BLUE NILE TO THE GALAXY AROUND OLODUMARE

A dark planet floats above the stage, illuminated by a white light that appears as if emanating from a foreign sun. Under the celestial bodies, five dancers improvise to music by jazz icons Alice Coltrane and Bheki Mseleku. The title already alludes to two of Coltrane’s most central pieces: BLUE NILE and GALAXY AROUND OLODUMARE – soundscapes connecting cosmology and African spirituality, marking the resistance against the domination of Western modes of expression in the arts. To this, the dancers perform pantsula – a style that came up in South Africa’s apartheid era townships, a dance characterised by virtuosity, rapid footwork, and the inclusion of jive influences. A meeting of South Africa and the USA, of past, present and future ensues. Improvisation remains its core element: In the moment of forward motion, it demands a look back. As in the cosmic fabric, new things emerge from the essence of the past.