European ballet and African dance forms are connecting, writes Phillip Kakaza
The sun was too bright for a winter afternoon – not for me, a son of Africa, but for the Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers currently on tour in South Africa.
And the English dancers’ interaction with 20 young South African dancers in a match-box room at the Ipelegeng Community Centre in Soweto pushed up the temperature.
“One . two . three,” Jackie Simela, a teacher with Soweto Dance Theatre, led all the dancers through contemporary dance steps.Camera lenses zoomed in and out. The cultural exchange was recorded on film.
Apart from their formal tour of South Africa, the Birmingham company have held workshops with township-based groups in Cape Town and Soweto during the past month. “As much as we have shared our skills with them, we have in turn learnt a lot from the groups. This is what has kept us going,” says Kate Walker, education officer for the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Walker describes the tour as a once- in-a-life-time experience. It is the first time the balletc ompany has come to South Africa and, she says, it will hopefully not be the last. “The dance groups here have shown interest in ballet and we hope we will be able to keep on sending people out here to teach and keep up contact,” said Walker.
The visits to Soweto and other townships have also highlighted the lack of resources. Even with the new government, Soweto – an area with a population of about two million people – still does not have a formal theatre. “It is amazing that with such minimum resources, the youngsters are still innovative and eager to learn new forms of dance,” Walker said.
Simela, the founding member of the Soweto Dance Theatre, says that despite the lack of resources he has been dancing for the past 20 years. The only time he goes on a professional dance stage is when there are festivals in Johannesburg’s theatres.
The children he teaches have to learn to dance on the cement floors of community halls. “Out of love and eagerness, the children are dedicated and their parents are giving them support,” says Simela.
The Soweto Dance Theatre was established in 1983 and has relied on foreign sponsorships to survive. Besides Simela, there are four other teachers who give workshops in drama, ballet and African dance. The classes are held daily and the 60 dancers who attend donate 50c every Friday to help keep the workshops going. The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s visit has raised Simela’s hopes about more international exchange workshops.
“It is good that we are interacting with people overseas – maybe just by keeping contact with them, they will assist us,” Simela said. “Some have even donated costumes they’re no longer in need of.”
Said Walker: “We are glad that people here are keen to make ballet accessible to all.”
The Birmingham Royal Ballet will host dance performances derived from the workshops they have held with dance groups at the Dance Factory Centre, Newtown, on Friday July 10 at 3pm