CHRIS THURMAN: When art is a reckoning with the divine
Without psychosis, we may not have William Blake, Vincent van Gogh or Robert Schumann
An evening watching extracts from SALT, the triple-bill by Cape Ballet Africa that was onstage at the Drama Factory in Somerset West earlier this month, convinced me of a couple of things.
One was a (perhaps unfair) notion of artistic “progress”: after seeing the company perform the astonishing choreography in Kirsten Isenberg’s Reverie, Mthuthuzeli November’s Chapter Two and Michelle Reid’s Smoke, the addition to the programme of an old-school pas de deux from Giselle left me with the overwhelming sense that ballet — having come a long way from 19th century Romanticism — is a far more powerful art form when freed from its classical constraints and infused with elements of modern, jazz and contemporary dance styles. ..
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.