15 MINS OF FAME - DREAMS DO COME TRUE!

When the curtain raised on the Tshwane Dance Theatre’s quartet of 15 minute ballets - based on the 1979 Andy Warhol quote: “In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes” – many a dream became realized as an hour of superb dance unfurled.

Firstly, Esther Nasser, Artistic Director of the TDT, without a doubt, has realized her dream of building a modern dance company that now knocks the spots off every other company in this country – including the Northern and Southern Sacred Ballet Cows. Laura Cameron and Kristin Wilson are two welcome additions to a group of 12 dancers who physically looks great and know how to strut their stuff. It seems that Esther is the only real Artistic Director left in South Africa’s world of dance – and, therefore, we should pray that she is blessed with immortality and loads of energy for the future. Another dream that is coming true is the long-held fantasy that, “one day”, again, we will see good male dancers gracing our stages. From last night I can confidently report, finally, that they are now stepping forward from the jagged chorus line of the past years. And, emerging from this superb group of TDT muscularity is Kyle Rossouw, tall and elegant and any female dancer’s dream partner. I will never forget the night that Iain MacDonald danced the role of the Zebra in PACT Ballet’s production of Still Life at the Penguin Café. The minute the backdrop parted and Iain’s appeared everyone in that audience knew he was going to be a great dancer. While Kyle is not blessed with MacDonald’s long legs and shorter torso, he has the poise and grace, in time, to become a dancer of considerable nobility.

The third dream of last night’s world premiere programme was that of a young dancer who suffers from a terminal disease. Leigh Novis is 14 years old and in remission from Hodgkin’s cancer. Her wish to dance on a public stage has been with her all through her ordeal. The organization, “Reach For a Dream”, seeks to alleviate the strain of a life-threatening illness on children and their families by providing them with the opportunity to realize their dreams. They contacted the TDT to assist in fulfilling Leigh’s dream. Of the four 15-minute ballets it was Marie-Louise Basson’s “Synonyms for Seth” that did it for me. Most of the choreography is coordinated around and atop a specially constructed security boom. The ballet deals with physical and mental barriers and the inherent paralyses brought about by fear. Nasser thought it apt to include Leigh in this ballet and, a special pas de deux was choreographed into the ballet for her. Through Leigh’s courageous struggle with cancer, she fully epitomizes the determination and spirit required to deal with life-threatening events.

I believe that Mari-Louise Basson has been very busy of late, jetting between commissions and commitments in France, and most recently, India. She is with TDT for three months before she leaves to pursue commissions in Denmark and Sweden. But, her real commitment appears to be her French fiancé and their plans to settle in France. And, I should have guessed: It could only be the French erotic ethos that could have inspired this celebrated choreographer to create such an aesthetically pleasing but, physically strenuous work imbued with sexual passion. Ms Basson really pushes the envelope and leaves the dancers, literally, hovering on the knife edge of the boom! This is clockwork precision choreography and involves totally integrated ensemble work that requires the total concentration and commitment of each of the dancers; one false move and everything can come tumbling down. The soundtrack for “Synonyms for Seth” is outstanding, utilizing extracts from Mandela’s inaugural speech - "But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all” – and also snatches from Nicolas Sarkozy’s “A New World Order” all set against Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty”, Cia’s “My Love’ and Florence and the Machine’s “Heavy in your Arms”. What I found particularly pleasing was a whole new interpretation of Aurora’s Rose Adage danced with her four princes. More than a century after the original was choreographed, Basson brings us this tongue-in-the cheek but incredible balancing act with dives and jumps in mid-air; similar but yet light years away from Marius Petipa’s “La Belle au bois dormant” created for the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890. It would be a great pity of Ms Basson’s love and her career eventually moves away from our shores. Hopefully she will remember her Heimat and come back regularly to feed the starving dance public. My only heartfelt criticism of this work relates to the very ugly costumes designed by David Hutt. Really, those pink bubble fabric bathing costumes the boys wore looked more like rose-coloured nappies with big water-filled lesions on the surface. In my opinion, the whole look of this ballet needs to be reconsidered. (Ag sis man Mister Hutt and you made Judy Page look so good in her show – what then went so wrong here?) Timothy le Roux, in his ballet “All the King’s Horses” confronts issues of colonialism and asks, “Who is to blame?” He questions the political mentality of “Let them eat cake”. Le Roux also exploits the dancers’ technical capabilities in full and, in some of the scenes – especially in the Cossack-like