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

The fifth and final evening of the competition saw performances by five competitors from each age category, and the six finalists of the contemporary section, interspersed with guest performances by Camille Bracher – the 2008 Junior Contemporary Winner, and a number of local dance companies.

In his pre-announcement-of-the-winners speech, elected head of the judging panel, South African dance expert Dr Eduard Greyling spoke of the ephemeral nature of performance. With competitors pitted this closely against one another, the influence of tiny details can make an enormous difference in the end, and it was clear that the standard of individual’s performances differed from night to night, according to the choice of repertoire, or level of control of their nerves. With the scores discarded after the initial elimination rounds, and the dancers therefore competing from the neutrality of a ‘clean slate’ each succeeding night, each subsequent performance carried increasing importance as the competition progressed.

Some dancers whose performances had been solid, but not necessarily spectacular, suddenly showed their mettle in the finals, where others made their best impression on the first night. It was interesting to note and compare the different national trends- in training, style and costume preference. The finals night saw a reference to the first classical round, with nerves triggering untidiness that would normally not feature, but the heightened sense of occasion of the gala was felt by competitors and spectators alike, and produced an utterly magnificent series of performances – including the unfumbled completion of hitherto-elusive sets of fouetté turns. 16 year old Canadian Alys Shee not only interspersed the traditional 32 with multiple individual turns, but managed flicks of her Kitri-fan in various arm-positions, at the same time!

Judging complete, the contestants returned to the stage in a high-spirited Waka Waka finalé, choreographed by Lindy Raizenberg. A pleasure to see the world’s top young talent enjoying the opportunity to perform, together, without the pressure of having to ‘perform’, in a fitting salute to their talent, and experiences of the week.

The gala was a high profile affair, with Western Cape Premier Helen Zille taking to the stage for the awards ceremony, with the judging panel, consisting of dance luminaries Eduard Greyling (SA), Mario Galizzi (Argentina), Hae Shik Kim (Republic of Korea), Ismael Albelo (Cuba), Septime Webre (USA), Xin Lili (China), Christopher Kindo (SA) and Lisa Pavane (Australia).

Based on their choices, sharing the R375 000 in prize money (donated primarily by the Michel Tesson and Chiappini Trusts) are the following winners:

Senior Classical
Gold: Oscar A. Valdez Carmenates (19 yrs, Cuba)
Silver: Hyo-Seon Park (20 yrs, Republic of Korea)
Bronze: Aaron Smyth (19 yrs, Australia)

Junior Classical:
Gold: Nathan Chaney (18 yrs, USA)
Silver: Alys Shee (16 yrs, Canada)
Bronze: Jeon Yeo Jin (16 yrs, Republic of Korea)

Contemporary:
Senior: Thoriso Magongwa (27 yrs, RSA)
Junior: Nathan Chaney (18yrs, USA)

A Special Jury Award was awarded to South African Andile Ndlovu (22yrs) in recognition of his talent, artistry and versatility.

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

I always make an effort to see at least one piece of ‘student’ theatre – this year’s choice was James Reynolds’ ‘Random Acts’, presented by the University of Johannesburg Drama Department. Transforming a relatively small performance space with well-considered design, flats are used to create three distinct apartments in which this ‘New South Africa’ love story takes place. Evidence of the lack of experience sometimes creeps in through awkward expression, but I was more than pleasantly surprised by the standard of the production on the whole, and heard from reliable sources that that was the case across the board with the student work this year.

‘Tariro’ is a physical theatre-based production on the Arena, bringing together performers from Zimbabwe, Malawi, the UK and South Africa. In an evocative socio-political commentary on the in-fighting in Zimbabwe, some of the complexities of life in the former colony are articulated through the context of a young Zimbabwean woman, and the histories of her family and that of her new husband.

Vusi Mahlasela rocked the Guy Butler Theatre, as he preached democracy, reconciliation and forgiveness from the stage – and played some tunes that had the audience on their feet. Extraordinary guitarists Guy Buttery, Nibs van der Spuy and Steve Newman, perform together in ‘18 Strings’ – in what seemed to be a demonstration of a succession of mentorship and inspiration. Each an accomplished performer in his own right, they make musical magic with their own instruments in individual mini-sets, but it was their joint efforts that this audience came to see. What a pity it was only one piece, and an encore, that featured what could have been a particularly interesting collaboration.

