DANCE
New dance piece Abaphantsi at the Opera House
Sonja Smit, Siya Mbambaza and Jen Schneeberger draw on the ancestors for their art
The Port Elizabeth Opera House presents the dance show Abaphantsi (Ancestors) by Sonja Smit, Siya Mbambaza and Jen Schneeberger from Wednesday, October 24 to Saturday, October 27.
Schneeberger, Mbambaza and Smit were all at one point affiliated with the Rhodes drama department and the acclaimed First Physical Theatre Company in Makhanda (Grahamstown).
Their work has been performed on various platforms such as the National Arts Festival, Spier Contemporary, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees and the Dance Umbrella.
Teaming up in Port Elizabeth this year, the three have collaborated to create a work that tries to process and make sense of the past – hence the title.
Particularly, they say, it will look at the “challenging but important relationship between the living and the deceased: our ancestors”.
Abaphantsi revolves around unspoken narratives and how words are not always enough to tell a difficult story.
A solo dancer (Mbambaza) responds to a voice (Schneeberger) that lies beyond the physical world as he begins to construct some sense from his past, telling a personal story in a highly atmospheric theatrical landscape.
The trio say the inspiration for Abaphantsi was drawn from TS Eliot's The Hollow Men, a poem dealing with spirituality and trauma.
Port Elizabeth musician Kendal Beadon’s haunting score accompanies the work, adding musical texture and depth to the emotionally compelling visual performance.
The Opera House commissions works in various seasons every month for a week-long short run, and Abaphantsi is part of the new Dance Seasons.
The Seasons programme is designed to breathe life into ready productions that are produced largely by local based experts.
Tickets are R100 (R150 double and R50 for students and pensioners) and the show starts at 7pm each night, with an extra show at 2pm on Saturday. Bookings and further information from Cingiwe Skosana, cingiwe.skosana@gmail.com, 041-586-2256 or 061-996-0200.
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