DFL Festival ‘Sex Actually’ dance menu is entertaining and engaging
August 25, 2010 – With so many fabulous dance items on at the Drama for Life Festival it’s difficult to choose which one/s to attend. Here are reviews of two of our favourites.
Don’t miss Missing
This has to rate as one of the best pieces of the 2010 DFL Festival dance menu that I have seen so far, writes Tonderai Cosmas Chiyindiko (DFL Festival Blogger-in-Residence).
Choreographed by Tracy Human and starring the dynamic duo of Songelo Mcilizeli and Bafikile Sedibe, this show is powerful yet simple in its touching portrayal of how HIV and AIDS impact on our lives. It is also about hope and triumph when we consciously decide to take a stand and confront HIV and AIDS.
The dance piece captures the complexities of relationships and issues such as courtship, love, lust, marriage, happiness, despair and forgiveness are captured through the use of rather minimalistic yet highly engaging dance movements. These movements manage to communicate to the audience what HIV and AIDS means and why we cannot fold our arms and give up on love and on our loved ones because they have HIV.
It is a call to love and is an inspiring piece that leaves you with a lump in your throat.
Missing is a breath of fresh air in many respects as most dance pieces seem only to show dance for dancing’s sake.
Human says: “It is a story about love and loss, about loving somebody with HIV.”
Missing is showing on Friday August 27, 2010 at 17:00 at the Wits Amphitheatre.
You can’t escape the Sexscape
Sexcape is a show that has relentless action from start to finish. This show is beautifully choreographed by P.J Sabbagha and features a wonderful all student cast. The set is quite amazing and the audience literally steps on it to get into the venue.
Sexscape has brilliant scenes and interchanges made up of dancers running in unison towards each other and away from each other in non-stop action. It takes us on a journey of ‘sex-capades’ as the dancers try to negotiate and discuss sex with their partners without success.
The complexities of these negotiations is made clear through the clever use of balloons throughout the piece. Dancers have to contend with the various irritating and blatant disruptions caused by the balloons, which in a way typifies the way ‘sex-talk’ takes place in our lives (and bedrooms) and in our relationships.
Through careful repetition of key moments and scenes, one is taken on a roller coaster ride that encompasses sudden deathly turns, dizzying heights and suffocation depths, and when you think that it’s all over, the music starts again and you have to run again and again and again and you are left with a feeling of no escape!
Sexscape continues from Tuesday through to Friday at the Wits Downstairs Theatre. Please check the programme for show times.