legwork for the boys – he achieves moments of sheer brilliance. Backed by a superb soundtrack, which ranged from the Mozart Requiem, though Vivaldi, Bryas, Beethoven and Bach, including Eartha Kit, the dancers move in beautiful patterns across the stage and, from these ensembles arises, unexpectedly, the most beautiful pas de deux I have seen in a long time. The costumes and stage design by Wilhelm Disbergen - for this ballet - was superb to say the least. I don’t normally praise Wilhelm because I have always believed that he has far greater potential as a designer than he has let on up to now. But, my suspicion that there is a helluva lot more to him than we have seen thus far was confirmed last night; exquisite hues of blue costumes mingling with the orange-gold strobe lighting effects and the striking back wall projection. Well done Disbergen! From now on there are no excuses for you dear boy! Celeste Botha’s in her work, “Here and Now”, deals with the defining moments in a life. And, the ballet started off so beautifully. At one point she places three choreo-ordinated pas de deux couples in three pools of light on the stage – exquisite treplicated movements for the eyes to feast on. And then, poof, all of a sudden the beautiful lines and style achieved in the first half collapses into a silly broth of dancing steps – a bit like a Virgin Active body toning class! But, I suppose it really depicts the symbolical theme of this work: “A simple decision taken on the spur of the moment can unleash a series of unexpected events that can change the course of one’s life”. It surely changed the course of this ballet for me! The first ballet of the evening was called “Silken Road” by the multi-awarded and internationally celebrated young Thabo Rapoo. The choreographer sets out to take the onlooker on a journey along a path with an eventual intersection/connection between two worlds. It is about ‘Sangam’, which literally means ‘two rivers meet’. Where the three ballets that followed this work mirrored a great deal of movement (occasionally bringing about a tad of boredom) all I remember about “Silken Road” is that this ballet had a distinct style of its own. But, I am getting old and by the end of the evening could not remember much of it. On the other hand, this ballet may very well have been Rapoo’s 15 Minutes of Fame. 15 Mins of Fame is being staged at the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre until 9th April 2011 for 8 performances only. Bookings can be made through Computicket. Prices are R50 (for the preview on 31 March), and R80 or R120 for all other performances . When the curtain raised on the Tshwane Dance Theatre’s quartet of 15 minute ballets - based on the 1979 Andy Warhol quote: “In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes” – many a dream became realized as an hour of superb dance unfurled. Firstly, Esther Nasser, Artistic Director of the TDT, without a doubt, has realized her dream of building a modern dance company that now knocks the spots off every other company in this country – including the Northern and Southern Sacred Ballet Cows. Laura Cameron and Kristin Wilson are two welcome additions to a group of 12 dancers who physically looks great and know how to strut their stuff. It seems that Esther is the only real Artistic Director left in South Africa’s world of dance – and, therefore, we should pray that she is blessed with immortality and loads of energy for the future. Another dream that is coming true is the long-held fantasy that, “one day”, again, we will see good male dancers gracing our stages. From last night I can confidently report, finally, that they are now stepping forward from the jagged chorus line of the past years. And, emerging from this superb group of TDT muscularity is Kyle Rossouw, tall and elegant and any female dancer’s dream partner. I will never forget the night that Iain MacDonald danced the role of the Zebra in PACT Ballet’s production of Still Life at the Penguin Café. The minute the backdrop parted and Iain’s appeared everyone in that audience knew he was going to be a great dancer. While Kyle is not blessed with MacDonald’s long legs and shorter torso, he has the poise and grace, in time, to become a dancer of considerable nobility. (Rumour has it that one of his nicknames is Petri and that he sometime finds himself stranded in Naboomspruit – but, I am sure that this is simply nasty dance-world bit of gossip!) The third dream of last night’s world premiere programme was that of a young dancer who suffers from a terminal disease. Leigh Novis is 14 years old and in remission from Hodgkin’s cancer. Her wish to dance on a public stage has been with her all through her ordeal. The organization, “Reach For a Dream”, seeks to alleviate the strain of a life-threatening illness on children and their families by providing them with the opportunity to realize their dreams. They contacted the TDT to assist in fulfilling Leigh’s dream. Of the four 15-minute ballets it was Marie-Louise Basson’s “Synonyms for Seth” that did it for me. Most of the choreography is coordinated around and atop a specially constructed security boom. The ballet deals with physical and mental barriers and the inherent paralyses brought about by fear. Nasser thought it apt to include Leigh in this ballet and, a special pas de deux was choreographed into the ballet