NAfro: Matope / Casimiro Nhussi - Vancouver Ballet Society
By Holly Harris
NAfro Dance Productions presented one of the precious few live dance performances in Western Canada this fall: Matope (“mud” translated from Swahili), choreographed by artistic director Casimiro Nhussi.
The site-specific production performed at sunset on the leafy banks of the La Salle River against a larger backdrop of the St. Norbert Arts Centre – a former historic Trappist Monastery located south of Winnipeg – embraced the rigours of physical distancing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures included an audience size capped at 40 for each of six performances held September 24–27, well spaced on folding chairs (with the riverbank creating natural risers), as well as mandatory masks, contact tracing forms completed before entry and hand sanitizer stations.
Many of the 18-year-old African contemporary dance company’s premieres have delved into imagistic, mythological worlds inspired by Nhussi’s birthplace of Mozambique. Matope takes a deeper dive into the spirit world with its fiercely committed ensemble of 12 local dancers costumed in dark brown bodysuits and soft slippers; their faces — and humanity — obscured by mud as they emerged from mounds of earth, evoking otherworldly beings that traditionally pay a visit to villagers to herald changes in nature.
Their undulating, at times pulsing and flailing, movement that also sees them rolling through mud infuses the entire work with an organic sensibility, with Nhussi adding in multi-dimensional layering when dancers suddenly appear “upstage” to splash in hidden pools of water, instilling a sense of re-birth and renewal.
Individual performers mostly remain caught in their respective worlds; more interaction between them would have provided greater cohesion and connection. Several all too fleeting sections of unison movement provided that visual glue, which arrives rather late in the show, with the choreography feeling underdeveloped at times.
However, there are many startling images. One of the most compelling is when powerhouse dancer Amara Conde appears near the water’s edge, vaulting through the grasses while propelling his suspended leaps with a large, sturdy tree branch. His no-holds-barred athleticism, including tumbles, rolls and backward somersaults through the earth, also took my breath away. At other times, the dancers literally wrapped their arms and legs around tree limbs to fuse with nature, or performed with large branches held to their heads like proud antlers.
Nhussi makes a rare appearance with his final climactic bare-chested solo underscoring the entire work with deep integrity. His percussive movement and dynamic runs adds further drama as he gazes out at the audience and thanks them for embarking on the adventure with NAfro, who were prepared to perform rain or shine.
The artistic choice to not feature NAfro’s live drumming band, a staple for nearly all its shows, felt perplexing. However, the dancers were instead accompanied by evocative sounds of shaken branches, struck rocks and shaken leaves performed antiphonally by “offstage” musicians, tucked away and hidden by the forest. This environmental soundscape was heightened by real life birdcalls, chattering squirrels and autumnal breezes blowing through creaking trees. The breezes caused leaves to flutter down over the ensemble in this intriguing and pandemic-friendly creation with Mother Nature herself taking a starring role.
