Quest to depict Biko ’ s life a winner
YOU have seen many depictions of Steve Biko ’ s life, and you thought they were excellent. But wait until you see
a dance show that opened last Friday at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani. The show entertains from the start until the last scene.
It tells the story of the brutal killing of the founder of Black Consciousness in South Africa.
His philosophy as espoused in his famous book,
is told through dance. The play portrays Biko ’ s life and death while reflecting upon the relevance of his philosophies 38 years on. Biko died at the hands of the apartheid security police in 1977. He contributed to the Struggle with his Black Consciousness Movement.
His ideas and writings on Black Consciousness empowered blacks with a new sense of self-worth, self-motivation and an attitude of activism. It also gave rise to the student uprisings of June 16 1976.
In the story is narrated and performed through song, dance, dialogue and multimedia. You get mesmerised by dance movements such as jive, kwela-kwela that hark back to the Sophiatown era fused with Xhosa traditional dances styles such as
and The show is directed by Mandla Mbothwe and choreographed by a talented team including Jacqueline Manyaapelo and Ina Wichterich-Mogane. also focuses on Struggle heroes who died in detention.
The story seeks to draw parallels between the apartheid system and the Marikana massacre. It highlights the brutality of apartheid police as similar to those used by current police.
ends today.