The pulse of Street Beat

Dance Umbrella 2015 Street Beat Goethe On Main, Johannesburg 01 March 2015 'Untitled' - Topollo Nkosi with Soweto Junxion. Photograph: John Hogg (c.)

Dance Umbrella 2015 Street Beat Goethe On Main, Johannesburg 01 March 2015 'Untitled' - Topollo Nkosi with Soweto Junxion. Photograph: John Hogg (c.)

Published Mar 10, 2015

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With only rudimentary knowledge of street dance, it was with some trepidation that I headed off last Sunday morning to the Wits Theatre to cover the Street Beat programme, a new addition to this year’s Dance Umbrella.

When I entered the auditorium the Soweto Junxtion crew where already on, shimmying and jiving across the stage in matching newsprint dungarees and patent leather red shoes to cheers and whistles by an almost capacity crowd. I found a seat, intending to stay for just a few routines before heading backstage, but after each performance I found myself saying “just one more” until the event ended.

From the first routine by Soweto Junxtion to the last by Exit Dance Crew, I was captivated by the virtuoso moves, the swag and sartorial flair, the music and the energy filling the theatre.

Each piece was titled and themed. In The Soul Collector by the Smangory Dance Crew, Satan and his mob of zombie workers harvested sinners’ souls, while the Supreme I Dance Crew told the coming-of-age tale of the outcast who becomes the hero in Dance Semester.

Not all the pieces were quite so literal. Decked out all in black with stark white gloves and socks, the Vilacosta crew’s From Struggle to Success embodied the “Pantsula for life” credo, where dancing is both an escape from and expression of township experiences.

The desire for social mobility marked almost all of the performances. Like pantsula, hip hop dance was born on the streets, and the Creed Dance Crew educated us on the growth and merits of this dance form in their routine entitled The Rise of the Assassin Creed.

This involved a high-energy display of hip hop dance moves together with intermittent vocal recitals of the music and influences that feed into hip hop dance. Despite being very impressive, it also felt a little patronising. But when speaking to the crew after the show I learnt that this schooling is all part of the competitive culture.

When I asked Creed what makes their dance style unique, I was schooled again: “Because we are the original founders of a new style called Vocal Buckness,” said Blayze, one of the two lead choreographers, adding: “It’s intense, it’s got energy – we dance from within”.

I wanted to know how, within the strict choreography of the group, they also found expression as individual dancers.

“First of all,” his colleague, MGL tells me, “we try to be as united as possible.” This means synchronising movements, and facial expressions, too. “For me,” he continues, “hip hop is emancipation of self”.

He goes on to explain that they try and incorporate each dancer’s character into the choreography so that the routines are easier for everyone to execute. It’s one for all and all for one in the Creed crew.

An isibujwa crew, The Tribe, reiterated this sentiment, saying that they’d rather die than not dance together. For them, being part of the crew means belonging and being able to create and tell stories.

“We want to tell a story physically, that’s why we’re dancers and why we were born with this,” they said. “Some people can understand verbally, some people can understand physically. So we tell stories with our movement that our audience can capture by looking at us expressing what we have.” Isibujwa dance is inspired by pantsula and hip hop, and, like these, is hugely tied to dress styles emerging from street culture.

Ironically, it was while performing on stage at The Dance Umbrella that The Tribe felt they could express themselves and their story best. At home in Soweto, audiences apparently don’t always understand what they’re trying to do. I don’t really know what to make of this, as it sort of turns street dance on its head. But, I’m no authority on the scene, just a new fan.

• Layla Leiman is part of the Dance Writer’s Programme sponsored by the Goethe-Institut.

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