*South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo brought her talent to the Wallis Theatre in Beverly Hills on April 12 – April 14, in a performance of the classic “Giselle.” Giselle is the story of a peasant girl who falls in love with a man, only to find he is committed to someone else.
So overcome with grief, Giselle dies of a broken heart. A group of heartbroken spirits who make men dance to death, bring Giselle’s spirit back so she can get her revenge. Giselle is a classic; however, the way it was performed by Dada and Company, was classic of another sort.
Although Giselle is actually a ballet, Dada’s specialty appears to be turning classical ballet pieces into something bold and daring, combining ballet, contemporary and African dance. Dada is no stranger to dancing the classics and has previously performed “Romeo and Juliet,” “Carmen” and most recently “Swan Lake.” Although the dialogue in Giselle was at times inaudible and hard to follow, the dance movements were indeed bold and daring, totally on point, explosive and fun to watch. Thumbs up for the dancing.
In a telephone interview with Dada I asked how she chooses her projects and what made her gravitate towards “Giselle?” She shared she is trained in ballet and contemporary dance and although she did not become a ballerina, she still wanted to dance the classics because she likes them.
She added, “Being a contemporary dancer, I think there is a little bit more freedom in terms of narrative. You get to choose to make it stronger and give it a little bit more weight and also what I like to do is really give them character and a responsive garden for the characters because I think the characters are very important in portraying the story. That is really my first point of entry is to get the characters and find a way of making them stronger.”
Dada feels performing “Giselle” was the natural progression after “Swan Lake.” Dada hit her mark in Giselle and the characters indeed had character. Unlike in the ballet, Giselle’s love interest Albrecht was a cad, to put it mildly and it showed loud and clear, as did the mocking and shaming she took when Albrecht made a fool of her. Not to worry, Giselle had the last laugh.
Dada’s projects take on sensitive subjects, such as race and oppression, homophobia and domestic violence, among other things. Dada embraces those subjects because, “Those are the issues that we have to deal with in the world at the moment,” she shares and went on to say domestic violence, rape, homophobia, HIV and AIDS are very prevalent in South Africa. “It’s very important for me to tackle the issues and get a discussion going to hopefully educate people, especially about homosexuality.” She wants people to know they “Don’t need to discriminate against things just because they do not understand it.”
In response to how Dada feels about being in the same conversation with male choreographer movers and shakers, Matthew Borne, Akram Khan, Boris Eifman and Mat Eks, who are also known for turning ballet into something more daring, she was surprised at the company she is in. “Wow! I actually didn’t realize that I am the only female, but I guess I feel proud, but also concerned because we do need more female voices to come out. I really believe it is time for women to be empowered. Women’s voices need to be coming through.”
Dada, a self-proclaimed “couch potato,” enjoys her downtime. She spends six months of the year on the road performing and the remaining time watching The Cooking Channel. Not a bad way to rest and rejuvenate from the physical and strenuous demands of dancing. “ABSOLUTELY NOT” was Dada’s response when the subject of relationship and children was raised. Although she feels she is much too busy for a commitment and believes it would be unfair to anyone because she doesn’t have the time to devote to a relationship, she also says, “It will come when it comes” so there is always a chance gentlemen.
When asked what she wants as her legacy, Dada shared she wants to be known for being ambitious and for taking risks. She also wants people to know she “makes her work with a lot of passion and love and wants readers to see and know that.”
I was glad I ventured out to see “Giselle” because I felt the passion and love in Dada’s work, even if Giselle did step over Albrecht in the end. Oh yeah, that still shows passion. LOL!
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected]
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