Rooftop dance performance in Durban
“Without Fear of Vertigo” takes place under the stars from 20 – 22 April at 7pm. Tickets cost R10. For more information contact Claudette Wagner on 260 3134 (office hours only).
Before we tell you about their concept…
Have you heard the story of ICARUS from Greek Mythology? Depending on how you interpret it, there are various morals to the story – but in essence it’s about not going to extremes, it’s about living in moderation, on a more simple level it’s about listening to those older and wiser than you, it’s also about accepting that there are things that you cannot do and places that you cannot go to…
This is how the myth goes – ICARUS was the son of Daedalus – a well respected and known inventor – for various reasons that you can read about yourself, Daedalus needed to escape his island of Crete. He made some wings for both of them that would enable them to fly away from Crete. As they were flying Icarus was warned not to go too high nor too low, too high would mean the wax would melt on his wings and too low would mean that the wings would get damp and not work… Of course ICARUS got a bit carried away during the trip and decided to push his luck and go to extremes… he flew way too close to the sun which obviously melted his wings and he fell into the sea, to his death.
Here’s the PR from the FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY:
‘ICARUS WAS A WOMAN’
Flatfoot Dance Company in conjunction with the Drama and Performance Studies Programme (UKZN – Durban) presents a fresh work entitled “Without Fear of Vertigo”. The production is a symbiosis of contemporary dance and text, written and choreographed by award winning Lliane Loots, after being inspired by her travels to Europe last year.
“Without Fear of Vertigo” is a bold venture into the re-writing and re-creation of myth that speaks of contemporary issues for a contemporary South Africa, posing the questions: What if Icarus was a woman? What if Icarus came from the Southern tip of Africa and what if she suffered from vertigo?
The performance aptly coincides with the dawning of Freedom Day, which commemorates the day South Africans were given the opportunity to vote in the first democratic elections twelve years ago and explores the multi-faceted concepts of freedom through dance.
“The sexual violence of rape, racism, the politics of naming, Diasporic identity and a remembrance of women’s treatment in detentions cells in apartheid South Africa all form the backdrop to a re-telling of the story of Icarus – a woman who sought freedom in her desire to fly close to the sun”, said Loots.
28 Young trainee dancers, all of whom were involved in the workshop process, take the audience through an amazing explosion of intercultural dance that seamlessly tells the story of every individual who has ever desired to define themselves escape victimisation. The one-hour of dance theatre will be performed on the roof-top of the UKZN Drama Practical Block, giving audiences the opportunity to share the experience in its entirety, bringing them closer to the sun and giving them the feeling of letting go of all that holds us down.
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