My interest in ‘Blood Orange’ was piqued by the involvement of playwright and director Greig Coetzee, but it is the extraordinary skill of actor Craig Morris which brings this story of a white boy growing up in apartheid South Africa to life. References to things of my own childhood, like the Boswell Wilkie Circus, pepper the text; the only things accompanying the solo performer on stage is a set of tyres over which he commands remarkable authority, and with which he conjures whole worlds in the imaginations of his audience in an astonishingly tight performance. Without a doubt one of the highlights of my festival.

Boundaries between dance and theatre blur increasingly, and I saw some interesting things expressed in movement pieces. ‘Stilted’ turns performance theory on its head, and Babayaga Theatre’s award-winning ‘Inua’ featured some of the most innovative on-stage-happenings I saw at this year’s festival. The much-anticipated ‘Swan Lake’ presented by choreographer and dancer Dada Masilo also questions traditional values and perceptions through her uniquely South African dance idiom.

Young Artist for Theatre Janni Younge’s ‘Ouroboros’ – with directional and design assistance from Janice Honeyman and Ilka Louw respectively, and sound design by Neo Muyanga, was my ‘if you see one thing’ prediction for this year’s festival. It was listed in the programme as an being hour, but ran to an hour and a half, and this unexpected length had a significant impact on my enjoyment of the piece, which as with most things at this year’s festival, seemed to run a little longer than necessary, but otherwise, was every bit the visual and theatrical treat I had hoped for. I sat open-mouthed through most of it, in awe at the detail. Using shadows with the ‘multimedia projection’ backdrop, much of the story is told through the manipulation of diminutive, but incredibly life-like moving puppets, by a khaki-clad team of puppeteers. The dream-like quality of the experience contributes to the subject matter which, through two characters who interact with one another at various stages of their lives, explores the cyclical of aspects nature, through love, dreams and death.

2007 Young Artist for Dance, Acty Tang’s ‘Inscrutable’ was one of my unexpected gems of the festival. His choice of venue limited audience size to about 40 people, who were ushered into a relatively small space – the garage-type roller-door pulled closed behind us as we took in our black- Chinese-writing-painted-on-newsprint surroundings. A flight of stairs leading to nowhere suddenly lead to somewhere as a ‘wall’ was torn down and we were allowed to move – newsprint crinkling underfoot – into the next cavernous space. Alternating between ‘conversation’, monologue and use of physicality, Tang considers how perspective shapes experience, making extensive use of the interesting space chosen for this site-specific work in an intricately and beautifully detailed piece of performance art. I have come to expect rather bizarre things from this avant-garde artist, and although the narcissistic undercurrent which pervades much art does so here too, ‘Inscrutable’ shows a development of his expertise in possibly one of his most successful pieces of work to date, as he contemplates his Chinese origins in a homage to his roots, and expression of choices as a Chinese South African. Profoundly bold and moving.

I had not been missing much in my absence from The Village Green, which was almost lifeless the few times I managed to get there. And I found very little of interest, other than very good value meals, and even then, a relatively limited selection.

The theatre and conversational stimulation overwhelmed and, despite my best intentions, I did not manage to get anywhere near any art. Or a host of other things I would have loved to have seen and done. And that was without trying to see what became many people’s ‘best’ productions – things like ‘London Road’, Lara Foot’s award-winning ‘Karoo Moose’, ‘Extra-Ordinary’ with DV8’s Dave Toole, ‘Wombtide’, ‘Decadence’… all of which I have seen, or know I will have the opportunity to see, in Cape Town.

15 days is amazing, but no matter how long the festival is, one will always have to face the inevitable fear of missing out and make some ruthless decisions. That considered, I do hope that next year they return to the 10 day format of previous years, which seems to be far more manageable from every aspect.

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

Master of Ceremonies Alan Committie brings his own humour to the party and does a great job of shushing the audience when necessary, and easing the transitions between five other fabulous acts. Al Prodgers from Joburg is first up, and much of what is has to say and how he says it, is really funny – and they get keep getting better from there!

Riaad Moosa is always a favourite, with his intelligent and insightful takes on inter-cultural interactions. Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, and Sam, are a marvellous pair – followed (after interval) by The Raymond and Mr Timpkins Revue – an extremely clever musical clowning act that has feet tapping and the audience clapping with appreciation at the wit! Ndumiso Lindi, who hails originally from eQonce in the Eastern Cape, made those of us who share his roots proud, with his rendition of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, in the middle of an otherwise equally excellent act.

Overall, a real sense of positivity pervades – whether that’s directed at Cape Town, or South Africa, or just in general – somehow the tone of the whole evening is uplifting. Which, in my opinion, is exactly right!

The Vodacom Funny Festival runs at the Baxter Theatre Concert Hall nightly at 8pm, with a 5pm Saturday matinee, until 11 July, and some of the acts change during the run. Tickets are R130 throughout and can be booked through Computicket.

