Later:
We went to see a dance performance: The Anatomy of Weather. It was a contemporary/ modern dance piece, my FAV type of dance. It was really interesting I must admit and one thing I love about it is its abstractness. It gave room for discussions because the dance and the story being told could be interpreted in different ways. To sum it up, it's basically a metaphor for the different stages of relationships, or seasons of relationships- the flirting and happy beginnings that goes on in Spring, to the heartbreaks and loneliness in Winter.
The second show we saw was classical music by Ben Schoeman. It was a piano recital by a white south african who according to my professor is recognized internationally. Honestly my first thought was, this was not what I came to South Africa for. I have nothing against classical music, but to me, I don't see anything African about classical music. It screams European to me, and rightly so. The guy played pieces by well known European composers and although he played a piece by a South African composer he had to read the sheet music for it, while for the others he played from memory. That was interesting in itself. What does that say about classical music as it relates to South Africa? European classical music is clearly engraved in the mind and has been adapted more as a culture than classical music by South African composers.
As I walked into the theater for The last pro of yeoville, I was struck by the amazing scenery and props on stage. They had sketches of (cross sections) of female body parts, bright colors- reds and oranges, it was all so pleasing to the eye. The play was about a white prostitute who moves to an all black neighborhood to continue her business, she's getting too old for work which is what influences her relocation to this area. The storyline is interesting because the time period was during apartheid era, so this was introducing the idea that in prostitution, black and white were equal- color does not matter. Hence a white woman doing prostitution in a white neighborhood was simply business.
The second show we saw was classical music by Ben Schoeman. It was a piano recital by a white south african who according to my professor is recognized internationally. Honestly my first thought was, this was not what I came to South Africa for. I have nothing against classical music, but to me, I don't see anything African about classical music. It screams European to me, and rightly so. The guy played pieces by well known European composers and although he played a piece by a South African composer he had to read the sheet music for it, while for the others he played from memory. That was interesting in itself. What does that say about classical music as it relates to South Africa? European classical music is clearly engraved in the mind and has been adapted more as a culture than classical music by South African composers.
As I walked into the theater for The last pro of yeoville, I was struck by the amazing scenery and props on stage. They had sketches of (cross sections) of female body parts, bright colors- reds and oranges, it was all so pleasing to the eye. The play was about a white prostitute who moves to an all black neighborhood to continue her business, she's getting too old for work which is what influences her relocation to this area. The storyline is interesting because the time period was during apartheid era, so this was introducing the idea that in prostitution, black and white were equal- color does not matter. Hence a white woman doing prostitution in a white neighborhood was simply business.
Pictures of the set:
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