ArtSpoken & Reviews
Tangled in NightmaresFNB Dance Umbrella 201003/05/2010 16:40:32 
Nondumiso Msimanga: The socio-political dream of a nation becomes something of a nightmare. In Moses Durban dancer-choreographer Musa Hlatshwayo traces the journey of the ‘promised land' of a democratic South Africa post the ‘I am an African' speech of former president Thabo Mbeki. Moses, the man who was to lead the chosen people to the Promised Land is reconfigured in this ‘multimedia installation choreopoem'. A man (Hlatshwayo) surrounded by red and white striped barrier tape is shown to be hindered in his decision-making as he circles the stage as though looking for direction. This tangled leader is not one to doggedly follow the rules. The spoken poetry (extracts from Lebo Mashile and Ingrid Jonker) which initiate the action of the work, speaks of "the hands that fight for freedom being the same hands that kill." Two young men enter the smoke-filled stage wearing heavy boots. They seem to be the ‘hounds' who literally sniff him out. The performers stumble across the stage like Charlie Chaplin's Tramp. Like the Tramp, they are led into compromising positions but subversively try to find their own direction too. It is only as the ‘I am an African' speech- underscored by the melodies of the national anthem- blasts through the speakers that the second of the two women appears. The women perform a duet, mainly on the floor, as the two men shine torch-guns on them. Hlatshwayo , menacingly ties more barrier tape all across the stage which makes an awful squeaking sound as he does. The burdens of the leader are explored in the hanging of all the boots around Hlatshwayo's neck. The boots are then hung behind him on the stage to become installation art. The projected images of Val Admason's photographs during this piece are not well integrated. Just as the biblical Moses did not actually see the Promised Land, Moses explores a flawed leader who eventually wakes up from the ground as though he had been having a nightmare. SHOW: Moses DATES: March 3 & 4 Goethe on Main Artslink.co.za Account: FNB Dance Umbrella 2010 Nondumiso Msimanga sichel@artslink.co.za Web site: http://www.artslink.co.za/arts
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