\nInitiation begins with violence:\nit\u2019s sounds, screams, contorted movements.\nThe perpetrators are not seem but the victim is lying on a grey and\nwhite striped blanket similar to the traditional Xhosa Abakwetha\nblanket. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nwork is choreographed and performed by the Is\u2019Thatha Dance\nProject<\/em>, founded by \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olwethu\nSotiya\nin 2019, and this performance with five\ndancers tells the story of a young man called upon to undergo an\ninitiation to free himself from\nhaunting demons. The process of\npassing on is indicated by a swift change in costume as\nhalf-naked bodies are shrouded in brownish cloaks\nforegrounding the stages of lamentation, transformation and\nconsolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Classical\nfolkloric sound with a deep melodic structure morph into sharp edges\nof the bagpipe. The effect is an aura filled with tension and\ncompression. The dancers\u2019 skill and passion are awe-inspiring,\nparticularly in the call and response segments where greater cohesion\nand intimacy exists between the performers. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\noverall performance is charged and spirited, punctuated by\nbeautifully quiet moments in music, pace, technique and atmosphere.\nThe use of symbolism is isolated \u2014The ankh, an initiation blanket,\na cloak, interspersed tapping sounds, and a brief recurrence of\nuncontrollable laughter \u2014 yet remains powerful enough to draw the\nperformance into an unsettling, mystic and unknowable world. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nclosing scene completes the work with the\nwords \u2014 Ima taima, Uzongiphula umlenze man<\/em> (loosely\ntranslated; wait, old man, you\u2019ll break my leg) \u2014 and at that\nmoment viewers are returned yet again to the weird intimacy of\nviolence and violent spirits. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initiation is available to view as part of the National Arts Festival Fringe programme until 31 August, clickthrough here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Credits:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photograph: Initiation livestream from Makhanda by Mark Wessels<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Artistic Director: Olwethu Sotiya \u00a92021\nThe Critter. This article is licensed under a <\/em>Creative\nCommons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Initiation begins with violence: it\u2019s sounds, screams, contorted movements. The perpetrators are not seem but the victim is lying on a grey and white striped blanket similar to the traditional … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4536"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4536"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4633,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4536\/revisions\/4633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Choreographer: Olwethu Sotiya, Lubabalo Pupu and cast
Artists: Mbulelo Mzazi, Sandisile Madama, Monwabisi Bence, Bongani Vellem, Lubabalo Pupu <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n