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

Fiona Gordon: Bovim Ballet presents a brand new ballet, Romeo’s Kiss, for their latest season.

In a departure from the choreographer’s recent explorations of musical genre, he makes a return to the narrative. Using as the basis, the age-old story of Romeo and Juliet, the ballet explores unmentionable subtexts, within the traditional roles featured in the story, in a way that resonates as real. Kirsten Isenberg’s sweet Juliet embodies the playful innocence of youth, to Casey Swales’ lithe Romeo – their lines complementing one another as if they were made to dance together. Their successful characterisation is further echoed in the intensity with which the sharp and dramatic role of the lascivious Lady C (Tanya Futter) and the emotion of Devon Marshbank’s Mercutio, are portrayed.

Sean Bovim’s signature style takes classical ballet technique, and combines it with modern music and movement influences to produce works which are accessible to an arts-educated audience, but have popular appeal. Amongst some ‘old favourite’ moves his following may recognise, there are some heart-wrenching solos and breathtaking partnerwork, but it is the thought and multi-layered consideration of the theatrical experience that gives this production its edge. He retains his strong musical base of influence, with use of the music of The Beatles, incorporating some of the Prokofiev score – an interesting choice, which works better than expected, except for the long pauses between numbers which interrupt the flow of the production. The team of Craig Porter, and KLûK & CGDT lend their creativity to costume the ballet. While many of the clothes are beautiful – aesthetically appropriate with attention paid to detail, it seemed like more than one of the boys was restricted in his movement by the tightness of his pants.

A highlight of the first act was the ballroom scene, which certainly had sparkle, if not quite the sense of spectacle it might have done with multiples of the number of dancers on stage. The same applies to the debaucherous hen- and stag- ight scenes, which end in a successfully spine-chilling bar brawl. Time will allow characters to develop further, and dancers to become more familiar with the movement, and the resultant depth and polish will take this rigorous yet poignant telling of this tale of love and loss, to another level.

Romeo’s Kiss runs at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town from 25 – 27 June 2010. Tickets are from R120 and can be booked through Computicket, with performance times of Romeo’s Kiss adjusted to accommodate 2010 FIFA World Cup Fixtures taking place in Cape Town.

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

Even the auditorium of the Artscape Theatre shared in some celebratory noise making, but this was for heroes of a different sort.

The Western Cape Education Department’s Arts Focus Schools put together a celebration of dance performance to showcase the talents of the dance learners from the Arts Focus Schools across the Western Cape.

The performers may be school-going, but this is no ‘school show’. The dance and production was of a consistently high standard, tastefully put together. The show was slick and these learners are definitely getting a true taste of the performance lifestyle in the magnificent facilities at Artscape and through their work with luminaries in the field for whom they have obviously grown to have enormous respect.

Jenny van Papendorp, Deputy Chief Education Specialist for Dance Studies in the Western Cape, is the woman who makes it all happen. ‘My Country, South Africa’, which played for three performances in the Artscape Theatre this week, is directed by the expert hand of Alfred Hinkel and features pieces with a ‘proudly South African’ thematic link.

Pieces are choreographed by Jazzart ‘Artists in Residence’ who work in the schools as part of a skills-development programme. It is plainly obvious that these artists are an inspiration to the lives they touch and that they have earned enormous respect and become multi-faceted role models for the learners; as are their school teachers, who bring the evening to an inspirational and immensely positive close with a dance which they themselves perform.

Our country has been obviously and beautifully united in the shared spirit of a common interest and goal. In the same way that sport can cross language and cultural barriers, the arts too can be a phenomenal medium for skills development of many kinds in the process towards the self-actualisation of our youth which is so important. The value of experience is immeasurable, but evident in the body of work presented and in the overwhelmingly heartfelt grateful thanks given to their mentors.

And that, surely, is what it’s all about.

The schools that took part were:
South Peninsula High School
Belhar High School
Wynberg High School
Eerste Rivier Senior Secondary School
Schoonspruit Secondary School
Cedar Secondary School
Chris Hani Secondary School
Alexander Sinton Secondary School
Worcester Secondary School
La Rosa Spanish Dance Theatre Trainees

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

It’s a big deal for me – the National Arts Festival. 10-ish days every year or two, where I get to immerse myself in the stuff that feeds my soul. There’s very little that thrills me like packing my schedule full of arts and engagement – five shows a day, some boho shopping, and a late night/early morning beer (or something) at ‘The Rat’ with some conversational philosophy before I force myself to sleep.

