...How in salts desert is it possible to blossom...
...How in salts desert is it possible to blossom...
After the winter rains, which fall from May to July in this region of Namaqualand, the semi-desert soils are completely covered, from August to September, with a magnificent carpet of more than 3,500 species of wild daisies, a flower symbolising peace and prosperity. And so we created with the dancers ... How in salts desert is it possible to blossom.... To share with the audience the breathtaking spectacle of this magnificent flowering that is taking over the desert.
Run time 75 minutes
Genre Dance
Language Language no problem
Dutch premiere
... How in salts desert is it possible to blossom...
...How in salts desert is it possible to blossom.... will be a collaboration in O'Kiep (northerncape - South Africa) between Robyn Orlin and Garage Dance directed by Alfred Hinkel. Garage Dance is a local professional dance group (who's members come from the the immediate area of Okiep) and musicians uKhoiKhoi (based in Johannesburg).
Exploited from the 1870s to the 1980s, the Okiep copper mines were considered to be the richest in the world. Afrikaans is the main language spoken here, and the locals prefer to be called Coloured, a term used in South Africa to designate populations of mixed ethnicity, who in the region are descendants of the Nama and Indian cultures.
“The Coloureds of South Africa are torn between ethno-nationalism and African nationalism...”. – Ismail Lagardien
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Although Coloured people have been present in South Africa from the outset, they have suffered a great deal of discrimination. Not white enough at the time of apartheid and not black enough today. At the start of my work with the dancers, I asked them what they would like to talk about. After an awkward silence, they replied:
“We no longer want to ask questions about our ancestors.”
“We'd like to talk about something other than our origins.”
“We just want to say who we are and how we celebrate life.”
* Robyn Orlin uses the term “Coloured/Coloureds” in her description of this performance. To do justice to her artistic vision and reflect her work as she originally intended, we have adopted this term in the text above.
Credits
with 5 dancers from Garage Dance Ensemble Byron Klassen Faroll Coetzee, Crystal Finck, Esmé Marthinus en Georgia Julies
original score written and performed by uKhoiKhoi with Yogin Sullaphen en Anelisa Stuurman
costumes Birgit Neppl
technical director Thabo Walter
video Eric Perroys
lightning design Vito Walter
production City Theater & Dance Group en Damien Valette Prod
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Garage Dance Ensemble
mentor Alfred Hinkel
artistic director John Linden
resident choreographer Byron Klassen
production Nicolette Moses
co-producers City Theater & Dance Group, Festival Montpellier Danse 2024, Festival de Marseille, Chaillot, Théâtre national de la danse, Paris, Théâtre Garonne, Scène européenne en Toulouse.
with the support of the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Ile de France en Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels