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Moving Into Dance Mophatong | Robyn Orlin

We wear our wheels with pride and slap your streets with color
Wed 29 Mar / 20:30 - 21:45
Wed 29 Mar ’23
20:30 - 21:45
  • Wed 29 Mar ’23
    20:30 - 21:45
    Past event

Choreographer Robyn Orlin grew up in a South Africa which was split by Apartheid. As a child, she saw black miners dancing in front of a white audience. She still vividly remembers these images from her childhood.

One such image is one of the young, black Zulus who transported white people on their small handcarts through the streets of Durban. What struck her most was not so much the exploitation of human beings by fellow human beings in its rawest form, but the dignity of these rickshaw drivers, dressed in sophisticated costumes that testify to a creativity and a will to face humiliation. Adorned with plumes, gems, pearls and cow horns, they thus subverted the dehumanisation to which they were subjected.

These toiling men "seemed to dance, the body floating in the air", according to Robyn Orlin. Sharing her memories with a young generation of South African dancers, his brings a struggle for dignity and equality that expresses artistic and creative self-expression today, as in the past.

With eight young dancers and Rebecca Horn's Concert for Anarchy, a work for a ceiling-mounted grand piano, Orlin commemorates a black history.

Ooievaarspas discount
Ooievaarspas holders are eligible for a discount on the ticket price for this show. To book tickets, we need to see your Ooievaarspas for registration purposes. Please contact our booking office to book your tickets.

Robyn Orlin, born in South Africa, creates performances that are at the intersection of visual art, performance and dance. She has received many awards worldwide for her provocative and sometimes witty work, including the prestigious British Laurence Olivier Award. In Johannesburg, she founded Orlin's City Theater and Dance Group. Despite the fact that her performances often focus on ruling structures and authority, even the National Arts Council is one of her regular funders. Robyn Orlin puts society on stage. The audience is often part of her performances. She lives and works in Berlin, although Johannesburg remains her home city and greatest source of inspiration.

Credits

Concept and choreography: Robyn Orlin
Dancers: Sunnyboy Motau, Oscar Buthelezi, Eugene Mashiane, Lesego Dihemo, Sbusiso Gumede and Masego Moloto
Video: Eric Perroys
Costumes: Birgit Neppl Light and Romain de Lagarde
Music: Yogin Sullaphen and Anelisa Stuurman
Tour manager: Thabo Pule
Stage manager: Jean-Marc L’Hostis

Production: City Theater & Dance Group, MIDM - Moving into Dance Mophatong and Damien Valette Prod

Co-production: Festival Montpellier Danse, Tanz im August – 32. Internationales Festival Berlin, Chaillot – Théâtre National de la Danse, Le Grand T- Théâtre de Loire-Atlantique, Charleroi Danse - Centre chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles, Théâtre Garonne – Scène européenne, Château-Rouge – scène conventionnée d’Annemasse