By TheatreVillage 
0
0
Award-winning South African choreographer Dada Masilo’s re-imagining of Giselle was a huge hit in 2019. On 24th and 25th February 2023, Masilo and her company of incredible dancers return to Sadler’s Wells to give the London premiere of her latest work The Sacrifice, inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s monumental score and Pina Bausch’s seminal The Rite of Spring.
Soweto-born Masilo has attracted much attention for fusing different dance forms and retelling classic stories so they speak to black identity and feminism. She mines her cultural background to create a choreographic style unlike any other. For The Sacrifice, she combines the European heritage of The Rite of Spring with the uniquely rhythmic and expressive movements of Tswana, the traditional dance of Botswana, often used in storytelling and in healing ceremonies. At the piece’s heart is the epic struggle of the sacrificial victim, danced by Masilo herself.
Masilo’s The Sacrifice questions the evil that humans do to each other and explores the power of community to bring about change. Masilo says: “I wanted to explore ritual, what sacrifice meant to the Tswana people then and what it means now. Narrative is very important to me. I wanted to create a story that is deeper than a chosen maiden dancing herself to death.”
The all-South African cast deliver an exhilarating performance. Eleven spectacular dancers hold the stage with their earthy rooted mix of traditional Tswana moves and contemporary dance. The work is performed to an original score composed by violinist Leroy Mapholo, pianist Nathi Shongwe and opera and gospel choir singer Ann Masina who plays a powerful goddess figure. Joined by percussionist Mpho Mothiba, they play live on stage, interacting with the dancers to powerful, sometimes humorous, effect.
The dancers are Dada Masilo, Leorate Dibatana, Lwando Dutyulwa, Lehlohonolo Madise, Songezo Mcilizeli, Steven Mokone, Refiloe Mogoge, Thandiwe Mqokeli, Thuso Lobeko, Eutychia Rakaki and Tshepo Zasekhaya. Costumes are by David Hutt with lighting and projections by Suzette le Sueur
Listings information
Friday 24 & Saturday 25 February at 7.30pm
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, LONDON
Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4TN
Tickets: 020 7863 8000 / www.sadlerswells.com
Ticket prices: £15 – £45 (concessions available)
Post-show In Conversation with Dada Masilo hosted by Alistair Spalding on Friday 24 March. BSL interpreted.
Audio-described performance and touch tours on Friday 24 March
There are a limited number of Stalls seats reserved for partially sighted patrons and headsets available for those wishing to listen to the audio description. To book: please email tickets@sadlerswells.com
To accompany the Audio Described performance, visually impaired patrons can go on a Touch Tour before the performance. The guide will take audience members backstage, or onto the stage itself, to feel costumes and pieces of the set and learn more about the production. To find out about touch tour times, please call 020 7863 800 or email tickets@sadlerswells.com
65 minutes (no interval). Partial nudity. Advised age range: 12+
