Dance, Dada Masilo al ReF, the ‘Sagra’ of Stravinskij in the national premiere in Rome

After her ‘Swan Lake’ (REf13), ‘Carmen’ (REf15) and ‘Giselle’ (REf17), Dada Masilo, South African dancer and choreographer, one of the most innovative and acclaimed creators, returns to interpret the great classics of ballet approaching, this time, Stravinskij’s ‘Spring Festival’, staged in the national premiere from 11 to 13 November at the Auditorium Parco della Musica for the Romaeuropa Festival. But it is not the fusion and overlapping of different dances and cultural backgrounds that this time moves the choreographer who seems instead to turn to the minimalism and energy of Tswana dance, born in Botswana and unique in rhythm and expressiveness. “Despite my training up to now I have never studied the Tswana movement – says Dada Masilo – yet it is part of my culture and my origins”. What is a sacrifice today? And is it really necessary for change? Starting from these questions, the choreographer builds a new narrative fabric that leads her to work on her identity. The collective songs, the rites but also the pain and suffering that humans can inflict on each other. With a community of twelve performers on stage, Masilo presents his show as a question mark on the possibility of telling and writing a new story that can free us from cruelty.