South African students of dance got a boost this week when they collaborated with one of Europe’s great dance companies in making a dance piece about the interior world of young people.
Titled Iungo — the Latin word for ‘I connect” — the 10-minute-long work will contribute towards elevating local students to professional status, placing them on par with their European contemporaries. Mind you, Adriaan Luteijn, education head of Introdans, one of Europe’s busiest companies, says he has been impressed by the standard of young dancers here. The privileged 10, in their late teens and early twenties, are all students at the UCT School of Dance.
Luteijn says it is the multicultural nature of the dance scene in South Africa that is opening the floodgates of dance expression. ‘When we contacted Cape Town university, we knew that the dancers are educated to be very versatile here. We knew we were going to meet different kinds of bodies here — so we didn’t need a specific technique.
‘I choreograph at similar academies in Holland and I think the standard here is slightly better. The subjects students are doing here enrich their ability as dancers. For example, they have a good contemporary background and then they know African dance of course.”
Luteijn notes that in The Netherlands there are no academies at which traditional dance is explored alongside more contemporary forms, yet in South Africa the widespread knowledge of traditional dance ‘enriches the dance culture”.
The content of the piece is shrouded in mystery, but Luteijn describes it as an exploration of ‘people coming together at a nondescript place, and what they connect to”. He apparently gave the youths images to work off: ‘Like this could be the place in your home you like best, or perhaps a bench where you like to sit everyday.” It seems to explore familiarity, interaction by individuals and groups, power plays and so forth — relevant to youngsters with their love of hanging out. The music is a composition by 19th-century Polish composer Frederic Chopin.
The broader Introdans programme consists of works by major contemporary European choreographers: Andante by Hans van Manen (born in 1932), who is resident director of the Het National Ballet; Daylight by British choreographer Ben Holder; Gilles by Introdans director Ton Wiggers; and White Streams by Itrodans favourite Ed Wubbe.
Judging from DVD preview material, while the works might be based on ballet, they are cutting edge and contemporary with gripping moments of masterful coordination. As a new interpretation of the classical form, there is a departure from the fairytale element that is replaced with modern humour and a vibrant exploration of real relationships, through virtuoso dance.
The student work Iungo is being performed only during the Cape Town run.
Introdans performs in Cape Town at the Baxter Theatre, Rondebosch, from June 29 to July 1, and at the University of Johannesburg on July 5 and 6. Tel: 011 482 4140