for her. Through Leigh’s courageous struggle with cancer, she fully epitomizes the determination and spirit required to deal with life-threatening events. I believe that Mari-Louise Basson has been very busy of late, jetting between commissions and commitments in France, and most recently, India. She is with TDT for three months before she leaves to pursue commissions in Denmark and Sweden. But, her real commitment appears to be her French fiancé and their plans to settle in France. And, I should have guessed: It could only be the French erotic ethos that could have inspired this celebrated choreographer to create such an aesthetically pleasing but, physically strenuous work imbued with sexual passion. Ms Basson really pushes the envelope and leaves the dancers, literally, hovering on the knife edge of the boom! This is clockwork precision choreography and involves totally integrated ensemble work that requires the total concentration and commitment of each of the dancers; one false move and everything can come tumbling down. The soundtrack for “Synonyms for Seth” is outstanding, utilizing extracts from Mandela’s inaugural speech - "But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all” – and also snatches from Nicolas Sarkozy’s “A New World Order” all set against Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty”, Cia’s “My Love’ and Florence and the Machine’s “Heavy in your Arms”. What I found particularly pleasing was a whole new interpretation of Aurora’s Rose Adage danced with her four princes. More than a century after the original was choreographed, Basson brings us this tongue-in-the cheek but incredible balancing act with dives and jumps in mid-air; similar but yet light years away from Marius Petipa’s “La Belle au bois dormant” created for the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890. It would be a great pity of Ms Basson’s love and her career eventually moves away from our shores. Hopefully she will remember her Heimat and come back regularly to feed the starving dance public. My only heartfelt criticism of this work relates to the very ugly costumes designed by David Hutt. Really, those pink bubble fabric bathing costumes the boys wore looked more like rose-coloured nappies with big water-filled lesions on the surface. In my opinion, the whole look of this ballet needs to be reconsidered. (Ag sis man Mister Hutt and you made Judy Page look so good in her show – what then went so wrong here?) Timothy le Roux, in his ballet “All the King’s Horses” confronts issues of colonialism and asks, “Who is to blame?” He questions the political mentality of “Let them eat cake”. Le Roux also exploits the dancers’ technical capabilities in full and, in some of the scenes – especially in the Cossack-like legwork for the boys – he achieves moments of sheer brilliance. Backed by a superb soundtrack, which ranged from the Mozart Requiem, though Vivaldi, Bryas, Beethoven and Bach, including Eartha Kit, the dancers move in beautiful patterns across the stage and, from these ensembles arises, unexpectedly, the most beautiful pas de deux I have seen in a long time. The costumes and stage design by Wilhelm Disbergen - for this ballet - was superb to say the least. I don’t normally praise Wilhelm because I have always believed that he has far greater potential as a designer than he has let on up to now. But, my suspicion that there is a helluva lot more to him than we have seen thus far was confirmed last night; exquisite hues of blue costumes mingling with the orange-gold strobe lighting effects and the striking back wall projection. Well done Disbergen! From now on there are no excuses for you dear boy! Celeste Botha’s in her work, “Here and Now”, deals with the defining moments in a life. And, the ballet started off so beautifully. At one point she places three choreo-ordinated pas de deux couples in three pools of light on the stage – exquisite treplicated movements for the eyes to feast on. And then, poof, all of a sudden the beautiful lines and style achieved in the first half collapses into a silly broth of dancing steps – a bit like a Virgin Active body toning class! But, I suppose it really depicts the symbolical theme of this work: “A simple decision taken on the spur of the moment can unleash a series of unexpected events that can change the course of one’s life”. It surely changed the course of this ballet for me! The first ballet of the evening was called “Silken Road” by the multi-awarded and internationally celebrated young Thabo Rapoo. The choreographer sets out to take the onlooker on a journey along a path with an eventual intersection/connection between two worlds. It is about ‘Sangam’, which literally means ‘two rivers meet’. Where the three ballets that followed this work mirrored a great deal of movement (occasionally bringing about a tad of boredom) all I remember about “Silken Road” is that this ballet had a distinct style of its own. But, I am getting old and by the end of the evening could not remember much of it. On the other hand, this ballet may very well have been Rapoo’s 15 Minutes of Fame. 15 Mins of Fame is being staged at the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre until 9th April 2011 for 8 performances only. Bookings can be made through Computicket. Prices are R50 (for the preview on 31 March), and R80 or R120 for all other performances . .