The Wire

“CUT!!” a new contemporary dance work by South African dancer and choreographer, Boyzie Cekwana deals with issues of identity in a post-apartheid era. The choreography traverses western contemporary dance forms as well as traditional African and more abstract moves. These combine with a diverse soundtrack which begins with edited grabs from political speeches, moves through African call and response songs to a dash of funk and onto some more abstract electronic sounds. Boyzie Cekwana grew up in the townships of Johannesburg and trained in traditional South African dance. In 1997 he put together his own company “The Floating Outfit Project” with the aim of breaking open and transforming traditions of African dance. CUT!! featured recently as part of the Berlin International Dance Festival program, and is performed by Boyzie Cekwana and Desiré Davids. The piece opens with audio excerpts from speeches made by apartheid presidents and South African Nobel Laureates in the 70s and early 80s. Cinnamon Nippard caught up with Boyzie Cekwana in a Berlin cafe, where he begins by explaining the significance of these audio grabs.