DANCE UMBRELLA 2012: Exit/Exist

PERFORMER and CHOREOGRAPHER: Gregory Vuyani Maqoma

DIRECTOR: James Ngcobo

VENUE: The Market Theatre

RATING: ****

The burden of history is imprinted in every muscle, rushes through every vein, and charges every grain of cascading sea salt.

After his acclaimed autobio-graphical Beautiful Me, Gregory Maqoma has set himself the task of reclaiming a part of his ancestral heritage, which is linked to that of the Xhosa nation and the country.

In Exit/Exist, the dancer-choreographer, director Ngcobo and their collaborators distil an epic narrative through choreographic exploration fused with calibrated movement, stylised action, written and sung text and projected image.

Each element slots into place: Simphiwe Dana’s songs transposed for a cappella; Guiliano Modarelli’s compositions; David Tlale’s cos- tume design; Mileta Postic’s video animation and Oliver Hauser’s set design.

A gunshot rings out followed by footsteps. A figure in a white suit, his back to the audience, appears at the edge of the stage. Text is pro- jected on the gauze introducing the history of Chief Jongum-sobomvu Maqoma (1798-1873).

Gregory Maqoma steps from side to side, his arms waving, searching, travelling into time. Gradually these traditional rhythms infect his body, breaking through the urban Western clothing and persona.

Four masked figures – the Complete quartet – appear. They become storytelling conspirators through their presence and vocal sorcery, galvanising Dana’s lyrics and melodies, which celebrate the Xhosa language and culture.

Maqoma journeys into treach- erous memory in sequences which become increasingly ritualistic. Dressed in a fringed cowhide creation, holding a cow horn, he moves to a pile of golden salt. His limbs and torso translate his thoughts through undulations, stamping and ritualistic shaking.

There’s nothing literal in this telling of how a people are dis- possessed of their land. Finally, stripped of the symbolic cowhide, the past merges with the present in Maqoma’s body.

The dancer transforms into a spiritual being who is pulled off on his cloak sailing to Robben Island, “the place of humiliation”.

“Where are the cattle?” asks the projected text, triggering the issue of land ownership. And another question: Who will tell of Maqoma? Answer: his descendant Gregory Maqoma and his fellow artists.