Dance in the new South Africa seems to reflect of the country at large. The white-establishment companies have been scaled down or disbanded; a new multirace generation is fighting to occupy the freed-up spaces in the culture; artists from abroad are visiting in increasing numbers. And there's precious little money to pay for it all.
But even if South African dance is struggling to assert itself, In Full Flight reveals that it's doing so in style, with Gregory Maqoma's opening piece showing how the best of it is both smart and deeply personal.
Southern Comfort starts out as a fast, sophisticated duet, over whose steps Shanell Winlock snappily takes control - issuing terse instructions to Maqoma that force the choreography into a higher, more pressured gear. Then, abruptly, Winlock's dominance turns political. She slips into an evening frock and starts to deliver an airy monologue about how successfully she's put the painful past behind her and how she's doing fine, now. Maqoma mumbles that he doesn't actually like his country, would prefer to be living elsewhere. She shuts him up by leaping on to his shoulders, and with her skirt cascading over his shoulders, barks instructions for him to continue the dance.
Confused, recalcitrant and unable to see, Maqoma eventually tips her off and darker, more traditional African rhythms start to infiltrate. Winlock tries to regain control but Maqoma at last rebels, and stops. In this 20-minute duet we see tradition and modernity, male and female, acceptance and resistance cast in witty opposition. Not a morality tale - just a glimpse of some issues at stake for artists in South Africa.
Classically trained Timothy le Roux gives us a telling image of what its like to be a dancer without a natural home. A big, graceful performer, he dances a funny and beautiful elegy to ballet (to the Dying Swan), which segues into a resigned gumboot dance (the tourist attraction of South Africa). He then attempts a lyric modern solo but is rudely halted by a hail of rugby balls bouncing on to the stage. As his title I Should Have Been a Rugby Fly-half suggests, dance isn't an easy option for a young, white South African male.
Also in the programme is Portia Mashigo's Mum's Man, My Father, a powerfully shaped autobiographical solo that's emotional without being mawkish, plus a trio experimenting with a kind of South African butoh. The Floating Outfit Project lacks focus but it's still a crucial part of the evening's argument. In Full Flight shows artists fully in touch with the world outside but absolutely setting their own agenda. It shows work that couldn't have been made in any country but South Africa.
