REVIEW | Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice
★★★★★
Reviewer - Natasha
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.
Contains partial nudity. Age guidance: 12+ Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+.
The Sacrifice, by South Africa’s award-winning Dada Masilo, integrates an original score with pioneering choreography to produce an astonishing performance that blew my tiny mind. Not really knowing what I would experience (other than a dance piece inspired by The Rite of Spring), my first viewing of a Masilo-choreographed show left me both fully satisfied and looking forward to seeing more of her work. The audience also seemed completely entranced by this interpretation of a young girl destined to die as part of the celebration of Spring. Even if you are not familiar with the story, the striking visuals combined with the universal languages of dance and music will still make it a fantastic experience.
A carefully-blended syncretism of ballet, contemporary dance and Twasana ritual performance has created a captivating 65-minute adventure filled with movement and music. With an original score developed during the rehearsal process, Stravinsky’s orchestration is largely left behind. As with his music, however, complex rhythms, intermittent cacophony and folk inspiration remain thanks to talented composers Nathi Shongwe, Tlale Makhene, Leroy Mapholo, and Ann Masina. Joined by percussionist Mpho Mathiba, their music is played live onstage, with Mapholo’s impressive violin line particularly captivating. Masina’s impeccable vocal shifts between offstage, side stage and centre stage, eventually becoming part of the sacrifice, enhancing and transforming the story. Although dance is visually at the forefront, the music genuinely is integral to and inseparable from this wonderful production (echoing Stravinsky’s ballet Le Sacre du printemps ballet, which Stravinsky described as a “musical-choreographic work” devised with his collaborator Diaghilev).
The scene opens with a large blank canvas, later projected with dark branches for the majority of the piece. This understated set is also beautifully lit, enhancing colourful but muted costumes which swirl and billow in the balletic turns, and later illuminating the plain white robes and multitude of lilies. (Lighting & Projection by Suzette le Sueur; Costumes by David Hutt.) Despite the vast modern venue that is Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall, an intimacy of staging is achieved.
As for the dancing itself, it is different to anything I have seen before, whirling between the expressive, bare-chested elongation of limbs, conflicted rapid-fire movements and the arching muscles of a beautifully cohesive Dance Factory ensemble. Masilo has conceived her own retelling of The Rites of Spring, deconstructing and rebuilding the story to a reimagined finale. Following the original 1913 avant-garde ballet by Stravinsky & Diaghilev, and Frühlingsopfer, Pina Bausch’s 1975 neo-expressionist Tanztheater interpretation which is a key inspiration here, Masilo has taken the best of her newly-explored Tswanan dance heritage and intertwined it with other dance traditions to produce something utterly new. As well as this intertextuality, her version has its own meta-narrative. Despite the darkness of the story, the sheer joy of participation in ritual and performance shines through. There is also occasional interaction between dancers and musicians - who are berated for going too fast and begged for an adagio – which injects occasional humour into the proceedings and reminds us of the performativity of theatre and rite (and the connection between the two).
In terms of dance solos, Masilo’s are astounding; it is difficult for me to describe how the use of hands, head and upper torso movement convey the meaning and action of the piece (but then again we are relying on dance here to tell us something that words cannot). It just has to be seen! As well as the unified ensemble dances, we are gifted a phenomenal male dance solo, followed by what I hope I can still describe as a pas de deux, despite the divergence from classical ballet. There is an extreme generosity of performance visible within the company, too, with each individual clearly crucial to the piece. All highly accomplished dancers and musicians, they seem also to have a unique sense of belonging and commitment which elevates their work and the overall impression of this masterpiece.
Closing to rapturous applause, this production is definitely a recommendation. With The Sacrifice, Masilo has successfully maintained The Rite of Spring’s ethos of pushing boundaries whilst simultaneously reaching back to the past. The clear synergy produced by the organic development of musical composition, choreography and improvisation is always evident. Musicians and dancers together give a fantastic performance, combining an amazing show. Brava, Dada Masilo!
The Sacrifice plays at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall tonight (25 March) and Birmingham Hippodrome 28-29 March, followed by performances in Cardiff, Hull and Newcastle upon Tyne.
Further details can be found here: https://danceconsortium.com/touring/dada-masilos-the-sacrifice-2023/
