding his own among the more accomplished and older dancers.

Once again in this work we are confronted with a harsh reality of life here – the sexual abuse of children that is overlooked and left unprosecuted in most instances. Catholic missions dot the countryside every 200 kilometer or so. While pedophilia among priests has been a major story in the US and the British Isles, clearly it is going on everywhere and must be exposed and addressed worldwide.

From this hideous and beautifully wrought work we go directly to experience Robin Orlin’s signature work, “Daddy, I’ve Seen This Piece Six Times Before And I Still Don’t Know Why They’re Hurting Each Other”. From the sublime to the ridiculous, Robin’s work features the originally cast of Neli Xaba, Gerard Bester, Toni Morkel and others in a completely over the top, totally whacky, wildly manic slapstick performance event that is absurd, hilariously and exhausting. We are crowded into a small room with a giant raised staged that takes up most of the space. The audience stands around the perimeter and is often cast into the action.  The opening image is of a very tall Neli (standing on stool it turns out) center stage in a long red velvet evening gown putting on the airs of the ultimate diva and bossing everyone around. Actor/director Gerard serves as master of ceremonies hopelessly attempting to corral the performers into behaving. In the ensuing hour an a half we are treated to leopard undies, dancing plastic windup duckies, a frenetic African dance routine by 16 youngsters, a stage methodically covered with hundreds red plates, and a synchronized dance with platters (a la 60’s variety TV choreography) that is shot from above and viewed on four monitors hung in each corner of the room…need I go on. When a 300 lbs woman from the audience is brought on stage to do a romantic duet with Gerard to some sappy love song, and ends up astride him doing the bump and grind, the whole audience loses it in howling laughter.

This nutty piece has toured the world, apparently with wild success. It helped launch Neli’s career in Europe and was considered worthy of a revival this year at the Umbrella. In fact, it sold out so quickly they added show this afternoon. I guess everyone needs a good laugh now and then.