It was an evening of quality dance at the Linbury Studio Theatre as Ballet Black, a unique grouping of talented dancers, celebrate their 25th anniversary. A revival of their Olivier winning Ingoma teamed with Hope Boykin’s commissioned work, …all towards hope, made an evening of relevance and substance.
Ingoma (2019) one of Mthuthuzeli November’s earliest works identified him as a master storyteller. The miners’ strikes in South Africa in 1946 and 2012 anchor the work, but the message is universal, the fight of the oppressed against injustice. It was inspired by Gerard Sekoto’s painting, Song of the Pick showing a line of prison workers raising their picks in unison. This image makes an appearance in the performance where the movement language is sparse, honest and repetitive. You can physically feel the exhaustion of the workers in the pounding of the feet and punching of the arms.
A murky stage, effectively lit by David Plater, is filled with sounds. The score by Peter Johnson with November, drives the energy with powerful rhythm, there are muffled voices, the occasional chant, ‘Amandla’ and the industrial sounds of a busy working life. Against this background, November centres the plight of the individuals. As the Husband, Ebony Thomas found an inner strength that matched his formidable stamina and power. Opening centre stage, he presents the human, so much more than just a miner extracting gold from the earth. He takes us to emotional depths in expressive gestures with the Lord’s Prayer recited in Xhosa backgrounding his hopes and fears. As his Wife, Isabela Coracy enters slowly to kneel by his side and touch his cheek. There follows a duet speaking of a life of unfulfilled hopes, transcended by fierce love.
The miners sit in a huddle side stage, their headlamps glowing in the dark. They rise to join in rhythmic stamping and gumboot slapping, infectious and bonding, geared up for action in a toyi toyi inspired protest. Finally, only Thomas is left beating out the rhythm until he collapses. Coracy returns to support him, but her heartbreaking solo seems only to increase the sense of helplessness.
The battle comes to the streets. The women join their menfolk in strong gestures and drumming of pointe shoes to become an angry stone throwing mob. Out of this chaos Taraja Hudson, a solo figure with strength beyond her size, encourages them on. Slowly the group reforms and the final dance is a prayer, a protest but ultimately a fight against an impossible situation. The commitment of the eleven dancers is phenomenal. It remains a hugely important work and one Ballet Black can perform with pride. A brief word for Bhungane Mehlomakulu, the Husband on 5 March, who gave a very moving performance of total commitment and deep emotion.
Boykin’s ballet, …all towards hope, is a kaleidoscope of dance, the landscape changing as each new section comes into view. None of it is totally abstract and there is a strong message of hope running through on the vocals. In the persuasive words of Boykin herself: ‘We must move towards HOPE’. The message is timely and positive and the ballet is skilfully choreographed to a score by Bill Laurance with costumes by Jessica Cabassa, each an original to suit this company of individuals.
The opening is sombre as Boykin shuffles bodies in skilful formats. She blends the ballet with elements of contemporary dance in a variety of rhythms and styles. It is a fine showcase for the dancers’ talents in many short bursts of solo virtuosity. It’s also a change to recognise the individual dancers who each have a chance to shine notably Isabela Coracy who never fails to impress, Megan Chiu, a tiny and hugely gifted dancer and Bhungane Mehlomakulu who moves with effortless fluidity. Acaoā de Castro made a strong impression in an eccentric duet where Coracy sat and watched as he delivered his message through gestures. He proved his exceptional dance skills at other opportunities.
There are very many short sections each following on logically and making a smooth transition, although I felt the final numbers would benefit from a reshuffle to build to a stronger close. However, it makes a strong addition to the very impressive repertoire the company has built over their twenty-five years.
