Feathers: SA choreographers fly high
Moving Into Dance Mophatong (MIDM) presents Feathers, a programme including ‘fight, flight, feathers, f***ers’ (choreographed by Sunnyboy Motau and Rachel Erdos); ‘Everlast’ choreographed by Eugene Mashiane, and ‘Road’ choreographed by Oscar Buthelezi who is the first South African to win a Kurt Jooss Choreography Award, which he received in May this year for ‘Road’. (The programme has alternate performances of ‘Everlast’ & ‘My Black Is Black’ by Sunnyboy Motau.)
‘Road’ analyses the dilemmas of our life paths as both the destination and the route that guides us there, and the learning and experiences we have along the way. Muzi Shili and Oscar Buthelezi create motifs of changing direction, opposites and the push and pull of daily life. Shili and Buthelezi’s isolation technique is incredible; every muscle movement is another discovery. They take turns to ‘teach’ or rather to share their knowledge with the other. A kick or a graceful swirl or a paced floor sequence, once combined in unison has more power and effect. Feet face forward whilst heads lean back, and in one twist of the back is imbued such meaning: wanting to change direction, wanting something new.
Mashiane’s ‘Everlast’ is a short solo, aiming to look at the idea of dehumanisation through the separation of the producer from the product. Whilst this didn’t entirely read through for me, Mashiane’s movement is extraordinary, and the juxtapositions he manages to embody leave plenty of room for interpretation and evocation. He spins with fluid endlessness and works with such dexterity over the wooden box on stage, interchanging with momentary ease, perfect delicacy and harshly snappy movements. Within one backbend, chest exposed, arms outstretched he moves from shuddering from being beaten down, to soft embracing gestures.
Delicacy doesn’t spring to mind as an adjective for ‘fight, flight, feathers, fuckers’. It’s billed as an exploration of masculinity aligned with the concept of fight or flight in animal behaviour. The work is brutal and physically intense. The quintet of Muzi Shili, Oscar Buthelezi, Eugene Mashiane and Teboho Letele are unstoppable in this aggressive, manic, rough and tough onslaught of dance. Their superior athleticism is undeniable; they appear to suspend mid-air as they perform series after series of roundhouse jumps and flying leaps. It’s… wow.
But it’s more than a swaggering demonstration of manly stuff.
In one scene, we’re shown the steady and stupefying effects of war – as Letele slowly moves across stage, returns to collect a recruit, Mashiane; together they perform the same sequence, together they return to collect a final recruit, Shili – we see the accumulation of soldiers under the guise of brotherhood.
In other scenes, we see a struggle for superiority – who’s the top dog? The quintet is costumed in dog (wolf?) masks, wearing suits. The leader of the pack tackles and assaults those below him, imposing his rule, marking his territory, and taking everything for himself. Anyone who challenges him is downtrodden, physically pushed into the ground by three pairs of feet on his back. Or the middle finger is given a widespread circle – showing everyone that the rules don’t apply to him. Or he who hasn’t proven himself manly enough is left to kick out desperately, swishing his legs beneath him whilst struggling to get back up.
So we get to ask, what is masculinity, and who makes the rules? What qualifies and demarcates manliness? One’s body? One’s thoughts? One’s actions? And of course, why is it important?
Feathers showcases South Africa’s rising choreographic stars. Not only is each of these MIDM dancers exceptionally skilled in using their bodies to paint pictures of emotion, but as choreographers they’re stepping out to offer audiences a moving journey, an experience, and alternative options for seeing the world.
– Sarah Roberson
Feathers is next on tomorrow 07 July at 17.30 at Centenary Hall. Click here for more info & bookings.