Double Dance

I was lucky enough to see not one, but two really great dance productions in one week.

The first one, Danscape, is a showcase of young South African talent that also serves as a fundraiser to support young dancers. A lot of different programmes and academies were involved and the result was a vibrant mix of contemporary, jazz, flamenco and even traditional Indian dance styles.
There was also a beautiful piece by the Remix Dance Project, a group that uses both disabled and able-bodied dancers.

My favourite of the evening was the last piece by Ina Wicterich that was a collaboration between the Jazzart trainees and dancers from all the other schools. I would never have thought that Indian dance moves could work so well when performed to African vocals.

But the most enchanting part was when a little girl of about 2 or 3, sitting in the front row with her parents, became so enamoured with the performance that she jumped up and started dancing too. The whole audience let out an appreciative sigh at the sight of this little person twirling about in a world of her own.

The second piece was La Traviata by the South African Ballet Theatre. We were lucky enough to see one of the performances accompanied by a live orchestra and I think that it made all the difference. Andries Weidemann was in the lead and his dancing and acting went way beyond just the steps and the lifts. There was an ease and maturity to his performance that a lot of the younger dancers lacked. His partner was good not great, but I think she will mature into a stunnong dancer in a few year's time. Her death scene scene was brilliantly done though.

So that's it. Wonderful dancing to remember and Chicago to look forward to in 2 week's time. Life is great.