Delightfully
charming dance work. (Review by Verne Rowin Munsamy)
International
choreographer Daniel Renner from Austria, reunites with Durban based Flatfoot
Dance Company to bring us their latest collaboration IDHRA/breath. No stranger to the Jomba! festival, Renner brings his
strong Hip Hop influence into this delightfully charming dance work.
The video
at the beginning in the evening, Momentum
which was shot in Holland, introduces us to the style that Renner has
explored overseas to remarkable success. His fusion of Hip Hop and contemporary
dance layers the piece with multiple meanings and creative possibilities. Like
the popping colour in the black and white shot video, we are drawn into the
popping and locking that occurs live at the Sneddon.
IDHRA is about the breath of life, finding moments of
busy, of stillness, alone and together and breathing air into all of life’s
binaries. In the in-breath and out-breath we discover what it means to exist
and coexist. Having only three weeks to create this work, it is a piece that is
simply breathtaking. This fusion of styles meshes well to resonate the meaning
that Renner has infused into the work.
With a
giant pair of wings hanging in the background, the eight dancers explore our
relationships with the world and ourselves and our beliefs. Hip hop dancers
Bilal Bachir (Germany), Maarten Krielen (Holland) and Preston Kyd (Durban) do
well to mix hip hop and contemporary to magical effect. What they lack in
suspension, found in the Flatfoot dancers, they make up for in tricks and
splendour. Bachir has one of those bodies that adapts to any dance form and is
phenomenal in this piece.
Not to be
overshadowed, I am always wowed by Preston Kyd and his enormous talent,
slipping easily between hip hop and contemporary dance. I was also impressed by
the young Kirsty Ndawo, who manages to fit in very well with the more
established dancers of Flatfoot; Zinhle Nzama, Jabu Sipika, Tshediso Kambulu
and Sifiso Khumalo. Making use of different energies, the piece crescendos into
a moving bench sequence that leaves you wanting more. A great collaboration
indeed, I look forward to number 4. - Verne Rowin Munsamy
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