Sadly this is my last day in Joburg. I wish I could stay longer  to continue dialogue with members of the dance community. I have learned a lot during my short stay but there is so much more to know.  I regret having to miss the last two performances by Boyzie and Erik.

I attend the afternoon talk with Mamela Nyambza, Mcebesi Bhayi and Sbonakaliso Ndaba whose works will be performed this evening on a triple bill. It is an honor to get to know these artists through their own words and I am deeply moved by their intelligence and commitment. Mamela is an incredible striking woman with a passionate nature. A native of Capetown, she makes work about controversial issues and events. From the sounds of it pretty radical stuff.  She was trained in ballet, modern and jazz, spent a year at Ailey and performed in “The Lion King” before returning to Capetown to “do something interesting and different from her past.” She is currently working on a piece entitled “Shift” based on the real life killings of lesbian soccer players in South Africa. She has also been commissioned by the British Council to create a video installation for London’s City Hall to inaugurate an exhibition about racism in soccer.

Sbo is a strong, direct and totally down to earth individual who clearly knows what she is about. I like her immediately.  Also from Capetown, she has been making work a long while and has garnered many accolades. For Dance Umbrella she has create a piece on JazzArts, the premier company from Capetown. Sbo talks about her Zulu upbringing in a family of sangomas (traditional healers). She did not follow in her grandmother and mother’s footsteps and wonders if that decision will come back to haunt her someday. She works improvisational and draws on her background of traditional dance. She never plans a piece or starts with an idea but instead starts in the studio with  improvisational structures and watches what comes. She builds from there completely organically (my word). She sees this herwork in dance as a calling and something ‘deep.’

Mcebisi discusses his new work, “Umthi Ongathwaliyo” (Fruitless Tree) which deals with ritual, his reality as an African, and history.  Specifically, the piece deals with drought and death — people dying before their time and trying to return from the dead.  He describes collaborating with a Singaporean artist, with whom he had serious conflicts, and admitted that he was not willing to back down or change his vision for the work.

Later I attend a run of Mcebesi’s piece in the studio.   He dances in Gregory’s company and is working with the same group of five dancers. I love seeing work in the studio!  The piece is well crafted and shows good choreographic instincts. It is more sophisticated in this regard than some of the others works we have seen. I am sorry I cannot see it fully produced.

Again check out my colleague, Marjorie Neset’s blog (http://mneset.wordpress.com/) for another take on all these experiences. She got to stay two days longer so will comment on the final works being presented.

This afternoon I enjoy one last amazing meal at the Lucky Bean Restaurant on 7th St. in Melville with my traveling pals, Jodee and Marge. We take our special table on the upper balcony and order some of our favorite food and wine. We are inspired to preserve these moments of pleasure in photos lest we forget the awesome presentation and flavors.

I am sad to be leaving and am dreading the 17 hours flight home. I have one last drive through the city with our friendly driver, Gerry. As it turns out the flight isn’t as bad as I imagine. Its totally full but somehow I scrunch up and doze most of the night. The pilot announces after we take off that they are leaving all of our luggage in Joburg due to some weight imbalance. Two days later it still has not arrived…argh!

I return home feeling much more knowledgeable about the dance scene in South Africa but also understanding how incredible complex and layered the issues are around democracy, race, equality, integration, arts support, collaboration and building an authentic community. There are so many similarities to the U.S. Every country must trace its own path, and though they are often similar, real deep down learning only seems to come from experience. It sees tragic that we cannot learn by observing the pitfalls others succumb to. Our inability to learn from one another and make smarter progress may well prove fatal for our dear Mother Earth. Time is short … and a drastic change in direction better come soon or even art won’t  matter any longer.

When we as a race and planet face such dire issues it is hard to become too deeply distressed by the struggles of the dance world – the scarcity of resources for the arts and the lack of interest among the majority population.  Yet I do believe that the arts are the most compelling way to awaken people to feel and to act. The insightful work I have witnessed here digs into many crucial issues. If only more people would pay attention!  Certainly these artists are worthy of greater recognition and support. I am hopeful that Dance Umbrella will find a new sponsor and continue to thrive. Likewise, I hope that we will find support to introduce American audiences to more of these compelling voices of contemporary Africa. I have made a vow going forward to focus on the women artists of Africa and have already made invitations for 2011. Stay tuned!

