How does one even to relate the experience of the outdoor performance of OYO, underneath the setting sun? The performance was only an hour and half long, but it was a collection of no less than six pieces. They were performed by the dancers of OYO – the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation. The dancers are referred as OYO staff who in fact dance as part of the mission to communicate important messages surrounding AIDS. The idea of community that is critical for successful work at the grassroots level in Namibia’s sprawling human settlements permeated throughout the dancing. Within the confines of limited space, peopled jived together, pushed and bumped each other and propelled one another of the ground to spin on shoulders and backs, almost like the batons used by the jazz dancers of old. It was thus fitting that the performance was called “Together”, as the group dance was primal.
To write about dance, I must be moved by it. The opening piece, Memories of Joy, made me want to move indeed! The dancing is set to the Michael Jackson song The Way You Make Me Feel and began with heavy rhythmic stepping of people that came on stage as lines moving in from opposite ends. The dance resembled a series of interconnected poses and the music gave them a suave feel. The guys and girls spread their arms open in relaxed manner like hip urban folks reveling in their coolness. To me these were clearly young people who walked and hopped with attitude from one foot to another. I recognized several common hip hop dance moves that were once popular in Namibia, such as that of rocking and stepping back and front while clicking the finger – they seemed to be having plain fun, rather than a routine for the stage. It was also about romance as the men and women paired off, sharing each others weight, men picking up girls on their backs. Then one couple dances together, cuddling, while the other surround them. The lyrics “the way you make me feel” was given vivid meaning in the movement, I thought. The piece ends as it started, with the dancers walking off by raising their knees high and stepping to the down beat, like a heart beat. However, one dancer remains on the stage and he speaks to the audience when the music stops. “That was memories of joy” he says before taking out a pack of condoms and lamenting the state of irresponsible sexual behavior amongst Namibia’s youth. He does not only speak about sex, he alludes it physically, by thrusting his hips to the rhythmic clicking of his tongue; he relates to us this potentially lethal rhythm of love. The fun times we witnessed (through the dance) were now put in context of behavior that may cost you your life.
Another dance that showed how HIV affects a community was MCSP (Multiple Concurrent Partners). I for one am well informed about how partner concurrency greatly increases the risk of HIV infection, because I deal with this in my public health work. However, to see this through movement of people dressed in red (seropositive) mixing with those in black (seronegative) enlightened my perceptions of this process. The two groups danced real close together in clump, their shoulders were rolling delicately, their legs rippling and torsos twisting, it was almost as if they were struggling to come out of a net. There was so much movement that I felt the members of the two groups lost themselves in it much like people lose their inhibitions under the influence of alcohol and just get down and dirty with anyone around. They really brought the message out through dance.
But in other cases I wish that the message of OYO was more present in the dancing. To illustrate my reservation, I will give a critical appraisal of Dumped, a piece by British choreographer Zoie Golding, who was one of the guest artists that worked with OYO in 2009 and Philippe Talavera, the director-founder of OYO.
My first impression of Dumped was that of men competing for a woman. At the onset they push each other aside as they all want to get down with this woman. She wraps her leg around them, in a manner reminiscent of the tango, and sensuously slid her waist down their legs. This seemed to be an indication of sex and foreshadows what came later – an ostensible pregnancy underneath her dress. Once pregnant she stands at the deep, far away corner of the stage while a group of people move across the stage. The group moves in synchrony with a meditative slowness, ducking down, coming up as they slowly wade through the space .They sit down and turn their backs to look behind and stare at the pregnant woman. With her profile to us, she stands too look at them, resting her hands on her enormous abdomen. I only comprehend the meaning of Dumped when she walks towards a triangular wall made of people standing on top of each other. She removes her baby and lets it go at top of the wall. And that was it, the dumping of a baby. Towards the end of the piece, we witness how a man attempts to get at this woman, but he is blocked, pushed back and eventually grounded – two other men make him sit down. His attempts at breaking through were rather insipid, my heart did not flutter out fear that he would break through and get to her, in what seemed to be an act of retribution.
At end of the piece the baby dumper is comforted by another woman as they embrace. Her friend then asks “why did you dump your baby?” and the woman replies “I don’t know, I was confused, I was desperate,” she replies with a miserable expression on her face.
But I did not see her dance this feeling of hopelessness! We hear it on the news that yet another mother dumped her living baby in a rubbish bin or river bed. However, the closest Dumped came to reflecting or refracting this social problem in art was the acting of the woman at the end of the piece. The act of dumping a baby is most certainly done in isolation, but the whole piece was full of many people, busy jumping into each other, which perhaps detracted from the dance of the protagonist. Granted, this movement is interesting, but if I wanted to see that, I would watch professional companies such as Pilobolus that are superb at making bodies interact. OYO is not a professional dance company, but they have the potential to impress upon me a physical message of how a woman becomes a baby dumper.
