‘Udodana’ draws from memory in a dance about black masculinity
A review of Musa Hlatshwayo’s “Udodana” by Siphokazi Sotsaka
“Udodana”: An interesting title which revolves around a group of male acknowledgement of African traditions in the modern world. “Udodana” is performed as part of the JOMBA! festival in commemoration of choreographer Musa Hlatshwayo’s late family members, evidenced by flowers. A projection shows the other version of male characters in a different world or society, based on his past and present experiences.
Hlatshwayo does not just create dance, he is a visual artist; he combines different elements including videos, music, text and he also sings. He is very protective of his Zulu culture, as it identifies himself, where he come from and most importantly how he was raised. He engages the public in South Africa, finding these links in different societies. His dance style is a collaboration or fusion of contemporary dance, traditional dance (including Indlamu) and dance theatre. The work included only men, perhaps representing the male figures in his family. This is seen in a dialogue between him and one of the dancers, who was dressed in a certain respective way, trying to pray for him, but Hlatshwayo refuses because of the deep influence of spirituality. The piece erupted in spoken words.
Hlatshwayo connects different ideas, images and sounds connecting societal experiences illustrated through costume, flashbacks through the use of projection and most importantly through body and spoken language. He seeks to explore the black male body, this is clearly seen in the piece. He has a group of African male dancers representing traditional African communities, households and churches. His work challenges the moderation of both traditional and religious systems and circumstances that black males live under. He is finding a male voice in society, and the piece explores themes of black masculinities. It took us on an emotional rollercoaster as it depicted the kind of different emotions that the one goes through with the “brokenness of the black male identity” as Hlatshwayo spoke to in his post-show talk back with JOMBA! Artistic Director, Lliane Loots. I really like the idea of Hlatshwayo drawing from memory and lived experiences, connecting with current incidents and personal testimonies. He negotiates around body politics, and around layers of land and self-identity through the use of voice over, where Malema addresses the issues of land on how our land is whitely owned.
Through the use of spacing we could see all of them shifting, moving around the whole space with good flow of energy. They began very strong and ended very strong, transitioning from one style of movement to another, using different paces which went along with powerful drumming. Hlatshwayo had so many props on stage, including a huge bundle of bottles. I didn’t think that he would use every single prop I saw on stage; surprisingly he did used all the props. I strongly believe that all the props had a deep meaning towards the whole idea of the story. Hlatshwayo negotiates traditional dance forms infusing indlamu and contemporary dance, creating a dialogue as they dance in smaller groups. You can see by their facial expressions that they are a dialogue, telling a story through the body, decolonising the body.
