All over Europe, in dozens of dance companies, from the great and established to the small and interesting, South African dancers are making their mark with their own special brand of enthusiasm and energy. Patterns have changed to suit the cultural dynamics of the new South Africa. It is no longer only the predominantly white, English-speaking ballet dancers searching for their roots on English soil. The dancers now come from a much broader spectrum of society, perform in a more diverse range of dance styles and have become seasoned Euro travellers. European dance schools have woken up to this latent talent and are offering generous scholarships to South African dancers. That hotbed of contemporary dance innovation, Parts (the Performing Arts Research and Training School) — run by Anna Teresa de Keersmaker in Brussels — started giving scholarships about five years back and is providing the home market with honed-down talent that is set to reshape and fire the future. Moya Michael, winner of the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year 2003, who, with Moeketsi Koena, was one of the original student group, summed it up. ‘It was brilliant! There were students from 23 different countries. We were all doing the same thing, there was hardly a sense of competition. We were there to work and the school was really encouraging. It really influenced my perceptions of dance and the dance world. Once you’re at Parts you kind of know the whole world!” Michael, with fellow South African Shanell Winlock, were selected while still students to dance with choreographer Akram Khan in a new piece premiered as part of the Brussels 2000 Culture Capital celebrations. They were then invited to become founder members of his company, currently one of the hottest tickets in London. Years ago a chance meeting between former Royal Ballet principal Anya Linden, now Lady Sainsbury, and Nelson Mandela resulted in a scholarship programme to the Rambert School in London. Madiba, not above showing his own dance skills, also has a legendary talent for getting people to support good causes. He suggested that something could be done for young South African dancers and so it was. Now, nearly 10 years later, a steady stream of graduates have taken their places in the dance world. Christopher Adams, a current scholarship student, said he found working in London opened his horizons. Doing a lot more contemporary dance has helped him see dance in a wider context and he enjoys the focused attitude and friendly competitiveness among the students. His brother, Warren, graduated a few years back and now works in New York, but comes home regularly. He choreographed Worlds Apart, currently in the repertoire of Ballet Theatre Afrikan and touring nationwide.A useful Scandinavian link was forged with the Shuttle 99 project when Marie Brolin-Tani’s Danish company collaborated with State Theatre Dance Company members to present the dance drama Lear. She is now director of the Skånes Dansteater in Malmö, Sweden, where four South Africans are under contract. The collaboration works both ways —it is not only a case of us going to learn from Europe. As part of the community outreach programme, they made use of traditional dance skills. A local rubber factory gave the incentive for the dancers to use their boots and show local children some of the finer points of gumboot dancing. ‘Not exactly like our gumboots — but they make more or less the same noise, and the kids loved it,” said Mandla Mcunu. While the dancers all said they wanted to return to work in South Africa, the financial security and opportunities Europe provides makes it a difficult decision. With most South African funding going to individuals and small-scale projects, there is little here to compare with the pleasure they experienced in working in a company. At Skånes Dansteater, Melody Putu loved the mix of cultures, ‘people from Poland, Spain, Belgium all working together, the dancers feeding off the different dynamics”. Desiree Davids was ecstatic about the creative environment. ‘The dancers are so open and confident in themselves. It makes them much easier to work with.” Belinda Nusser agreed. ‘It is so encouraging that you just want to push more and more. I’ve never felt like that before. I used to feel competition just made me feel bad.” It seems our heritage of a colonial class system, overlaid with pigmentocracy, has still not been laid to rest.When I asked the dancers about their physical working conditions, Davids summed it up in one word: ‘Heaven!” Skånes has physiotherapy, sauna and massage on tap and even fresh towels provided in the dressing rooms. It is a measure of the pull that South Africa exerts that despite this luxury, both she and Mcunu, nearing the end of their contracts, were counting the days to their homecoming.These South African dancers have that rare mix of talent, tenacity and courage that enabled them to leave their homes and loved ones to pursue their art. They were also fortunate to be born at a time when opportunities were opening up in all sectors of the community. In all forms of art, having a special talent has provided the freedom to cross class and colour lines. Michael giggled and said: ‘Because of this talent, I suppose I am a little different and I am very grateful. I probably would have been married now, pregnant, with five kids and a husband who is messing about.”South African contemporary dance is one of the success stories of our times. It has really blossomed in the past decade and it is happening in places where the old art world didn’t even know there were places. Funding is always insufficient, but companies are getting wiser at accessing what is available. Dance is in the blood and old cultural hang-ups about dance not being a proper job or not for boys are slowly being eroded. Hopefully the new openness and transnational currents will keep a two-way flow of talent going, enriching both sides
Moya Michael is creating a solo and a group piece for Tswane Dance Company, directed by Vicki Karras and Mandla Mcunu, for the upcoming Grahamstown National Arts Festival. Michael and Mcunu are also choreographing pieces for Pretoria Technikon students for a show opening at the Baxter Theatre Complex in June