Dance: Exit/Exist
6 October 16:00
Adam Small Auditorium
Using a multitude of mediums to tell a story could easily overwhelm, but Exit/Exist proved to be a mastery of balance, intertwining dance, choral voices, live guitar, and traditional artefacts to pay homage to Jongumsobomvu Maqoma, a renowned leader of the Xhosa people.
Gregory Maqoma’s performance of Exit/Exist was at once powerful and sensitive, drawing the audience into a deeply personal exploration of his ancestor’s memories. PHOTO: Woordfees
The use of various mediums to tell a story serves a dual purpose. Exit/Exist skillfully accommodated the audience’s diversity. In James Ngcobo’s direction of Exit/Exist, the universal languages of music and dance make this powerful story emotionally accessible and relatable.
Ending in a standing ovation, with ululations erupting into the air of the Adam Small auditorium, Gregory Maqoma’s hour-long performance was a show of relentless power as he explored the memories of his ancestor.
Keeping the audience on the edge of their seats
A gunshot shocks the audience into silence.
The spotlight brightens slowly, revealing a figure in a golden silk suit, his back turned to the audience. A suspenseful three-note motif begins, his body remaining still. Then, a burst of erratic strings jolts his body into action. His hands pull and pluck invisible taut strings. The three-note motif persists as the mood of the music around it changes from dissonant plucking to Giuliano Modarelli’s smooth, jazzy guitar. These visceral mood changes were met with gasps and whispers from the audience, which was clearly engaged throughout the performance.
Gregory Maqoma’s performance portrayed a masterful balancing of dance, choral voices, and live guitar, providing something to relate to for every audience member. PHOTO: Nicola Amon
Four figures wearing white masks behind a see-through curtain begin singing in rich harmonies, as they emerge from behind the curtain onto stage. The dancer removes his silk suit and pulls on traditional animal-skin attire, holding bull horns above his head.
The mood turns fierce; a clenched fist and circle-turn around the stage marks the beginning of a fight. Offerings of grain are made to the ancestors behind the curtain, who suddenly appear unreachable.
A sombre ending
Emerging onto stage once again, the ancestors meet the defeated leader, the tone now one of grief. Maqoma spins in circles as the lights dim and the singers’ rich harmonies settle on a warm chord, only to rise unexpectedly as the question “Where are the cattle?” lights up behind him.
Maqoma immerses himself in the moments of silence that punctuate the end of each chapter of his ancestors’ life. Exit/Exist welcomes the audience into deeply personal moments of contemplation, leaving memories swirling in the minds of those to whom they do not belong. As Maqoma prepares to retire from performing, this last performance of Exit/Exist is sure to echo far into the future.