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Originally a 30-minute piece, Dada Masilo
has extended her interpretation of Carmen, searching beneath the surface of the
classic story.
A VERY personal interpretation of the famed
opera Carmen is being danced in Johannesburg
as part of the city's Arts Alive International Festival.
Unravelling Carmen, the woman
Dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo has
dug deep for her understanding of the main character of the Bizet opera, which
she will be performing at The Dance Factory in Newtown from 10 to 13 September.
"I began with the idea of unravelling
Carmen the woman, to search beneath the surface presented in the ballets and
operas, to find the vulnerability beneath the cold, heartless exterior," says
Masilo.
"In the process of research, there was so
much to unravel: I searched for Bizet and found Shchedrin. I discovered many
existing narratives. Ultimately, I have created narrative which allows me and
the dancers to do what we love most - to dance."
Masilo's version of Carmen sticks to the
original Bizet narrative; however, it has a different approach that has to be
seen to be explained, she says.
Phase one of Carmen was a 30-minute
performance commissioned by the FNB Dance Umbrella and supported by the
National Arts Council. It had seven dancers and premiered last March.
In May, after a three-week tour of Mexico, Masilo
began working on her full-length Carmen, for 12 dancers. The biggest challenge,
she says, was drafting a story without the help of Shakespeare. The lines for
Carmen proved to be a more complex source.
The dancers include Penny Ho Hin, Carlynn
Williams, Lulu Mlangeni, Nicola Haskins, Vishanthi Arumugam, Gustin
Makgeledisa, Mpho Masilela, Bailey Snyman, Xolani Mthabela and Lesego Ngwato.
Music is from Rodion Shchedrin's Carmen
Suite-Ballet Suite for strings and percussion based on themes from Carmen by
George Bizet; Bizet's Carmen Suites; Maria Callas singing the Habanera; and two
sections of Arvo Part's Lamentate.
Dada Masilo
Masilo trained in Johannesburg and Cape Town and in Brussels,
Belgium. She is
a contemporary dancer who loves the classics, from Shakespeare to Tchaikovsky,
from ballet to flamenco, says Suzette le Sueur, the director of The Dance
Factory.
As a dancer, Le Sueur says, she has
impressed with her "signature speed" - her ability to move like greased
lightning - and also with filling her roles with a precocious theatricality.
Her choreographic abilities have been daring, she tackles the big stories and
boldly fuses dance techniques, musically mixing the original scores with 20th century
composes and performers.
In 2008, Masilo received the Standard Bank
Young Artist Award for Dance. For the National Arts Festival, she created Romeo
and Juliet, based on Shakespeare's famous play. Music was from international
violinists Vanessa Mae and Nigel Kennedy. The work drew large critical and
audience support, says Le Sueur, and it was restaged for the Arts Alive
International Festival in 2008.
Carmen will run without an interval and has
an age restriction of 16. Performances on 10 and 11 September will begin at 8pm,
on 12 September at 6pm and on 13 September at 2.30pm.
Tickets are available at Computicket outlets,
on 083 915 8000 or 011 340 8000, or through the Computicket
website
and cost R85 for adults and R55 for students, pensioners and groups of 10 or
more. For more information call The Dance Factory on 011 833 1347 or email
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.
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