Tweet This Post

Today we meet with Sylvia Glasser who I first got to know in 1999. She gives us a tour of their beautiful new building, introduces the staff and fills us in on recent developments. In the lobby Sylvia tells me she wants to introduce me to a very special person. A petite older woman is washing the floors with her back to us. She turns and I see Vincent. This is his mother. I give her a big hug. The encounter brings tears to my eyes. She has worked all her life as a cleaning woman and her son has become an international dance sensation. We visit and take some photos. It is so lovely to meet a family member of an artist I have known for a long time.

We attend the afternoon talk with Eric Languet from Reunion Island and Boyzie Cekwana. Erik’s three dancers are performing a work, “Faux Ciels” (Fake Skies) about prostitution in which one audience member pays for a solo performance by a dancer in a private room. Only 10 people can see the show each night. The dancers repeat the performance for each individual audience member.  For their research the dancers visited strip clubs and interviewed prostitutes. Each dancer created their own individual solo. The piece has been performed in the street with the dancers ‘soliciting’ customers. It deals with dance as prostitution. Erik regards beig a classical ballet dancer as a form of selling oneself — not thinking, performing the steps and looking beautiful.  Erik was a classical dancer who became disenchanted with ballet. He went on to be a member of DV8 where his eyes were opened to an issue-based way of working. Erik notes seeing CandoCo which totally changed his perception of how dancers can communicate who they are.

Boyzie talks about his new work,  “Influx Controls: I wanna be wanna be” described in the program as an “asphyxiated cry for total and ultimate assumption of full humanity. ‘I wanna be’ is ‘I Wanna Be White’ since whiteness is goodness; whiteness is having in a world of have-notness.” Part performance part installation, Boyzie collaborated with his nephew who designed the costume and serves a set person in the work. “I wanna be…” deals with questions of identity in its various forms and fallacies.  The idea for the piece came from a trip to the Congo where Boyzie came face to face with the “living legacy of colonialism.” He notes that in South Africa “we have found ways to brush over our own issues with colonialism –and continue to buy a glossy portrayal of our contemporary existence.”  I am in awe of Boyzie’s intelligence and articulation. He is one deep thinker.

This evening we attend a shared program of works by Dada Masilo and Luyanda Sidiya. Dada’s piece, “Umfula Wa Ma Dada” is a mock ballet in white tutus set to Tchaikovsky.  It was created for a large group of students from Israel with a few locals thrown in. Dada is the soloist and dazzles with her verve. The finale includes some itty bitty dancers who are adorable and amazingly adept.

Luyanda’s piece, “Indlela” is inspired by the different paths people take to find themselves.  It features three extraordinary musicians, two percussionists, a guitar player and singer. The scene opens with the musicians framed in the arches of the back wall of the stage in low light. They gradually emerge onto a set of steps across the back of the stage space. The music is truly transporting and it is hard to focus on the dancing.  The piece begins very slowly. The lighting and costumes are beautiful, the dancers very proficient, but the dynamics of the choreography don’t vary enough to keep my interest.

Tweet This Post

I spend most of the morning writing and taking another long walk around our  neighborhood. Tonight we see a new work, “Batsumi,” by Thabo Rapoo, a young choreographer with Moving Into Dance Mophatong (MIDM).

MIDM is the most established company in Joburg. It was founded in 1978 by Sylvia “Magogo” Glasser as a non-racial dance company and training organization, during the height of apartheid. Dance was used as a form of cultural resistance to apartheid. At the basis of all the work was the concept of integration – integration of people as well as the integration of African and Western cultures. MIDM’s signature Afro-fusion style was born at this time – a blending of African ritual, music and dance with Western contemporary dance forms. Vincent Mantsoe has taught Afro-fusion at BDF and this summer Michel Kouakou will teach his version during the Young Dancers Workshop.

