“…a dynamic, visual feast of movement and heartfelt adventure” Dada Masilo’s ‘The Sacrifice’ is a masterclass in storytelling dance.
📍 Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
📅 Fri 10 to Sat 11 Mar 2023
🕖 7:30pm
🕖 Running time: Approx 60 minutes (no interval)
🩰 Choreographer: Dada Masilo
🎼 Composers: Anna Masina, Leroy Mapholo, Tlale Makhene, Nathi Shongwe
🪡 Costumes: David Hutt
🔊 Sound: Tebogo Moloto
🔦 Lighting & Projection: Suzette la Sueur
💰 From £19
🎂 12+
🎭
🎭 Wheelchair Accessible Venue, Wheelchair Accessible Toilets, Audio Induction Loop
Celebrated South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo makes a very welcome return to Edinburgh with her newest work, The Sacrifice. Explicitly inspired by Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’, but wholly reimagined from score through narrative, this is a bold, and exciting endeavour.
Masilo’s first foray into performance to live music, the production is a vital, dynamic experience. Eschewing the abstract, The Sacrifice holds to a distinct story arc, following the sacrificial maiden’s (Masilo) journey from her youthful joys amidst a rich, exuberant society, and into the mounting religious ecstasies which will mark her out for sacrifice. There’s far more emphasis on ritual here than in Stravinsky’s ‘Sacre’, which grounds the atavistic themes in very human, relatable terms.
Both dance and music are steeped in the centuries old Tswana culture, fused with – but never lost in – contemporary, and classical traditions. The result is captivating, a dynamic, visual feast of movement and heartfelt adventure. Live on stage, the four piece ensemble of Anna Masina, Leroy Mapholo, Tlale Makhene, and Nathi Shongwe offer a beating heart to The Sacrifice. The quality of sound is remarkable, a masterclass in creating both a resounding, heart-thrumming beat, and soulful heartfelt melodic lines. Salutations Sound Designer Tebogo Moloto, salutations!
The dance is never less than spectacular. The troupe are always on point, sweeping in and out of formation, powerful and sensitive in equal measure. Leading from the front, Masilo’s Maiden demands all eyes with the swift, razor sharp movement that has become her trademark. Where arm choreo can often be a secondary thought in much modern dance, The Sacrifice is often a hands-first extravaganza.
Which is not to say that The Sacrifice stops at the shoulders, far from it. From stamping feet, to sharp ululation this is a full-bodied dance experience. No sequence exists except to serve the story, though this provides purpose rather than a straight jacket to professionals at the height of their powers. Masilo has crafted a vehicle in which all can shine without derailing a pacey journey towards the inevitable. Whether out in full force, or solo, no passage of The Sacrifice is an after-thought, or a means to an end, but a carefully considered and beautifully manifested piece of kinetic storytelling.
When Masilo, alone, is finally proferred the single white lily symbolising her imminent death, the drama achieves an electrified high rarely often sought, but rarely achieved.
Throughout, the relationship between dancers and musicians is constantly evolving, from panting requests to slow things down, to Masina’s poignant turn as the Maiden’s mother. Making her sacrifice her child, rather than the Maiden dancing to death, or worse being slain by her male counterparts, is a wise, and effective choice. Pulling Masina’s frankly amazing vocals inside the drama is a masterstroke, making captivating theatre when the stage finally falls dark, and still. It’s a beautiful model for fusing band and dance corps, and speaks to many weeks of hard work in the studio.
Yes, The Sacrifice is ultimately a tragedy, but it weaves such a wonderfully mesmeric spell that the final emotion is one of gentle catharsis. There’s a message of sacrifice as a means of healing, of a natural order which will always demand death to feed the life of this very Earth. When Suzette la Sueur’s lighting dims towards the end, and Masilo and troupe appear in David Hutt’s lily white vestments, there’s far more respect and regret for the maiden’s fate than in The Sacrifice’s inspiration.
Ultimately, Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice has the feeling of a real fairy-tale, an age-old tale steeped in human truths, unafraid of tragedy in pursuit of saying something true.
Dada Masilo: The Sacrifice is presented by Dance Consortium and plays the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until March 11th. It will continue on National Tour thereafter.
By
