Remix Dance Company’s Lovaffair, which had its world premiere in March this year, returns to Flipside at the Baxter for nine performances only from 11 to 20 August at 8pm nightly.
With this production the award-winning and leading South African contemporary integrated dance initiative, now resident at the Baxter Theatre Centre, also celebrates 10 years of innovative and groundbreaking work. This has been made possible through the generous investment of philanthropic international businessman Roger Jungblut, CEO of UAL’s Youngblood.
Directed by Ina Wichterich-Mogane, who is also their dance teacher, the five-member, full-time company comprises Malcolm Black, Lee-anne Meyer, Nadine Mckenzie, Andile Vellem and Marlin Zoutman. They are joined by actor, director and composer Bongile Mantsai and 2008 Fleur du Cap Best Actress winner Chuma Sopotela.
Twenty-year-old Mckenzie, who is the assistant to the director, is a performer using a wheelchair. She has been crucial to the creation of Lovaffair and was due to perform in the new work in March but had to withdraw due to surgery.
Veteran dance and arts writer Adrienne Sichel best described the company and its work: “That spirit of experimentation without ever compromising artistic integrity and utter professionalism makes this company an ideal match for the Baxter and its newly appointed artistic director and renowned theatre-maker Lara Foot. Judging by its track record and the transcendental sorcery of Lovaffair, this dance company isn’t only levelling the proverbial social playground, rife with prejudice, they are totally transforming it.”
Die Burger described Lovaffair as a celebration of bodies and love. “Remix entertains and educates. They turn perceptions of gender and disability on its head. They are fearless and in your face. They grab the imagination.” Capetheatre.co.za said “Lovaffair presents a compelling combination of dance and theatrical styles. Adhering to the demands of contemporary dance, the performance expresses the energy and emotion of the individual. In a fluid, yet striking use of the body, the dancers personify an aspect of the human condition – our ability to love.”
The company was founded and directed in 2000 by Nicola Visser and was only formalised with Malcolm Black as Remix Dance Project Trust in August 2001. The aim was to bring together more and more differently-abled performers onto South African stages and to develop integrated dance locally.
“It is always a challenge to work with any group and try to get the best out of myself and the dancers,” says Wichterich-Mogane, who has worked with the company before. In 2008 she directed and choreographed the highly acclaimed Beautyfull, which was staged again last year in collaboration with Artscape and Jazzart and will be presented at the Baxter in October.
She continues, “My approach is to walk into a rehearsal room without preconceived ideas, so when I start working I am able to do so afresh, allowing me the space to enhance and highlight what is really already there. There are some things which are best said with words and others with movement and gestures. Trying to find it is the hard part. It is both beautiful and scary. This is the journey of Lovaffair.”
The production combines differently-abled dancers as well as actors and gives further meaning and expression to the term integrated dance. Artistic Director Malcolm Black explains, “Firstly the cast is so diverse, then there is diversity of bodies and styles and then we have two actors joining us. We are used to diversity but in this regard where we combine dance and drama we have less experience. So it is equally exciting and challenging.”
Sopotela and Mantsai, both cast members of the multiple-award-winning Karoo Moose, and Aardklop Best Actor award-winners for their performances, have been brought on board to give the production another dimension.
In 2002 the company won the prestigious Arts and Culture Trust Award for the Cultural Development Project of the Year in recognition of its work in education and performance. In 2006 the company won the Western Cape Cultural Commission Award for its Outstanding Contribution to Disability and the Arts.
Remix explores and develops dance which values the honesty and integrity of the body. As the first and one of the longest-standing integrated dance companies in the country, Remix seeks, through its work, to simultaneously entertain, educate and challenge attitudes and policies in the human rights area with programmes of solid artistic integrity and excellence. In particular, social and cultural attitudes towards dance, gender and disability within the dance sector are tackled. Great emphasis is placed on audience development in the disabled communities, where transport is difficult and where a culture of watching theatre and dance should still be developed in all South African sectors. Remix continues to pioneer innovative productions and collaborations.
In October the company will perform their highly acclaimed Beautyfull with Jazzart Dance Theatre and SA Circle of Dance, and patrons who book for both shows pay only R120 for the two.
Lovaffair opens at Flipside at the Baxter on 11 August and runs until 20 August at 8pm nightly. Booking is through Computicket on 083 915 8000, online at www.computicket.co.za or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet countrywide. For discounted block, schools or corporate bookings, charities and fundraisers, contact Sharon on 021 680 3962 or Carmen on 021 680 3993 during office hours. Ticket prices range from R120 (Monday to Thursday) to R130 (Friday and Saturday).
August 19, 2010
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