With the ‘long holiday’ this year, ‘they’ decided to make it a longer festival – 15 days instead of the 10 of the last few, which certainly makes for interesting planning. Another new addition this year, is the ‘Arena’ – a platform between the Main Programme, and the Fringe – for more established artists to showcase their talents, with some support from the NAF. In fact, the shows I am most excited about seeing, come mostly from this section of the programme, and much of their appeal is that they should be alternative enough to be interesting and challenging, but a sure enough bet to know that your money and your minutes won’t be wasted. Look – I think most art at the festival deserves support just by virtue of it being there!, but there are certainly some things I would be more inclined to spend my resources on, than others…

One thing is obvious – as Capetonians we are thoroughly spoilt! A quick look through the booking kit yields a list of more than ten productions that are playing, that I have seen already, and a couple more (Lara Foot’s multiple-Fleur du Cap-winning ‘Karoo Moose’, for one) that I could’ve/should’ve seen, but missed, and am ever so grateful to have another opportunity to attend!

Shannon Hope

I, Claudia

London Road

Decadence

Dekaf

Sentimientos

Mark Sampson Feels Funny

Rob van Vuuren is Rob van Vuuren

Rumpsteak

Pictures of You

Quack

I love you, you’re perfect, now change…

From a dance perspective – having seen a large percentage of the main programme’s offerings, presented in Cape Town, and missing some of the rest because of scheduling issues – I look forward to what the rest of the country, and particularly the Joburg contingent, has to offer, with Vincent Mantsoe’s ‘San’ topping my list, which also contains works by choreographers Athena Mazarakis, Nicola Haskins and 2008 Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Dance, Dada Masilo.

Multiple-award-winning Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre for 2010, and Janni Younge’s ‘Ouroborous’ is probably my ‘if you see one thing…’ suggestion. With sound design by Neo Muyanga, and Janice Honeyman and Ilka Louw as mentors, it’s hard to imagine that this would be anything less than superb. What a pity it only shows five times, over the last three days…

With some of the most established names in the industry aptly taking home the most coveted trophies at the most recent Fleur du Cap Awards, it is lovely to see further evidence that the ‘old guard’ is still at it, keeping the bar high, and providing inspiration for the younger generations. With this is mind, I am particularly excited about a collaboration between Marthinus Basson and Antoinette Kellerman, ‘Man to Man’, which features music by the increasingly prolific Braam du Toit.

On music – it will be lovely, as usual, to have some of our national treasures gracing the Grahamstown stages. 2010 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, Melanie Scholtz, promises to make headlines alongside the cream of South Africa’s musical crop – including the likes of Richard Cock, Judith Sephuma, Vusi Mahlasela, Sibongile Khumalo, Karen Zoid and Steve Newman – the list is extensive! Personally, I look forward to seeing what 2007 Young Artist, Saxophonist Shannon Mowday, has to offer after some time honing her craft abroad.

And of course, let’s not forget the ‘Art’ at the Arts Festival, of which there is bound to be plenty worth seeing… As always, the place to see and be seen is bound to be the Village Green, although that too has had a bit of a rethink since I was there last, and now activity seems to be focussed around different patch of green. Nevertheless – I’m stocking up on socks, gloves and beanies, and prepping for exciting times, hanging out with some awesome peeps – from the Eastern Cape and otherwise… See you there?!

The National Arts Festival takes over the city of Grahamstown annually, and in 2010 runs from 20 June to 4 July. More details from www.nationalartsfestival.co.za

fiona@artslink.co.za

Fiona Gordon: Four actors and a pianist portray a myriad of characters recognisable from various stages in the development of ‘that thing called love’.

Directed by award winning director Paul Griffiths and with musical direction by Roland Perold, the cast bring to the boards an array of musical theatre performance experience as Roland Perold, Niall Griffin, Shannyn Fourie and Candice van Litsenborgh tell the story(s) of relationship(s) – from the nerve-wracking preparation for a first date, to expressions of a love learned and earned over a lifetime.

The series of musical vignettes explores life’s relational highs and lows; juxtaposing the ideals with how reality plays out. From coy flirtation to condom etiquette and domestic drudgery, it’s a bit ‘non-PC’, but both funny and poignant at times.

I can imagine that being in just a ‘bra and broeks’ in a venue as intimate as the Kalk Bay Theatre requires a very healthy dollop of confidence, and as the cast eases into the ‘swing of things’, their performances improve noticeably, which has a significant impact on the impression of authenticity, and thus on audience enjoyment. Perhaps this is also a function of the characters developing with ‘age’ as they negotiate their way through life’s timeline.

