Durban’s Flatfoot Dance Company start their 2015 calendar with a new work by acclaimed choreographer Lliane Loots, writes Latoya Newman
THE Flatfoot Dance Company are set to stage their new offering, days like these, which will present a journey through dance into humanity.
Choreographer and company head, Lliane Loots, explained how they’ve used a mix of theatre methods, together with the talents of filmmaker Karen Logan and lighting techniques by Wesley Maherry, to come up with a piece that will remind the audience what it is to be human. The dance uses the life stories of the company’s dancers to relay this to spectators.
“In recent months I have become fascinated by the working methods of what is called verbatim theatre or documentary theatre which asks the playwright to gather live testimony and the spoken word of real people to construct the dialogue of a drama.
“In this way the resultant theatre work achieves a degree of authenticity and truthfulness that allows real people a voice. So for me, a theatre and dance maker who is always interested in finding ‘truth’, I wanted to see if there could be crossover into contemporary dance.”
Loots said she has always loved collaborating: “I work with six highly skilled and deeply intelligent dancers whose instinct and input into the creative process is what eventually makes Flatfoot’s work what it is.
“I think this work also grew from the hours we all spend with each other and just telling our daily every day stories to each other between working.
“These ‘little’ stories – about children, about our own childhood, about food, about love and loss, about politics – are a glimpse into the real life of people and echo all of our stories. Our humanity is in the details,” she said.
Commenting on the mixed mediums to be experienced in the piece, Loots said: “To be honest, as a choreographer working for over 20 years, I am getting a little tired of ‘dance steps’ and so have begun to look for other ways; ways that really challenge me and push me too. I have always loved the idea of going to theatre and being totally engrossed on all levels, body, heart and mind, so I really want to create this kind of ‘total’ experience for an audience.
“For me this is about accessing and using everything that the proscenium arch theatre space can offer. In the end, though, it is still the moving, dancing body which is the most beautiful and truthful way to speak.”
On working with award winning theatre maker, director/ actor Logan, Loots said in the 10 years that they have collaborated on different projects, she’s moved from being very descriptive and prescriptive about what she wanted to completely trusting Logan’s vision as part of the dramaturgy.
“For days like these the film’s at the heart of the work; she has captured not only the stories, but the interior landscapes of the dancers in a way that has awed me.”
• Days like these runs from March 25 to 28 at 7.30pm and March 29 at 2.30pm. Tickets are R50 to R85. Book through Computicket.