Dance connoisseurs have been having a field day this week as Joburg Ballet celebrates 21 years. The company celebrates the milestone with one of the finest pieces of work, Evolve, a celebration of dance.
The celebration opened on March 25 with a breathtaking performance. Evolve comprises four pieces: Paquita Grand Pas, Legae, The Afterlife: Souls, and The Game.
From the first piece it was just a work of genius, in its execution, stagecraft and music. The programme opened with Paquita Grand Pas, a classic piece that premiered in 1881. Its revised version was staged in 1896.
Monike Cristina, who portrayed the role of Paquita, was light on her feet and made her solos look effortless.
Her dancing was tight and precise but also, her smile and stage presence was excellent. The piece started with simple movements as dancers execute their techniques effortlessly, leaving the audience in total awe.
Cristina and soloists were outstanding for their brilliance of classical line and control in the pas de trois, coryphée and corps respectively. She presented a liquid-like flow of her dancing combined with graceful port de bras, fleet and articulate footwork.
The performance was incredibly impressive technically as well as the scale of the production as a whole.
Accompanied by Ludwig Minkus’s music, the whole production was perfection – from pretty and detailed costumes, gorgeous backdrops, and sets.
On the opening night, there were moments of adoration, tenderness, joy and happiness, often revealed by the simplest, yet most communicative, of gestures from the dancers.
After 40 minutes of performance there was an interval where the audience enjoyed cupcakes and returned for more entertaining on the evening of dance.
The second piece on stage was Legae (which means home in Tswana), a piece created by choreographer Tumelo Lekana. In the piece, Lekana explores the journey of moving from a place of work to going home, where you belong.
In telling this story through dance, Lekana’s female dancers wore isishweshwe (a printed dyed cotton fabric widely used for traditional Southern African clothing) inspired costumes while male dancers carried a blanket on their shoulders.
The whole sublime performance was accompanied by two vocalists, Lerato Gwebu and Gift Thulani Mothusi, with percussionist Mpho Peter Mothiba playing live. Lekana creatively fused many African cultures with Western styles.
The combination of different African dances such as Indlamu and Domba (traditional Venda python dance) was out of this world.
The third piece, titled The Afterlife: Souls, is an introspective piece by principal dancer Shannon Glover where she explores the concept of death as the great equaliser. Through dance she explored the human body after death and the resurrection of the body in another realm.
Glover’s The Afterlife: Souls, was presented in a slow, sensuous mood, drenched in smoky purple light and featuring only four dancers.
With the measured pace and emotive soundtrack, ballet lovers felt captivated by the piece. A looseness of torsos fused with full jumps and high-velocity turns create a pleasurable view for the audience.
After the second interval, the audience returned to be mesmerised by The Game performance. It is created by Mario Gaglione where he explores the game of kings, which inspired the choreographer to draw parallels between the game of chess and the game of life.
Using dance, he explores how each and every step in life is important just like a move on the chess board. With the stage floor looking like a chess board, dancers enthralled the audience with spectacular moves.
At the end of the performances, the crowd responded with a standing ovation.
It is safe to say Evolve is an epic piece of work.
* Evolve is showing at the Joburg Theatre until Sunday
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