Westerners, whiteys, honkies, call them what you will, are often accused by Africans of a lack of understanding of their culture. While black South Africans have a measure of access to “white culture”, albeit as servants in houses, or in a corporate or industrial environment, white South Africans have little access to African lifestyles.
Dancer and choreographer Johan van der Westhuizen’s ritual dance pieces, which he has been researching and developing for six-and-a-half years opens a rare window on black South African culture. His latest one, Bira, a Shona ancestral seance, is on until April 24 at the Thabong Theatre at the Civic in Braamfontein.
There are probably countless reasons to condemn Van der Westhuizen’s pieces for being politically incorrect and I’m sure he has heard them all. You could say that a white Afrikaans performer dramatising the sacred rituals of the Shona on a commercial stage constitutes a sort of sacrilege.
You could also say that the ritual aspect of black culture belongs to a more primitive age and is best left to the sangomas in the rural areas, but then you would be missing out on a fascinating lesson into the social and spiritual aspects of cultures all but lost to us.
And if black South Africans are becoming more alienated from their roots, Van der Westhuizen is going some way to preserve the essential wisdoms contained in them.
Van der Westhuizen tells me that his work is part of a worldwide movement in dance using anthropological study as the basis for performance art. Contemporary culture does not provide much in the line of ritual and Van der Westhuizen demonstrates the uses of mimicry, joke-telling, dramatisation, seance, ecstatic movement, critical and praise poetry, communal healing and celebration.
An important part of the ritual is possession by a spirit of the medium, likened by Van der Westhuizen to the Jungian archetypes of the West. It is in ritual that healing and religion meet.
Of course, his pieces are not exact replicas of what you would see in a kraal in Zimbabwe, but a creative extrapolation of what he has read in anthropology texts. For example, he says, a person suffering from depression or psychosis would not be separated from society and incarcerated in a place like Tara. A specific formalised set of actions would be performed to rid the person of the “negative energies” causing his affliction.
“Ritual provides a safe space to release hundreds of thoughts and feelings. Without these forms of release and cultural expression, people turn to drinking and violence as the only forms of spiritual release,” says the choreographer who has collaborated with muso Pops Mahomed as composer and provider of detailed video material of actual Shona rituals.
Van der Westhuizen has chosen a didactic approach to his choreography, because “there is a lot of power in cultural content which is deeply rooted and passed down through the ages. It creates a more universal sphere for recognition and celebration of these archetypes. Finding a cultural haven and spiritual refuge now can happen without the contrived manoeuvres of spiritual manipulators,” he declares, saying that it is unfortunate that the audience does not participate in the dance, participation providing everyone with a release valve.
l If you can’t go leaping about in a moment of expressive ecstacy, you can participate in the excitement fuelling the dance world at the moment. The Dance Factory in Newtown is presenting works made at the Factory for the recent FNB Dance Umbrella and a few other delicacies like choreographer Fabrice Herrault’s Dying Swan performed by Mamela Nyamza of the State Theatre Dance Company.
Starting on Saturday (April 17) at 8pm, Discovery is a showcase of the works of South Africa’s hottest choreographers. See Timothy Moagi’s At War with Nature, a fusion of African and contemporary styles, created for the Mogodi Primary School Dancers from Sebokeng, as well as a new work by rising star Sello Pesa whose distinctive jazz-based works are attracting attention.
Then there is Wendy David and Gladys Agulhas in David’s pure contemporary Woman Hold my Hand, and Jayespri Moopen’s Talas in Conversation which fuses African and Indian dance.
The Dance Factory has become a very special space and the vibe is one of professionalism and industry. Not only are choreographers crafting innovative works in its warehouse-like environs, but a whole new generation of dancers are being trained … and that’s something to behold.
Tickets at the door are R25 for adults and R10 for children. Call Suzette at 833-1347 for more information