A punchy production from Flanders
Rhythm is everything in boxing and dancing. Get on the beat
Boxing is a form of dance. I discovered this when I started training with professional boxers who impressed on me the need to constantly keep the feet moving in a rehearsed routine perfectly synchronised with the punches. Step forward with the left foot to throw a left jab, back with the right foot, swivelling the shoulder to throw the straight right. Bend the knee to load the hook. Pivot and slide to block. Bounce, bounce, bounce to rest.
At the end of the month, a production that piqued my interest is being staged at the Market Theatre. Three boxers and seven dancers throw everything they have into the dance ring to explore which movements overlap in a dance show called (B). It’s part of the Flemish Dance Season in SA during which two dance companies from Flanders in
Belgium will be performing in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
(B) was created by choreographic duo Koen Augustijnen and Rosalba Torres Guerrero from the company Siamese Cie. The choreographers have imagined a large-scale dance-theatre piece that draws the audience deep into their mutual fascination for Ars Pugilistica — the art of boxing — and the art of dance in its many contemporary forms. How do these two worlds influence each other? When does boxing become dancing, and vice versa, in the deconstruction of movement and sound? According to Geraldine Reymenants, general representation of the government of Flanders, by the end of the show you can’t tell the difference between the dancers and the boxers. The soundtrack is frenetic and interspersed with old arias enhanced with live and recorded video footage, and the set is designed to look like a boxing arena.
The other production to be staged during the season is called Requiem Pour L. Reymenants calls this piece “a solemn, deep and touching performance about a real person, ‘L’, who is dying. During the performance a video of ‘L’ in the process of dying is projected as the backdrop, and what happens on stage must soothe the audience’s emotions”. Mozart’s Requiem is reconstructed by composer Fabrizio Cassol with 14 musicians from different continents, merging their own musical influences with jazz, opera and popular African music, and with lyrics in Latin, Lingala and Swahili.
Alain Platel from les ballets C de la B, from Ghent in Belgium, is known for his physically driven and expressive dance work. He directed and choreographed the piece translating images and associations evoked by the Requiem, from the funeral hymn to the mass grave where Mozart was dumped. It is a deeply philosophical work that makes anxiety about mortality into art.
Flanders is known for its prolific dance scene and for “stirring up dance” in Europe, according to Reymenants. Choreographers and dancers from the region pride themselves on questioning and breaking through traditional and institutionalised dance norms of the (Western) canon. The dance scene in Flanders has also significantly absorbed international styles from collaborations over the years. From SA, Gregory Maqoma, Dada Masilo, George Khumalo and Moya Michael have enjoyed residencies there, enriching the dance aesthetic in Belgium. “The Flemish dance season in SA is an opportunity to share the result of these combined influences with SA audiences,” says Reymenants. “Koen Augustijnen, for example, was a dancer in Platel’s company and became a choreographer working for many years in Palestine. This experience has had a big impact on his dance which now includes traditional Palestinian dance too.”
Along with international influences, the shows also mix disciplines of dance, theatre, music, gaming, film and sport. Flemish Dance Season in SA will also comprise workshops, classes and talks.
When is boxing dancing, and vice versa, in the deconstruction of movement and sound?
Requiem Pour L, May 28, 29 at the Market Theatre in Joburg; June 4, 5 at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. (B) — May 31, June 1 at the Market Theatre and June 7, 8 at the Baxter Theatre. www.markettheatre,co,za, www.baxter.co.za for more information.