Sylvia Glasser has been a leading force in contemporary dance in South Africa. She has discovered and trained many artists who have gone on to successful independent careers such are Vincent Mantsoe, Gregory Maqoma, Moektsi Koena, David Matamela and others.

MIDM has recently moved into a fabulous new building next door to Dance Factory and Dance Forum and across Fitzgerald Square from the Market Theatre. It is the arts district. Here the three leading dance organizations sit side by side with great potential for collaboration. MIDM’s building is modern, colorful and pretty swanky. It features three studios, a library, meeting room and offices for the staff.

Thabo Rapoo while not trained at MIDM is currently creating works on the company. He is a musician and choreographer. Tonight we see “Batsumi” that deals with hunters (men) and gatherers (women) and the states their travel through. It features live music performed on two violins, cello, keyboard and percussion. Thabo plays percussion. The musicians are set on a raised platform at the back of the stage. The piece, which includes nine dancers, begins with one male dancer coming down through the audience singing a traditional song.

The vocabulary is a mix of traditional and contemporary movement. The most inventive choreography comes midway with a duet featuring imaginative lifts. This is a fresh young group of dancers who are strong performers who will develop with more performance experience. The piece goes on too long and has several potential endings. It would benefit from some serious editing. The music is lyrical and gorgeous. It carries the piece and sometimes stands out more than the dancing.  The audience appears to include many friends and family who are very  enthusiastic.

Tweet This Post

This is our day off from the festival as no performances are scheduled.  We take the opportunity to get out of the city and head to the Magaliesberg hills, an area northwest of Joburg about one hour’s drive. Our driver Lawrence, whose company is providing transport for all the festival participants, is a knowledgeable guide. Magaliesberg is bordered on both the north and south by small mountain ranges with a gorgeous valley in between. The Crocodile River runs through the region. A dam at the east end creates a large lake. The landscape is extraordinarily beautiful which has made it a big tourist destination.  In earlier times the region was renowned for its game but trigger-happy trophy hunters have, for the most part, shot out the game. The Afrikaners in particular, have developed many high-end lodges and game reserves.  The region of rolling hills and amazing vistas is now home to many working farms.

Lawrence takes us on some back roads to visit the dam and then we are off to Maropeng – the Cradle of Humankind. Maropeng covers 47,000 hectares of mostly privately owned land. It comprises a strip of a dozen dolomitic limestone caves containing the fossilized remains of ancient forms of animals, plants and most importantly, hominids. Here the earliest human skulls have been excavated. Maropeng includes a museum built five years ago, sited on a beautiful high piece of land with views in all directions. This is a very special place.  The buildings are thoughtfully placed in the landscape. The exhibits are well thought out and executed to appeal to people of all ages. Our guide has worked there since before it opened and his name is listed on the plaque by the door.  The museum presents a decidedly enlightened point of view about the origins and evolution of our human species and the future we are facing.

While I would really have liked to take a hike in the hills instead of just admiring them from the car window it is nice to get out into the big open spaces.

Tweet This Post

Today Gregory Maqoma takes us on a personal tour of Soweto — his hometown. In fact it is the hometown of most of the black people we have met.  It is about a 20-minute drive east of Joburg on a good day with light traffic. Soweto has a population of about 4 million. It is the largest black township in southern Africa and is quite a bit larger than Joburg.  It is comprised of several zones. Since apartheid the streets have been paved and the homes, many built by the government, have been improved a great deal. Of course some areas are much nicer than others and there are still some squatter villages of corrugated metal shacks that are really dismal. But, there is also a brand new, very upscale mall complete with a giant soccer ball! The three new soccer stadiums built for the World Cup are all on the way to Soweto and are quite impressive.

We cover al lot of ground in three hours. First stop is to visit Gregory’s home to meet his mother and brother. He has helped them to create a lovely home with three separate buildings around a courtyard, all the modern conveniences, surrounded by a secure wall and gate. Everywhere from the wealthiest suburbs to the poorest neighborhoods people have walls often topped with razor wire or spikes to deter intruders.

