CHOREOGRAPHY IN ITS CONTEXT

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CHOREOGRAPHY IN ITS CONTEXT
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Why is each choreographers work different?

• Choreography is always influenced by
• the individual artists personal history,
  attitudes and values
• the culture of the company and its people
• and the social environment of the choreographer
  and company

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This presentation looks at the work of Jazzart
Dance Theatres Alfred Hinkel
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Background

• Hinkel underwent initial dance training at the
  University of Cape Town Ballet School in the
  early 1970s, thereafter returning to his home in
  Namaqualand.

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• Working in a rural area without proper dance
  facilities, laid the foundation for a truly
  original and resourceful approach to dance
  teaching and choreography.

Taken from http//www.jazzart.co.za
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He joined Jazzart as a dancer, teacher and
choreographer, later taking over the performance
company in 1986. Under his direction, a
philosophy of professional dance training and
performance emerged that was inclusive and
all-encompassing, recognising the importance of
the socio-political and economic context.
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Collaborators

• His work was influenced by many collaborators
  over the years including dancers, musicians and
  directors such as
• Jay Pather, Vusabantu Ngema, Jenny van
  Papendorp, Dawn Langdown, Sharon Friedman,
  Christopher Kindo, Mark Fleishmann, Jenny
  Resnick, Sonwabo Masepe, Balu Searll, Sifiso
  Kweyama, Sbonakaliso Ndaba and Ondine Bello and
  many others

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Hinkel forged a teaching and performance ethos
based in the populist thinking of the South
African political struggle.He was concerned
with race and gender discrimination issues and
focused on serving disadvantaged communities.
Strongly politically aware, Jazzart Dance Theatre
provided both the tool (the dance company) and
the medium (the performance works) for political
protest
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Bolero (The Last Dance)

• The very well known award winning "Bolero" has
  been restaged many times over the past six years.
  Each time it was staged the situation in South
  Africa had shifted and the dance changed
  accordingly. This dance work is an excellent
  example of dance reflecting the society.

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an era with the l
"Bolero" AA Vita Award winning work
Taken from http//www.jazzart.co.za/
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• The piece created a political and artistic furore
  when it was first performed using, as it did,
  Western classical music, a racially mixed cast,
  and the juxtaposition of contemporary, classical,
  African traditional, Indian and Mpantsula steps.

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Excerpt from Bolero

• The basis of the choreography was developed by
  the original performers, and is danced both bare
  feet and in gumboots.

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Contribution to Dance Society

• Hinkel has made a major contribution to
  choreography and to the training of dancers. His
  company has become one of the leading training
  and performance institutions in South Africa.
• He has made dance more accessible to people from
  disadvantaged backgrounds, training many dancers
  who have gone on to establish independent
  careers
• His choreography has successfully challenged both
  social (race and gender) and cultural assumptions
  and he has contributed to the Africanisation of
  contemporary dance.

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Taken from http//www.jazzart.co.za/