Fiona Gordon: Jazzart Dance Theatre presents a celebration of dance and humanity, with the annual bursary fundraiser.
There is something about fire that is mesmerising. And about a crowd that draws attention. So it’s no surprise that the dancing with and in and around a square of flames on the steps outside the Artscape Theatre Complex draws an audience. Fire represents warmth, ritual, survival. And it is thus an appropriate precursor to a show which pays homage to the roots and history of the company, but also marks the advent of a new season of artistic directorship, under Jackie Manyaapelo.
Once the multi-facetted crowd had made its way through the bottleneck of doorways into the theatre area, the show that followed gives credence to the partnerships that have formed part of the development of the illustrious history of this company. Jazzart serves not only to educate new generations of theatre makers, but also to equip them for life through skills development and life skills training, through their ‘Jazzart Young Adult Training and Job Creation’ and ‘Adopt-a-Dancer’ programmes. Members of the trainee group are honoured for their contributions this year – not just in the conventional areas of artistic and/or academic excellence, but also for ‘personal triumph in the face of adversity’, which speaks to the philosophy of the company, and is further embodied in the positivity of the performance.
The programme opens with ‘Ukushaya’ – an old Jazzart favourite which draws on the rhythms of voice, clapping and percussion, and incorporates dancers from the Nyanga Arts Development Centre. The showcase of their historical and present partners continues with input on the silks from members of the Zip Zap Circus School, CYDC 34/18 and the Tercia Kindo Arts Project.
Ina Wichterich draws together dancers from the Vadhini Indian Arts Academy and Jikeleza Dance Project, and influences from their respective dance idioms, in a piece exploring ‘Divinity’. Her understanding of organic movement and rhythm is well-grasped and -articulated by the dancers, who offer an earnest performance in a piece which, despite some interesting movement choices, seems to manifest an almost innate understanding of their expression.
Vadhini Indian Arts Academy appears to be working in line with the philosophies of La Rosa Spanish Dance Theatre. With reverence for the classical forms and traditions, whilst exploring their relevance in the modern context, they are increasing accessibility of the form(s) through exposure to a wider audience – both within the community who engages with it directly, and in performance – and the result is a significant contribution to the emerging dance landscape.
Jay Pather’s Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre hails from Durban, and presents a piece called ‘Human Ladder’. Despite the relatively few performers – it begins with a solo, with the cast growing progressively to six dancers – there seemed to be an overload of visual cues, and my appreciation of the piece certainly suffered as a result.
Jazzart’s mentorship programme, which runs within the Western Cape Education Department’s Arts Focus Schools is represented with the showcase of a piece danced by learners from the dance department of Wynberg Senior Secondary School, who have clearly benefitted from the involvement of the Jazzart Artists-in-Residence in their training programme. Another youngster given a platform on this stage is ‘MC’ for the evening, ten-year old Amkele Mandla Nyamza, who does a sterling job, presenting with comedy and confidence, and promising to be no stranger to the boards in years to come.
The double volume stage sets this journey on a road – a literal representation of their mandate as a company, and as individuals, moving forward towards a common purpose. It strikes a lovely metaphor, with the stage providing the platform for representation of this journey. I see evidence of their progress in the quality of performance from some of the trainees. Gumboots are donned for a piece which shows the development of their use as a theatrical tool – as opposed to more of the ‘same-old, same-old’, and the trainees conclude the evening with a collaborative ‘Iqiniso’ , where more than twenty dancers fill the stage and move in unison, with two girls winding themselves up and down suspended silks. With the absence of tabs and associated theatrical pretence in this production, the humanity of these dancers comes to the fore, and is an immensely powerful and beautiful thing.
Danscape 2010 played at the Artscape Theatre 22-25 July 2010.
The Jazzart company presents their forthcoming season, iHaw’ Elisha, at Artscape 3-12 September 2010.
Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za
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