As an AIDS welfare organization, OYO aims to employ the arts to reach young people about HIV/AIDS. Currently, their dance works are interesting to watch and therefore catch one’s attention. They get the point across. However, I wonder whether they simply aim to use art to raise awareness or do they want to dig deep and present an insightful perspective on the issues surrounding HIV, AIDS and teenage pregnancy.
Together was performed at the FRANCO Namibian Cultural Center, 2nd December 2009.
To write about dance, I must be moved by it. The opening piece, Memories of Joy, made me want to move indeed! The dancing is set to the Michael Jackson song The Way You Make Me Feel and began with heavy rhythmic stepping of people that came on stage as lines moving in from opposite ends. The dance resembled a series of interconnected poses and the music gave them a suave feel. The guys and girls spread their arms open in relaxed manner like hip urban folks reveling in their coolness. To me these were clearly young people who walked and hopped with attitude from one foot to another. I recognized several common hip hop dance moves that were once popular in Namibia, such as that of rocking and stepping back and front while clicking the finger – they seemed to be having plain fun, rather than a routine for the stage. It was also about romance as the men and women paired off, sharing each others weight, men picking up girls on their backs. Then one couple dances together, cuddling, while the other surround them. The lyrics “the way you make me feel” was given vivid meaning in the movement, I thought. The piece ends as it started, with the dancers walking off by raising their knees high and stepping to the down beat, like a heart beat. However, one dancer remains on the stage and he speaks to the audience when the music stops. “That was memories of joy” he says before taking out a pack of condoms and lamenting the state of irresponsible sexual behavior amongst Namibia’s youth. He does not only speak about sex, he alludes it physically, by thrusting his hips to the rhythmic clicking of his tongue; he relates to us this potentially lethal rhythm of love. The fun times we witnessed (through the dance) were now put in context of behavior that may cost you your life.
Another dance that showed how HIV affects a community was MCSP (Multiple Concurrent Partners). I for one am well informed about how partner concurrency greatly increases the risk of HIV infection, because I deal with this in my public health work. However, to see this through movement of people dressed in red (seropositive) mixing with those in black (seronegative) enlightened my perceptions of this process. The two groups danced real close together in clump, their shoulders were rolling delicately, their legs rippling and torsos twisting, it was almost as if they were struggling to come out of a net. There was so much movement that I felt the members of the two groups lost themselves in it much like people lose their inhibitions under the influence of alcohol and just get down and dirty with anyone around. They really brought the message out through dance.
But in other cases I wish that the message of OYO was more present in the dancing. To illustrate my reservation, I will give a critical appraisal of Dumped, a piece by British choreographer Zoie Golding, who was one of the guest artists that worked with OYO in 2009 and Philippe Talavera, the director-founder of OYO.
My first impression of Dumped was that of men competing for a woman. At the onset they push each other aside as they all want to get down with this woman. She wraps her leg around them, in a manner reminiscent of the tango, and sensuously slid her waist down their legs. This seemed to be an indication of sex and foreshadows what came later – an ostensible pregnancy underneath her dress. Once pregnant she stands at the deep, far away corner of the stage while a group of people move across the stage. The group moves in synchrony with a meditative slowness, ducking down, coming up as they slowly wade through the space .They sit down and turn their backs to look behind and stare at the pregnant woman. With her profile to us, she stands too look at them, resting her hands on her enormous abdomen. I only comprehend the meaning of Dumped when she walks towards a triangular wall made of people standing on top of each other. She removes her baby and lets it go at top of the wall. And that was it, the dumping of a baby. Towards the end of the piece, we witness how a man attempts to get at this woman, but he is blocked, pushed back and eventually grounded – two other men make him sit down. His attempts at breaking through were rather insipid, my heart did not flutter out fear that he would break through and get to her, in what seemed to be an act of retribution.
At end of the piece the baby dumper is comforted by another woman as they embrace. Her friend then asks “why did you dump your baby?” and the woman replies “I don’t know, I was confused, I was desperate,” she replies with a miserable expression on her face.
But I did not see her dance this feeling of hopelessness! We hear it on the news that yet another mother dumped her living baby in a rubbish bin or river bed. However, the closest Dumped came to reflecting or refracting this social problem in art was the acting of the woman at the end of the piece. The act of dumping a baby is most certainly done in isolation, but the whole piece was full of many people, busy jumping into each other, which perhaps detracted from the dance of the protagonist. Granted, this movement is interesting, but if I wanted to see that, I would watch professional companies such as Pilobolus that are superb at making bodies interact. OYO is not a professional dance company, but they have the potential to impress upon me a physical message of how a woman becomes a baby dumper.
As an AIDS welfare organization, OYO aims to employ the arts to reach young people about HIV/AIDS. Currently, their dance works are interesting to watch and therefore catch one’s attention. They get the point across. However, I wonder whether they simply aim to use art to raise awareness or do they want to dig deep and present an insightful perspective on the issues surrounding HIV, AIDS and teenage pregnancy.
Together was performed at the FRANCO Namibian Cultural Center, 2nd December 2009.
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