(Musa Hlatshwayo)
During
June, award-winning dancer and choreographer Musa Hlatshwayo has been
hosting phase 2 of his Mhayise Productions’ Movement Laboratory
Residency. This featured a number of young performing artists from the Movement
Laboratory and a number of other represented organizations or performing
groups.
“While movement technique training and body conditioning
were still at the forefront, our focus area was on the creative processes of
‘creating’. This included understanding how to identify an idea, process it
into a concept, cook it into a piece and serve it as a performance of a live
contemporary dance theatre piece,” Hlatshwayo explains.
“We covered a range of exercises, tools and methods that
enabled the participants a chance to explore and challenge themselves during
the process of their own creations as guided by the theories and philosophies
discussed. This process also had to be highly mindful of the environment under
which all of this was happening as a means of feeding and nurturing the
creative process and the mind. Different ideas and approaches were discussed
alongside the different areas that one can tap into when engaging in the
creative process of creating contemporary performance art.”
Scheduled
activities showcasing the Residency’s working process and methods took place at
Stable Theatre’s Ballroom Square and was open to the public and the arts
community. artSPACE Durban then hosted the group for a week where they got an
opportunity to explore indoors in an intimate space where a young artists
exhibition (and competition) equally fed into their creative process.
“While the public and the fine artists roamed around
watching and discussing the 60 pieces of work and voting for the one deserving
of the R10,000 grand-prize, we explored, experimented and introspected
ourselves a lot deeper using the artworks and the public’s energies as the
resource. Each day we found ourselves being drawn to different art pieces, the
different techniques and presentation aesthetics and artistic intents. We
couldn’t help but draw a lot from these creative impulses as we collaborated
with the language that we speak best; movement. The presence of the roaming
audience in the very same space that we worked on also contributed another
layer to the creative process,” says Hlatshwayo.
The highlight of this process was meeting Paris; a nine
year-old ‘artist-in-the-making’ whose work was also part of the exhibition with
a piece entitled Autism Rocks. This
experience left the group understanding the basics of Autism.
Once threaded and structured, all the material worked on resulted
in a full-length work of a very high standard. Titled Azishe-NonE-stoP, it showcased a variety of personal, emotional,
intellectual and political testimonies through movement. The production went on
to form part of the 2015 Durban Dance Movement Festival that took place in the
Playhouse Drama.
The
Movement Lab Residencies are an initiative fostered by Mhayise Productions as
an extension of its free training programme. The Movement Lab continues to host
free dance classes every Saturday at the Mayville Playhouse from 10h00 to 13h00
to anyone and everyone who is keen to move along at no charge.
For more information contact Musa Hlatshwayo on
email: mhayiseproductions@yahoo.com
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