Behind the door of Apartment 107

Apartment 107, the first show by the Enerchi Emporium dance company, premiered at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown earlier this year. Described as "a journey through the life of a home and the people that live there", it is now showing at the Kalk Bay Theatre in Cape Town for a limited run.

Some of the dances, including an amusing burglary (my favourite part of the show) and a powerful domestic violence scene, beautifully express different aspects of a living space. But some of them feel disconnected from the theme and from each other, so much so that they could be happening anywhere. Perhaps if the set consisted of more than just a couch, it might strengthen the overall concept and tie together all the forms of dance. But I suppose there's only so much that you can add into an unfortunately small space before furniture gets in the way.

Behind the door of Apartment 107
Behind the door of Apartment 107

Ironically, while the range of dance styles makes it hard to tell a cohesive story, it also means that there's quite a lot to enjoy. A dozen dancers (including Danielle Fish and Anthony Rau, co-owners of the company and directors/producers of the show), perform to almost 20 different songs in styles including Latin, ballroom, contemporary, hip hop, and jazz. This, as well as the fact that the performers are clearly having fun, makes it all quite accessible, even for people who might not be that big on dance. You might as well stop thinking and just go with it.

Apartment 107 is showing at the Kalk Bay Theatre, Cape Town until 13 October. For more information on the Enerchi Emporium dance company, go to www.enerchiemporium.co.za

About Eugene Yiga

Eugene graduated from the University of Cape Town with distinctions in financial accounting and classical piano. He then spent over two-and-half years working in branding and communications at two of South Africa's top market research companies. Eugene also spent over three-and-a-half years at an eLearning start-up, all while building his business as an award-winning writer. Visit www.eugeneyiga.com, follow @eugeneyiga on Twitter, or email hello@eugeneyiga.com to say, um, hello.
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