By its very nature, it's a platform for new work that encourages fresh ideas from up-and-coming and established artists. Miss a performance at your peril, because you're likely to skip the one that turns out to be a real gem.
There's no shortage of talented performers or long-established dance companies in Joburg, so I expected a very high standard with reasonable audience support. It was disappointing to see numbers dwindle after the opening night of such a momentous celebration.
Among the opening remarks, Maria Kint, founder and director of the Cultural Development Trust, reflected on her amazement at discovering that Dance Umbrella existed when she arrived in SA 23 years ago - and marvelled that "in this wide market of contemporary dance" it's still there, bringing people together. She explained that the trust has human development as its goal and arts and culture is an excellent tool for that. They teach the business of dance, so that there's less dependence on dollar funding. "Why wait for money to come in? Rather go out and sell a programme," she said.
Together with Africalia Belgium, they've developed a DanceXChange programme that's been rolled out in rural areas of six provinces around the country. Opening night featured work by 2012 participant Thabo Kobeli, workshopped in limited time with participants previously exposed only to traditional dance from Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.
Further products of the DanceXChange programme funded by Rand Merchant Bank were I Don't, I Can't, I Won't from the Garage studios in Okiep, Northern Cape, and Engagement of Love (H2O) from Gauteng's Orange Farm Dance Theatre. Byron Klassen excelled in the task set by mentor Alfred Hinkel during his choreographic residency at Garage and performers Olivia Daniels and Richie Cloete delivered the drama against a multimedia backdrop. The piece was way too short to be entirely satisfying, simply because it left the audience craving more! Sizwe Maqcwanti's production of Engagement of Love was well executed, his message around conserving and respecting water clearly portrayed with synchronised performances and good use of the stage.
Both works are prime examples of the importance of professional development in rural areas, said Hinkel. "In the last 25 years, Dance Forum has launched artists into lucrative careers nationally and internationally. DanceXChange is creating a blueprint for others to start similar projects in similar areas."
In Okiep alone, he said that they encounter more talent than educators can cope with. "These are children who, if guided properly, can become top-of-the-range artists. Because of the environment they live in, where substance, alcohol and physical abuse occur as a direct result of poverty, they don't have a sense of 'I can, I can get out of it, I can make a difference'."
Hinkel explained that dance gives these children a sense of wellbeing, which gives them the strength to make something of themselves. "There's a scientific explanation for what we do. The cardio-vascular exercise releases serotonin, which combats depression. The endorphins released into the blood affect cognitive function and retentive ability, which has a long-term impact on education.
"Bodies are strengthened and posture is corrected. They feel better about themselves because they feel better about their bodies and they develop an increased respect for the spiritual, physical and emotional aspects of their being," he said.
Development programmes are about striving for excellence and this is one quality that another of Hinkel's protégés, Charlston (Charlie) van Rooyen, has in spades. Now working with Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative in Gauteng, it was his So Close to Life, which he danced with Thulani Chauke that was the festival favourite by far.
The excerpt from Don Quixote performed by Burnise Silvius and Randol Figueredo of SA Mzansi Ballet won deserving applause, particularly in acknowledgement for Figueredo incredible partnering. Christopher Kindo's classic Me and You, and Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative's Between Us, by Fana Tshabalala, the Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for dance 2013, was also well received.
An unexpected success, and one of the highlights of the festival for me, was one of those pieces that I was desperate to find an excuse to avoid. The content was likely to be disturbing and I wasn't familiar enough with the artist to brave it without encouragement. Standing By, choreographed and performed by Athena Mazarakis, centres on "corrective rape of lesbians" and, ironically, was staged on Black Friday - the day (15 February that the local campaign for Rape Awareness in SA was launched. This work blew my mind.
Originally commissioned by Rhodes University in 2011, it was developed into a full-length, site-specific work with the support of the Goethe-Institut South Africa.
Mazarakis is well rehearsed, eloquent, intelligent and captivating. Her fascinating series of vignettes that combine unexpected action, voice, dance and drama with powerful visuals, lighting and surprising props (with some audience interaction) make for brilliant theatre.
This work is an outstanding argument for festivals like Dance Umbrella to exist in this country - with audience support and corporate backing. The main event has been incorporated into the annual Arts Alive International Festival 2013, which takes place in September. Watch the press for details.
Photography by John Hogg
