Matthew Krouse talks to David Thatanelo April (38), executive and artistic director of Moving into Dance Mophatong. The company celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend
Where were you born?
I am originally from Kimberley in the Northern Cape, where I did my schooling in a village called Galeshewe. Now it has become a little town in itself. In terms of the developments happening there I cannot recognise it any more.
How long have you been away?
The last time I was there was four years ago. My whole family is there, but I left in 1990 when I went to Hilton College to do my post-matric. I got a scholarship to study computer science and psychology and, even though I said I wanted to do it, I didn’t know what it entailed. The next year I spent at the ML Sultan Technikon in Durban.
That didn’t do it for me. One day when I was really bored I decided to treat myself and go to the theatre to watch dance. I saw a production by Phenduka at the Playhouse. It was an eye-opener for me and I decided this is what I want to do. But I was still in the middle of my studies. In 1992 when I was trying to figure what it was that I was going to do with myself, I happened to be listening to Radio 5fm. I heard an audition notice for Moving into Dance.
They were saying that people were going to do practice and theory and it included choreography — everything that I wanted to do. I went to the audition, got accepted and became a student, performer, teacher, manager, assistant to the director Sylvia Glasser and eventually executive director of Moving into Dance Mophatong [MIDM].
You’ve seen the company go from small to big. What is the annual intake like compared with what you used to see?
We have on average 80 people auditioning and we take 15 to 18 people every year. It hasn’t changed. We have to keep it contained because our infrastructure doesn’t allow for more and there is not enough money. Interestingly, a lot of people from overseas have now come to MIDM to do exactly what I did close to 15 years ago — but they are trained dancers. Some of them have master’s degrees and are doing theses based on what is happening in MIDM, looking at contemporary dance within a South African setting.
What is it they learn that they couldn’t learn elsewhere?
Research on African dance is almost non-existent. You go to the internet and it is not there. It is because that kind of information is protected. If you had to look at African dance in its various forms, especially when it comes to sacred dance, it would not be written. There’s a lot of oral tradition where the older generation would pass on knowledge, but then again even if it gets passed on it is with the understanding that it is not just going to be freely available. When people come from overseas it is to have a better understanding of what African dance entails, to appreciate that it is not just about stomping and kicking. It is intrinsic in peoples’ lives. It is almost part of me as an individual: you live it, you eat it. It is not just about steps and it is not just about drumming — everything is integrated.
What are the prospects for the dancers who graduate from MIDM each year?
Moving into Dance has recently been fully accredited as a service provider. What that means is that once they get the officially approved certificate, the diploma is transferable. Graduates from MIDM can go to a university to further their studies. But a lot of our graduates land up being in major productions such as The Lion King, Umoja or African Footprint. Some have their own companies and are based all over the world. Some are in the [United] States with their own companies and Vincent Mantsoe is based in France. We have tried to go into the schools system where we use dance as a teaching method. We can help a child who is struggling with concepts to do with maths or science.
How has dance changed in meaning from the Nineties to now in terms of what is being said by dancers and choreographers?
Many have delved into identity and gender, and also into their cultural backgrounds, trying to understand themselves as individuals within the context of their communities. What I find interesting is that people are reconnecting with their roots. Not because they have taken to black consciousness but because they are reclaiming the past. They are saying: “I can better understand myself as an individual by understanding my history.” People tell their own stories, celebrating life, celebrating dance.
To celebrate three decades of MIDM, founder Sylvia Glasser collaborates with poet Lebogang Mashile in the work Threads, showing at the Wits Theatre until October 26. For information go to www.midance.co.za or Tel: 011 717 1376