Dance Delights on the Main Programme at National Arts Festival, Grahamstown (June 20 to July 4).From passionate flamenco, hauntingly beautiful classical ballet and vibrant Eastern Cape traditional dance to cutting-edge performance art installation, this year’s dance offering on the National Arts Festival Main programme is set to mesmerize audiences by showcasing top national and international dance talent.
In Cinema, 2010 Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Dance Mlu Zondi showcases his virtuosity of incorporating dance, text, performance art, theatre, video, installations and interactivity to produce a riveting experience of moving images with painterly qualities in 5D. Instead of just observing, the audience is invited to take a participatory role with an array of characters juxtaposed within the background of a variety of issues dealing with culture versus modernity. Through the use of dance, the antagonists simplify the complex situations in the plot. The startling result is a simpler engagement with the issues. The use of colour, installation and landscape manifests painterly effects while space is incorporated into the installation as a key element in the narrative structure.
Cape Town City Ballet, accompanied by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by KZN Philharmonic conductor Naum Rousine, brings Carmen and Ballet Bonanza to the main dance stage of the Festival. This treat for lovers of true classical ballet will feature highlights of the classics, including the popular Don Quixote pas de deux, and extracts from Flower Festival at Genzano and La Bayadere. The programme, produced by Elizabeth Triegaardt with lighting design by Shamiel Abrahams, is designed to showcase the talent of this 75-year old company and emphasises the beauty and athleticism of this ageless art form – ballet, the ultimate sport! Carmen reflects Veronica Paeper’s dramatic interpretation of the love triangle between the sultry Carmen (Megan Swart/Laura Bosenberg), the dashing toreador Escamilo (Robin van Wyk/Johnny Bovang) and the naïve soldier Don José (Xola Putye/Laura Bosenberg), to the epic music of Georges Bizet.
The journeys and the spirits of the Khoi-San people inspired San, choreographed by Vincent Sekwati Koko Mantsoe, presented by the Dance Forum. The San are known as the world’s oldest surviving culture that many believe is connected to the origins of humanity. These nomadic people are “the living people of the desert” in southern Africa. This dance performance is a continuation of their journey, depicted by dancers from South Africa, France and Reunion. It is an extension of the San’s spirit, a depiction of a different life form shaped into a different look, taste and smell, with a unique identity in the face of colonialism and globalisation. The poetry of the music is a key factor in the choreography, inspired by the great Persian poet, Mawlana Jalal Ad-din Balkhi Rumi, born in Afghanistan. The instruments played in the compositions are mainly the Kamancheh (violin), Barbat (lute), Tar (long-necked lute) and Daf (frame drum) together with voices and vocals that give the poetry of music a sense and a far distance of discovery.
Inscrutable is avant-garde South African performer and choreographer Acty Tang’s most autobiographical work to-date. It is both an installation and a solo performance born from his engagement with the cultural and personal meanings of being Chinese. Having lived his early years “on the road” with no single-culture as his home-ground, he has been able to draw on the snatches of memories, sounds and ways of moving that were embedded in his life experiences. Tang was born in Hong Kong where he spent most of his childhood before going to Japan as an exchange student. He moved to South Africa as a pre-teenager. His solo work is distinctive for the unconventional use of site, and his butoh-inspired physical theatre, concerned with revealing subtle inner spaces, wrapped within a bold visual aesthetic. Due to the intimate nature of the performances, the audience size is limited to 35 people per performance.
In essence, flamenco is the structured expression of raw emotions. Sentimientos will burst onto stage, evoking moods which ebb and flow with the strumming of guitars, the rhythms of castanets and the stomping of feet. In this dynamic dance production, directed by founder and director Carolyn Holden, La Rosa Dance Theatre offers the audience a passionate display of flamenco dancing that explores the broad spectrum of human emotions, ranging from fury to elation. On the one extreme, the deep songs (jondo) convey a cry, a lament or a protest and at the other extreme, the light songs (chico) are a celebration, often tongue-in-cheek and usually with a hint of satire. The middle songs (intermedio) are the narrative, recounting event and episodes. These bubbling currents of universal human emotion flow through Sentimientos, sweeping the audience along on an emotional journey. The production also features choreography by the Madrid-based choreographers Joaquin Ruiz and La Truco. The haunting vocals of Loreán Swartz and the five-piece band draw their inspiration from world music.
With the music of Tchaikovsky as her primary inspiration, Festival favourite Dada Masilo is once again preparing to mesmerise her audiences with her contemporary take on Swan Lake. Having captivated audiences with Romeo and Juliet in 2008 and Carmen in 2009, there is absolute certainty that this flamboyantly bold contemporary choreographer/dancer will once again snatch the attention as she takes to the stage with a cast of 11 young professional dancers, especially selected for the production. Additional music for Swan Lake is by René Avenant, Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt.
From the vibrant foot-stomping sounds of the AmaBaca to the dexterous animal movements of the Khoisan, the Eastern Cape Cultural Ensemble is an extravaganza of the indigenous cultures that descend from the rural hills and mountainous landscapes of the Eastern Cape to sing and dance with passion. Every sound, movement and gesture is intended to take the audience on an exclusive journey into the heartland of tradition, rituals and ancestral homage. The 55 talented dancers move as if they are woven together like a tapestry to tell the stories about the AmaMpodomise, AmaBomvane, AmaGcaleka, AbeSotho, Amagqira and the AbaThembu communities. This rhythmical potpourri reflects the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture’s vision and its commitment to preserve its cultural legacies while at the same time creating an opportunity for multi-cultural diversity to harmoniously exist alongside with each other.
The National Arts Festival is a designated cultural activity of the Soccer World Cup, and is on in Grahamstown from June 20 to July 4, 2010. To get the full festival experience online, click on the National Arts Festival’s advert on this page which will link you through to their website.
Pick up a copy of the Booking Kit / Programme at selected Exclusive Books and Standard Bank branches, and Computicket Outlets. Call the Festival hot line for all enquiries – 046 603 1103 and follows the NAF on Twitter @artsfestival or on Facebook: facebook.com/nationalartsfestival
The National Arts Festival is sponsored by Standard Bank, The Eastern Cape Government, The National Arts Council, The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, The Sunday Independent and M-Net.
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