The cast sings successfully through a vast musical range, whether solo or in one of a number of beautiful harmonies. But be warned – the songs will stick with you, and you might catch yourself humming about being ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride’ for days afterwards… Accents on stage are often not quite as successful as they should be, but one gets used to that, and after a while it’s not intrusive, especially as one gets caught up in the drama and delight of this relationship roadtrip. All elements of design – from costume to colour to physical direction of the cast – are well-considered, and contribute to a smooth-running and polished-looking whole.

‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ plays at the Kalk Bay Theatre, Wednesdays to Sundays until 12 June. The show starts at 20:30, except for Sunday performances which start at 19.30. Tickets for show only are R100, and bookings can be made on 073 220 5430 or via www.kbt.co.za

Doors at the theatre open at 18:00 at which time patrons can enjoy dinner and drinks at the restaurant upstairs. On Sundays, a selection of tapas will be available in place of the full menu.

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

Fiona Gordon: One wouldn’t expect an English-speaking audience to understand a show performed (almost) entirely in French, but such is the power of physical theatre.

However, the little lesson in French vocabulary, given by the performer before the show actually begins, certainly helps a lot. So does the use of terms like ‘escargot’ and ‘bouillabaisse’, which have become a familiar part of (not even highfalutin) foodie vocabulary. And actually, the finer details of the menu are not that important (to one watching, anyway), as one is taken through the behind-the-scenes dramas of rush-hour in the kitchen of a French restaurant by extremely entertaining ‘chef’ Gaëtan Schmid.

The remarkable thing about the performance is not only is it all in a language the audience is not particularly familiar with, but also that the story is told by one man, on one square metre of space – with the use (I am told – I didn’t actually count them) of eight hundred sound effects!

James Webb is the master designer whose sound is featured, and performs his ‘foley artist’ role with the expertise we have come to expect from him.

By the end of the show, our appetites having been more than sufficiently whet, the wander across the road to fire-warmed cosiness at Societi Bistro and a sample of some of their wonderful fare was exactly what the … er … chef, ordered!

Rumpsteak runs at the Intimate Theatre on Hiddingh Campus, Tuesdays to Saturday at 8pm nightly, until 29 May. Bookings can be made by calling 072 367 6878, or e-mailing thepinkcouch@gmail.com

This is followed by a run on the fringe at the National Arts Festival, under the (pink) umbrella of ‘Cape Town Edge’. Bookings can be made through Computicket.

Fiona Gordon
fiona@artslink.co.za

I like local. And if they’re brilliant, which they often are – they have a fan for life.

Shannon Hope is one of these artists. I’ve seen her around online a bit – a couple of gigs advertised here and there. Read a bit about what she says about herself, because that’s the sort of thing I do. But I still didn’t really know what to expect when I took myself through the underground maze that is the parking lot, and entrance, to the Villagers Rugby Club Clubhouse that houses the Barleycorn Music Club some Monday nights.

She dresses as you could expect a rock star to dress. A little bit grungy. (I do a double-take when I realise the patterns on her pink shirt are actually skulls. But cool…

But when she opens her mouth, it’s not what I expect at all. I sit, breathless, forcing myself to break my reverie with half-hearted applause at the end of each song.

She has me entranced.

I’m a words chick. And blow me down if she doesn’t make me think with the words of every song. Every one. Her online blurbs say her music will ‘make you think and feel’. And in spite of that created expectation – it really was true! And that speaks nothing of her performance…

I think part of the reason I am not such a fan of live music, is that musicians are often really not great performers, and so I spend a lot of the time trying to stop myself from being irritated with the way their spare hand floats aimlessly in space, or the apologetic babble between songs. But none of that here. This woman knows her craft. Her voice is strong and gorgeous, and she manages it with expertise.

As she does her body, which controls her keyboard with the same…

And I am blown away.

Shannon Hope calls what she plays ‘Art Pop’. She launched her fulltime musical career merely a year ago, and is ‘fast gaining a reputation as one of the hardest-touring self-managed artists on the national circuit’.

She marks her Grahamstown debut with an appearance at this year’s National Arts Festival, with solo sets at PJ’s (26/06 at 13:00, 27/06 at 17:00, 29/06 at 15:00, 29/06 at 21:00, 01/07 at 13:00, 02/07 at 17:00, 03/07 at 15:00), and a couple of sessions in the Cuervo Music Room (22/06 at 20:00, 23/06 at 15:00, 25/06 at 15:00, 27/06 at 20:00, 30/06 at 12:00).

Tickets through Computicket, and more info at www.shannonhope.co.za

Fiona Gordon
072 298 6831