In its 29th year, the Dance Umbrella is hosting many works, including collaborative works between various choreographers. In the Heart of the Country is a work created in residency and is a co-production between Constanza Macras/Dorky Park and Forgotten Angle Theatre. This piece was inspired by the “impossible dialogue” between blacks and whites in JM Coetzee’s literature and Njabulo Ndebele’s book, Rediscovery of the Ordinary.
I spoke to choreographer Fana Tshabalala who worked together with Ana Mondlini and Emil Bordas on this piece of dance.
What inspired this dance piece?
Fana Tshabalala. Dance. Standard Bank Young Artist 2013. Pic by Suzy
Bernstein
Fana:
“The work was inspired by the book written by JM Coetzee entitled ‘In the heart of the country”. After reading the book as collaborators we then researched and a lot of issues arose from the research – issues of loneliness and internal conflict; dialogue we have as human beings. The book talks about family on the farm, and so we looked at the issues around family, living on a farm at the present moment in South Africa. Then we explored the issues around Land Reform. As Ana is originally from Brazil, we found that issues around land and people living in the shacks are almost the same as in South Africa.”
How difficult was it to re-adapt JM Coetzee and Njabulo Ndebele’s works into dance?
Fana:
“We used these two works as an inspiration for the work – we never wanted to adapt the book but rather to use the book as a starting point to explore current issues in South Africa. We also looked at how these writers express themselves through writing.”
How did you choose the specific dancer for this work; was there a specific characteristic that you were looking for in your dancer?
Fana:
“This collaboration is produced by Dorky Park in partnership with the Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative. Constanza Macras chose collaborators to work together, she looked at the artistic qualities we all have and then asked us to collaborate. It’s been a very interesting and learning experience working together with Ana and Emil.”
What do you think is lacking in the dance space in South Africa – drawing from the residency programme you attended?
Fana:
“I think what’s lacking is collaboration within the South African dance space and different organisations coming together to produce shows, this will help the work we’re producing in SA to have a long life span rather than it being performed once or twice only. It will also help in making sure that our works have enough budget so that we don’t compromise our vision due to the lack of funds.”
For more information go to: http://www.danceforumsouthafrica.co.za/programme-2017.html
The Dance Umbrella 2017 is funded by the department of Arts and Culture and the Gauteng Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, in partnership with the National Arts Council of South Africa, Institut Francais d’Afrique du Sud, the Goethe Institut, and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
