THE CURSE OF GEOGRAPHY: MINING THE RICH SEAM OF NAMAQUALAND’S FORGOTTEN COMMUNITIES
By Tammy Ballantyne (Guest Writer)
In Garage Dance Ensemble’s Gat Innie Grond, Wond in My Siel (Hole in the Ground, Wound in My Soul), we are transported into the dusty, remote heartland of Namaqualand’s forgotten communities, of people whose lives and livelihoods were used and spat out by the copper mining industry, and in particular, the stories of a community in the town called Okiep.
Okiep, once a thriving settlement founded on a rich copper mine in 1862, is blasted by sun and wind; this dusty wasteland is home to old mines, flowers, stories of diamonds and mission stations. The Khoikhoi Namaqua people chose this area, south of the Gariep River, over 2000 years ago, where they settled with flocks of sheep in tow.
The remarkable dance film seeks to explore the memories and current lived experiences of the community through rich, nostalgic (and at times, deep sorrowful) narration by Esmé ‘Miemie’ Marthinus transposed with quiet factual text and narration by Janine Lange, a PhD candidate in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of the Western Cape, who has been embedded within the community over a long period of time during her research phase.
The film is tagged as Byron Klassen’s artistic response to Lange’s research. It is his first major choreographic work and directorial debut. Klassen is the first in a distinguished group of dancemakers to be shaped and guided by Alfred Hinkel and John Linden’s extraordinary Garage Dance Ensemble, founded in 2013. Starting work with them in 2012, Klassen’s first choreographic work, I don’t, I can’t, I won’t premiered at the 2013 Dance Umbrella as a result of the DanceXchange programme funded by RMB.
Hinkel and Linden, who originate from Okiep, catapulted the oldest contemporary dance company in the Cape, Jazzart Dance Theatre, into the political consciousness of SA society and culture. Founded by Sonje Mayo in 1973 as a dance studio, Hinkel took over the reins of Jazzart in 1986 and with Linden, Dawn Langdown and Jay Pather, this company rose to the forefront of dance activism and stood firm against the status quo of the Nationalist Party government of the time
Hinkel and Linden returned to Okiep after decades of teaching, creating and producing work and exceptional dancers in Cape Town and established Garage. The project embodies the work of individuals who use their activism and socio-political contexts to tap into the community and transform lives through training programmes, a dance company and exposure to artistic experiences.
Klassen draws on the deeply personal effects of decades of dispossession, political upheaval, rampant abuse of the natural resources and subsequent neglect, which has seen this community exist in relative isolation, discarded and forgotten in a harsh and often unforgiving environment. The legacy of colonialism and apartheid has trapped the inhabitants in a cycle of poverty, with generations of family members experiencing trauma and negated lives.
Marthinus is the voice of those whose relationship with the land has been severed; hers is a poetic narration clinging to church, God, the teachings of her mother steeped in wisdom, holding onto some shred of dignity. Sylvester ‘Oom Dollie’ Fortuin on his guitar made from a Castrol tin gifts us evocative music along with several sung gems by the likes of the Stellenbosch University Choir, the Ladyfrere Xhosa Singers and Philip Tabane.
The strengths of Gat innie Grond , Wond in My Siel lie in the use of personal histories and biographies, as well as building on and re-inventing inherited dance forms, such as the Nama Stap and the Rieldans. The ritualistic sources and multi-rhythmic essences of these distinctive dance and musical forms defy being categorised merely as folk or traditional dance and the Garage Dance Ensemble consisting of Farroll Coetzee, Jaime-Lee Hine, Lynette du Plessis, Dustin Jannetjies and Lihle Mfene, imbue the choreography with a rich tapestry of fused dance styles.
Gat innie Grond, Wond in My Siel features on the “South African Crossings” platform on Saturday 28th August at 19:00 (CAT) as part of the 23rd JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience.
The CCA’s JOMBA! 2021 runs from 24 August to 5 September and can be navigated free of charge via the website www.jomba.ukzn.ac.za or subscribe to the JOMBA! YouTube channel here: https://www.YouTube.com/Jomba_Dance
A full programme is available via the website.
