Our second feature from The Big Mission festival, more to follow next week, shows ACE Dance and Music in full flight performing one their works from the ‘Skin’ tour.
‘Letlalo’, choreographed by Vincent Mantsoe, features about 5 minutes of gentle adage work and 30 minutes of hard core dancing performed at full speed by the cast of six dancers. Work for the faint of heart this is not!
The promotional speak says;
“The second piece is Letlalo by Vincent Mantsoe. The word Letlalo is Mantsoe’s native mother tongue for Skin.
With its roots firmly planted in African culture and spirituality, Letlalo takes you on a journey through time, reflecting on the natural patterns of people, exploring energy and change. As with Blind Trip, Letlalo explores what lies beneath the skin, the spirit of unity and those things that we all share.
Letlalo is about human power and spirit. One of post-Apartheid South Africa’s leading choreographers, Vincent descends from a long line of Sangomas (his mother, aunts and grandmother are healers/diviners) and draws his inspiration from ancestral worship as well as contemporary world cultures.”
The tour of this particular show has just ended but it will be back in the Autumn and the company are also plotting new works for next year. Keep an eye on their website for more details.
‘Latlalo’ is performed by; Marcia Edwards, Keisha Grant, Gywneth Noot-Griffiths, Thoko Seganye, Luyande Sidiya and Elena Zaino.