If
pictures speak louder than words, then this publication represents an entire
library! (Review by Caroline Smart)
I Praise the Dance, an impressive publication
celebrating contemporary dance, is produced
by the Performing Arts Network of South Africa (PANSA) and made possible by support
from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.
The book
was compiled by Michael Britton, PANSA’s National Administrator and an author
and editor, and Kurt Egelhof, PANSA’s National Co-ordinator who is also an
actor and producer. PANSA’S thinking was that, because they are not dancers,
they would bring a refreshing approach to the project, unbiased towards any
particular dance community. The aim of the PANSA board was to applaud the
country’s dance artists for their contribution to the fabric of the South
African nation.
“We
wanted to include quotes about dance: quotes from poets, philosophers and
dancers,” Britton says.
Egelhof
explains: “When we found the poem by St Augustine, I Praise the Dance, we knew that we had found the scaffold around
which our book would be built. We picked stanzas of about two to three lines to
frame each chapter. We chose key words and phrases in the poem which became the
guidelines for photograph selection.”
The honours
undoubtedly go to the marvellous photographic content of the book. If pictures speak louder than
words, then this publication represents an entire library!
Obviously,
my focus is on KwaZulu-Natal and I was disappointed not to see more information
on highly successful local dance companies such as Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre,
the Flatfoot Dance Company or the Playhouse Resident Dance Company which have achieved
international acclaim.
However,
as dance guru Fred Hagemann, Professor Emeritus of the University of Pretoria,
states in his foreword: “I Praise the
Dance does not attempt to offer an all-inclusive and complete historical
record of South African dance. It is neither didactic, nor prescriptive, and
does not try to direct the reader towards a particular dance aesthetic or
philosophy. Instead, it celebrates the diversity, magnificence, beauty and
power of South African dance and offers the reader a glimpse of the ways in
which bodies play with space, time, energy and flow, and how the dancers merge
with the dance.”
Don’t
get me wrong, KZN is definitely represented. There are stunning pics by Val
Adamson, an acknowledged eThekwini Living Legend - who often creates magic by
making the mundane look spectacular - as well as chapters and coverage of their
work of dancers and choreographers Musa Hlatshwayo and Mlekelele Kuzwayo.
This
publication will inspire up-and-coming dancers and choreographers as well as
photographers.
Books are available at R285 for the public (R140
paid-up PANSA members). These prices exclude postage and packaging. Visit http://www.pansa.co.za - Caroline Smart
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