Written by: Luso Mnthali, Cape Town
Many hands, minds, legs and feet came together to produce this intriguing, haunting and strangely beautiful dance piece. Partly God, performed by the Jazzart dance group, is a re-enactment of the trans-generational trauma of war, loss, violence and attempts to gain redemption. The performance follows a very haunting narrative translated by dancers who give it their all. No one is left behind and with only one interpretive flaw, it all works rather seamlessly.
The set, designed by Craig Leo who was also the costumes designer, alludes to the burnt out shell of a place of worship. It could be a church, a mosque or a synagogue. The universal theme that wars are carried out in the name of God is translated by these set pieces and they are a marvellous backdrop to the turbulent scenes of birth and death, faith and hope, and death again. These scenes flash before our eyes in the energetic prancing, dancing and prayerful poises that the dancers emote. This emotion is carried through over and over, and when the mother is dancing in the shell, she seems to be in the womb, in the body of the burnt-out building. That is definitely a scene worth seeing again – so much love and grief is revealed in the dancer’s movements.
Where the violence is at its peak, the frightening part is that we’ve seen this all before. It is the human condition to live in places of violence and to engender more of the same. The male dancers give a sleek performance and sometimes you could be watching the West Side Story and other times you could be watching a Maasai warriors’ dance, as they leap and bound, jump and dominate. The masculinity of most of the dancing is off-set by the drab loveliness of the costumes, and the joy and prettiness the women bring to the piece. Despite its tense moments and long, drawn-out themes of trans-generational violence, the women bring hope and a sense of joy. Eternal themes of jealousy, violence, love, family, war and hope all collide in a collaborative dance spectacle that is grim, brimful of meaning and symbolism and best of all – rhythmic movement and strong confrontational dance. You can almost feel the heat rising off the dancers as they work together to portray people caught up in cycles they cannot control – in a net of violence.
The set design also includes a large net which we see hanging above the stage in the beginning. It’s interesting to see how it is worked into the story as it is unfurled, re-hung, crawled over and under, and it’s integral to some of the best moves and ideas in the performance. The best part is how well the dancers work together. Many are trainees and have only come up from the ranks after only eight months. This is the power of the Jazzart training program, in that it keeps its promises. Attached to the main company, it provides an outlet or a route that provides space for people in the community who could be trained and possibly realized a career in the arts.
Speaking to artistic director Jackie Manyaapelo, one understands why the process of training and collaboration with company members is so important to this section of the Jazzart artistic family. “We take people from all around the country and it really is quite amazing to see how they progress. Even you could come and be trained here.” She explains that the collaborative process is really what makes the program a special one. “I didn’t have a history in dance, I just knew I wanted to dance. I joined this program so I could learn how to eventually teach,” Manyaapelo says. For someone so small, the mammoth task of bringing together the various sections of the Jazzart tradition so that they run smoothly and according to a united brief, rests upon her shoulders as from next June. “It’s a lot of responsibility and it’s a huge organization.”
With six choreographers and the belauded and award-winning director, Lara Foot, as the overall director this production was supposed to be big. Big theme, big story, big cast and big music. The decision to use a live band was a great one. Neo Muyanga’s stirring and soulful compositions did not disappoint. The only thing that held back the performance from reaching unseen heights was the belabouring of the point. The scenes with the father seemed contrived and sometimes it seemed the emotion existed only in the pages of a script. For those who love pure dance and a story that only the expressions of dance can resurrect, it may seem that there needed to be a lighter touch. Perhaps the repeated scenes with the father might have been encompassed in less detail and given more meaning by paring them down. Dance is its own milieu – artistic, dramatic and soulful. I felt that the direction was seamless considering that a number of visions had to be united. However, perhaps the only flaw was in the dramatization of the story itself.
Partly God ran at the Artscape Theatre from 16 to 25 October.
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