Their first production, Dansmetdieduiwels, was performed last weekend at the Baxter theatre, and was, as expected, inspiring and thought provoking.
The subject matter he chose to use as his theme is difficult and one that many people would be scared to explore - but Alfred has always done what nobody else would, and through this created much conversation! The broad theme is that of paedophilia and molestation of young boys by men in powerful positions. The micro theme is that of the Catholic church which has had much publicity recently in their cover-ups of these events over the years.
Many people may not want to go see a production with this subject matter but I think it is important to open people's eyes and not brush things under the carpet. So often we pretend that these things do not happen - well they do and our country is rife with abuse of children so it is high time we talk about it!
What makes this production so powerful, is not just the incredible technique and quality of the dancers but the intelligent way Alfred has created a movement vocabulary that uses symbols from the church and everyday movements to tell the story. The male dancers, of which there are 4, are incredibly athletic yet they perform their movements gracefully, exciting lifts with ease and express their characters clearly. There is one female dancer who defies the stereotype of what many of us would assume dancers should be. She is womanly, curvy and, in her role, very sexual.
There seem to be many biblical or mythical characters at play who interact in a various releationships to tell the story through dance. Eve who entices Adam. Cupid who seems to hang on or hover around the priest, and slip in and out of all the relationships between characters. The priest, danced by Grant van Ster, is someone the others are drawn to as he holds his position of power and uses it to control and use the young men. Grant is incredibly tall and powerful but he dances with such grace and fluidity that he seems to glide across the floor and fly at times. The other male characters are also incredible dancers ensuring the audience it glued to their seats and rivited throughout the whole piece. The role of the young boy is played by a Grade 11 boy from OuKiep who only began dancing in October last year, showing that Alfred's ability to train dancers quickly and find hidden talent is truly one of his greatest skills.
I think this piece would stand up anywhere in the world and hope it is repeated in other venues so that more audiences may have the opportunity to watch it and see how much talent and skill and vision our South African artisit really have!