While everyone seemed to love the Dorrance Dance performance, I found myself quite indifferent to the dance itself. Even though I understand that the movement of those dancers is quite impressive, and that it’s all very beautifully choreographed, and that it tells a beautiful story though tap… I still remember thinking “Please, stop making those tapping noises. I just want to listen to live music.” Thankfully that was not the only experience I had at the Fall for Dance event. What had really made a great impression on me was presented before. It Vincent Mantsoe’s “Gula” performance.
First there was darkness. Then there was smoke. A haunting atmosphere accompanied by whistling. Then a creature appeared. No, he wasn’t human. Not judging by his movement. The movements animalistic and wild. He made sniffing sounds. Then he made chirping sounds. A bird, I realized. When he began his dance, I couldn’t quite place what it reminded me of. At first, I thought it was a form of African dance but that wasn’t quite it. For some reason, it also reminded me of Shaolin Kung Fu martial arts style, like the movements in my favorite childhood show Avatar the Last Airbender. Since then I’ve loved watching martial art performances that are reminiscent of dances. This was the opposite. It felt like a dance imitating a bird reminiscent of Kung Fu to me. I realize that it wasn’t Kung Fu but I loved it nevertheless because it was something I’ve never seen before and I found it exhilarating.
Mantsoe’s body seemed to be connected to the music through some invisible wire. The human body and the sound coming from the stage were one. There was also something that conveyed spirituality in his movements. They were not rough, but rather light. The performance wasn’t aggressive, and yet it exerted resilience and confidence. It wasn’t only due to his excellent dancing techniques, or the choreography of that particular dance, but also, equally as much, due to his acting ability. Mantsoe had the power to make me believe that was a bird, a part of nature.
For this review, I had to check the program of the Fall for Dance to clarify the name of the performance and out of curiosity I looked Vincent Mantsoe up and I was very pleased to find out that my connection to Shaolin Kung Fu wasn’t completely nonsense. Vincent Mantsoe is a South African dancer and choreographer who is greatly influenced by spirituality and the cultural influences of African, Aboriginal Australian, Asian, contemporary, and ballet traditions. He stated in an interview: “For me, personally, my own experience about dancing began basically at an early age; observing the rituals because my family is full of shamans and we practice rituals every weekend; these rituals include dancing…” (1)
After his performance, I just wanted to give him a hug. He showed so much happiness and humility. Perhaps it’s just his great acting skills, but I genuinely believe that he was purely happy that his performance was well-received. In the same interview (1) he said “So, really presenting my work around the world, being a soloist, you know, I’m not sure,.. yes I am successful, thank you for that.” Which to me implies his humble nature and good personality besides being a great performer.
(1)Thea Nerissa Barnes. “The stage is a very very sacred place…” – Interview with Vincent Sekwati Koko Mantsoe. January, 2004. Ballet-Dance Magazine. Accessed October 09, 2017. http://www.ballet-dance.com/200402/articles/interview-vincentmantsoesekwati20040100.html.
