SWAPNA PRABHAKARAN finds out about what’s going on behind the scenes during the glamorous SA tour of the Alvin Ailey dance company
IT is easy to be impressed by the glamour and technical bravura of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (AAADT) performances. The foot-tapping, hum-along dances and songs have been so very popular with everyone who’s gone to see them.
But what most people don’t suspect is that hundreds more have benefited from this visit by the highly acclaimed company than at first meets the eye. Dancers from the company have been spending their days giving outreach workshops and lecture- demonstrations to aspiring dancers in various venues throughout the city from Klipspruit West in Soweto to the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein.
Sylvia Waters, artistic director of the Ailey Repertory Ensemble, says: “The workshops and demonstrations have been a wonderful exchange between dancers, not just of movement and steps, but also of spirit. We have exchanged information through dance, which is a common language.”
These strong black dancers recognise the need for role models in dance development. The classes were on Horton technique; teaching ballet phrases to dancers with different levels of proficiency; to encourage pupils from a wide range of dance and social backgrounds – from those skilled in ballet to those more comfortable in gumboots.
Waters says: “We hope we are inspiring these young people and we are definitely being inspired by them. In some of the workshops, the children and dancers performed their dances for us, to teach us their dance. Whether it’s traditional or choreographed, we are learning from them.”
Backstage, the dance theatre’s technicians presented two open workshops at the Civic Theatre main stage on lighing, sound and stage management, to interested stagehands.
The company’s premiere also raised funds for a good cause – one local dancer will be selected for a one-year full scholarship to attend the Alvin Ailey Dance Centre in New York.
Students with three to five years’ dance training experience can attend the auditions. Waters, along with artistic directors of the AAADT, Judith Jamison and Masazumi Chaya, will oversee the auditions.
Moeketsi Koena, who attended classes at the centre in New York for a few months last year, has gained a lot from the overseas experience. Koena says he was craving information when he left South Africa, and encourages dancers to learn. “There are a limited number of schools here. When we go overseas, we can learn more about dance, singing, theatre, lighting, design and words, like in plays.”
When the company leaves for other shores at the end of the month, it leaves behind seeds of empowerment in South African dance, and a commitment to return within a few years.
Auditions will be held at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre on June 28. See the company perform at the Civic until June 29