In my field so rarely do we  meet the families of those we work with. Meeting Greg’s Mom is a treat. She is warm and lovely. She gives us some of her delicious corn muffins that take the place of lunch and keep us going through out tour. Greg’s younger brother has just been initiated as a sangoma, a traditional healer. He is building drums from 50 gallon metal barrels and cow skins.

Our next stop is Freedom Square built to honor the triumphant resistance movement led by the ANC and dedicated to Walter Sisulu, co-founder with Nelson Mandela of the ANC. It is an enormous plaza flanked by two incredibly long tall buildings. It was designed to give a sense of space and freedom from wherever one stands within it.  Along one side is a busy market street with many small shops as well as an open air food market with colorful piles of fruits and vegetables. This feels like a hub – it is dense with people buying food, getting haircuts, doing errands and socializing. It is Sunday so most folks are not working.

Everywhere we go along the roads people are walking or waiting in the hot sun for taxis.  One must drive or be driven to and fro as the distances are far. Most depend on crowded taxi vans to commute to work.

Our next stop is the place where Gregory and Vincent first got introduced to dance and began to practice their moves. Its’ a hostel where the migrant workers still live and where dance competitions used to be held on weekends — its’ a pretty depressing, rundown place. We stop for a drink at an open-air restaurant in the complex– a favorite among locals – that serves every part of the cow. Everything is on display—a half a cow carcass is hanging in one alcove. Through a crack in the walls we can see where they are butchering. In another shack they are preparing and cooking the entrails. There are big grills going where meat is being barbecued. Tables are set up for the diners and there is a small store where you can buy drinks.  To our ‘oh so health conscious’ American palettes this is pretty scary — meat, meat and more meat with almost nothing to accompany it but some potato salad.  The flies and filthy surfaces where everything is prepared are enough to put one off eating for a while.  But, its’ amazing what a stomach can endure—its all a matter of what you’re used to!

We also stop at a community center—each zone has one. Most have a variety of spaces for different activities like a library, sewing center, gathering space, art rooms, etc. We are lucky and find a modern dance class in progress. There are three drummers accompanying and about 20 students of all ages and levels of experience.  I am surprised by the contemporary nature of the material being taught. This center is large, one of the older ones and a bit shabby.  Some are brand new and very spiffy as are some of the schools.  There has been a lot of development in the infrastructure and yet Greg says the government is still building the same crummy matchbox houses for people.

We move on to the home of Nelson Mandela – a must see although there isn’t much to it. This is where he and Winnie first lived when they were married. It is now a museum and the neighborhood around it is jokingly called Beverly Hills. Its’ gotten pretty swanky with cafes and guesthouses.

Another very important landmark is the Hector Pieterson Museum built to commemorate the young teen who became the iconic figure of the youth struggle. He was made famous by a photograph seen around the world. In it he carries a wounded child through the streets of Soweto during the youth uprising. It is a beautiful museum and landmark that sits on a hill overlooking the township.  This was the site of the uprising and of Hector’s tragic death. There is a monument of stonework and water that includes the famous image. Also in the complex is another community center where Greg has often performed. In this place, as in Freedom Square, the weight of history is heavy. I feel the presence of struggle and grief — but also the incredible power of the multitudes that risked and lost their lives in the fight for freedom and equality. It is one thing to read about these events from afar. It is quite another to stand it the place where history was made.

We return to Joburg for the evening’s performance. The triple bill features, Lucky Kele, who was a residency artist at Bates in 2006 & 2007. From my visit with Lucky yesterday I learn that the piece grew out of an encounter Lucky had in which he came upon a young woman giving birth on the street. It was a terrifying, bloody experience. The piece is about a baby girl child and the agony and abuse she suffers in the world. The set includes a wall upstage left, painted with a chaotic abstract design in red. Upstage right is a bloodied board on which lays some sort of undecipherable creature.  A second performer who appears to be a kind of sage dressed in a robe, speaks a text most of which I cannot make out. Lucky is a tortured soul who dances out the agony. It is wrenching.

Tweet This Post