Iris Professional Practice Blog

DIFFERENT WORLDS, ONE MUSICAL SCORE

This weekend I got a dose of inspiration.
I went to watch a performance by South African Artist Dada Masilo at Saddlers Wells Theatre.
The performance was a reinvention of the Classical Ballet Giselle by composer Adolphe Adam.
Masilo's version fuses classical Ballet. Contemporary and Tswana dance.
Rooted in the classical form, Masilo offers a highly technical and precise movement phrasing that combines elements of all the above dance forms fused effortlessly without any visible borders of where one ends and another starts. She manages to create this fluidity of movement while telling the story with plenty of passion. According to Dada Masilo, it's important to tell the story from the perspective of the audience in order to present it with as much clarity as possible in order to create emotion and reflection.
I was enthralled to watch such a classical story of love and betrayal being interpreted through fresh new eyes with such vigour and beauty.

The musical score, by South African composer Philip Miller, was haunting, powerful and varied while at the same time being able to maintain a coherence of feeling. It reminded me strongly of the first time I heard the album Lambarena - "Bach to Africa" developed by Mariella Bertheas. I first heard this album in the late 90's while taking a class in Graham technique. In this album, the classical works of Bach are combined with traditional music from Gabon. The two musical styles manage to exist without giving up their identity though...What seems an impossible combination, turns out to be a beautiful symbiosis in musical harmony, and trust me I'm not a fan of Bach...

Looking at this moment I wonder perhaps why do these two pieces of work in different time frames peaked my interest so much?...The first thought that comes to mind is my mixed heritage. Perhaps, the fact that my background hails from different worlds has had a bigger significance on how I see the world and how I interpret it through my imagination and creative output. I have been forever interested in dance forms that have travelled, transformed and created their own identity. While studying and practising contemporary dance forms I understood how much, they were in themselves fusions. From Ruth St Denis to Graham and Salsa, the creolisation of dance is ever present. Watching Dada Masilo's work though I didn't feel that the different styles co - existed separately...more like, they blended into one another, which I feel it's quite a difficult process to achieve aesthetically.

Another thought occurs to me though...Why did Dada Masila feel that re- creating the classic work of Giselle was the best path in which to showcase her choreographic style?...What/where are the "Black" Classics?...Pulling more thread...