ACE DANCE AND MUSIC EXPLORE GLOBAL MIGRATIONS AND DIASPORIC IDENTITIES IN “TEN”
By Slindile Mchunu
ACE Dance and Music (Birmingham, UK) performed TEN on the second night of the JOMBA! festival. TEN is an hour-long dance piece choreographed by José Agudo and assisted by Gail and Ian Parmel. The piece is a physically challenging, action packed infusion of technique and form including contemporary dance incorporated Flamenco, Kathak and Martial Arts that are driven through the Afro-Fusion technique that the dance company is well-known for.
The timing and sharpness of the lighting on stage and the fluidity of the costumes made for a perfect accompaniment to the dance. Everything felt like it was where it was meant to be!
The inspiration for TEN, global migrations, speaks directly to the festival theme of “Border Crossings”. The various dance forms and techniques included, representing different identities and geographical spaces sometimes reinforce “border lines” and at others challenge these. Such is the flow of global migrations, at times highlighting stark differences and at others seeking similarity. Choreographer Agudo reflects this masterfully in his matching, mixing and juxtaposing of rhythms throughout the work. The dancers all from different ethnicities, sharing the same rhythms offers a strong sense of “border crossings” throughout the work.
The contemporary reality of migration, of moving away from home and leaving all you know, for “something better” finds articulation in this work. The difficulties of acceptance in a new land find articulation through the work. Ideas of what home is shift, questions of identity remain. When you have left what symbolizes home for you? Is it good to embrace the culture and ways of the new place, do you leave your own behind? Do you assimilate or do you fuse everything together and create your own culture or form you own way altogether?
TEN explores tensions between belonging and not belonging, a tug of war between staying or leaving, which for some is not choice, but necessity.
