A
delightful dance work that shows a different side to growing old. (Review by
Verne Rowin Munsamy)
The
Playhouse Company kicked off their 21st South African Women’s Arts
Festival this week with a busy line up of shows, one of them being Handbag: Don’t clutch me too tight. This
brand new dance work is choreographed by the extravagant David Gouldie and features
dancers from the award-winning Playhouse Dance Residency and Flatfoot Dance
Company.
We have
become accustomed to Gouldie’s quirky,
outrageous choreographic style but in Handbag, he tones down his language to gently tell the stories of
the remarkable women living in TAFTA.
This
delightful dance work opens with a video of Gouldie and the dancers meeting and
interacting with the elder women, who proceeded to share their epic stories of
joy, fear, love and loss. Breaking the stigma attached to contemporary dance,
the choreographer aimed to show the concept from inception to staging. Gouldie
along with the 14 dancers, and a few women from TAFTA, took to the stage to
create a new dance language.
A white
cloth canvassing the stage with white staircases leading to nowhere, invited
the audience into the world of Handbag. Like
the stairs leading to the Pearly Gates, this piece reveals the wealth of knowledge
that is libraried by these forgotten women, their strife, loneliness and joy
that surrounds them in these the final days of being.
Gouldie
cleverly conceived the piece using a canon effect which created these ripples
of movement that almost represents what these once thunderous waves had become.
Voice-overs of these wise women reciting their names demonstrated a
determination not to be forgotten.
Using the
up tempo jive, ballet and some darker contemporary technique, the choreography
depicts the highs and lows that these TAFTA residents have journeyed. The
choreographer does well to capture the essence of TAFTA life and the genuine
fears that reside there.
A
delightful dance work that shows a different side to growing old, one filled
with, anxiety and sexual verve. Gouldie’s trademark lifts and synchronisation
remain as ever capturing and daring, always pushing boundaries. - Verne Rowin
Munsamy
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