ArtSpoken & Reviews
Mature look at San cultureMoira de Swardt03/03/2010 12:50:36 
Moira de Swardt: Mantsoe takes an empathetic look at the San people at the FNB Dance Umbrella. Initially I was a little nervous about the title "San". South Africa's indigenous tribes, the Khoi-San, are enjoying a revival of interest in both the politically correct (visit the Origins Centre at Wits) and in popular imagination which often leads to a hackneyed "noble savage" approach. Recently Mzansi Productions created a version of Nutcracker which had one scene which bordered dangerously close to this. I watched two pieces at the 2010 Stepping Stones programme which used exactly this theme. However, I need not have worried. It's been a long time since Mantsoe was a promising Stepping Stones choreographer. Mantsoe himself selected the costumes, black and grey simple outfits which from the outset refuted the "rock art" image prevalent in more clichéd interpretations. The set consists of ropes strung in specific formats, delineating the dance space and constricting and restricting the dancers at the beginning. As the work progresses, only the rope strung across the front of the stage is used and it gives the audience the strong impression of being outsiders looking in, with curiosity, pity, admiration or whatever other emotions may have been evoked during the performance. This is a mature, rich work which explores the situation in which the San people find themselves. The formations he creates and the movements he uses speak of individual and cultural identities, alienation, loneliness and frustration. Often while one dancer is communicating the others are "asleep" or lined up watching in disinterest. This is a powerful image of how the San, the world's oldest surviving culture, and a highly endangered group, may perceive the world's indifference to their plight. There is a delicate sensitivity in this work Recent academic studies of the San culture have led to a deeper understanding of the spirituality of the nomadic group and Mantsoe explores this aspect rather than focusing on the difficulties of a hunter/gatherer living in one of the world's least hospitable regions. The integration of the prehistoric lifestyle of San, both voluntary and imposed on them, into a contemporary technological and stressful twenty-first century is canvassed in the pairings of the dancers as they make their way across the terrain. Mantsoe's programme notes on the concept of this work are extensive and it is most interesting to read them, but even without them the work speaks eloquently. The music is not African. It is Persian (Iranian) and it has the allure of the exotic and it enhances the quivering fear of the unknown, both the ignorance of the audience about the San, and that of the San for the strange new world they encounter around them. This is a thoughtful work, magnificently portrayed by superbly controlled and technically competent, even excellent, dancers. Vincent Sekwati Koko Mantsoe was born in Soweto in 1971. The son of a sangoma, Mantsoe began drumming at the age of six and became enamoured of street style dances before joining Moving Into Dance where Sylvia Glasser trained him as a dancer. He now lives and works in France, but returns to South Africa often. Commissioned by the FNB Dance Umbrella, "San" is choreographed by Vincent Mantsoe. Lighting and sets by Serge Damon, costumes by Vincent Mantsoe with music by Shahram Nazeri. The dancers were Aude Arago, Desire Davids, Romain Cappello, Sarah Cerneaux and Vincent Mantsoe. Cecile Maubert-Mantsoe assisted at rehearsals. This work was part of the FNB Dance Umbrella and features on 2 and 3 March 2010 at The Dance Factory. The FNB Dance Umbrella runs until 14 March 2010. Moira de Swardt Freelance Journalist moirads@wol.co.za 011 482 7320 082 553 2457 Web site: http://www.artslink.co.za/arts
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