Posts

Swan Lake

-
Image
When the Swans Took Flight: Cape Ballet Africa’s Swan Lake There are performances you watch. There are performances you experience. And then there are performances that seem to suspend reality altogether — performances in which the theatre ceases to be a building, the stage ceases to be a stage, and the human body becomes something almost otherworldly. At the Teatro at Montecasino, I watched Swan Lake . Presented by Cape Ballet Africa and Global Star Events , this was not simply an evening of ballet. It was an encounter with beauty in its most disciplined form. Beauty sharpened by technique. Beauty strengthened by repetition. Beauty made possible by bodies pushed to the limits of human control. And what I witnessed was extraordinary. Finesse. Technique. Strength. Poise. Synchronicity. Mastery. They were everywhere. In every arabesque. Every relevé. Every tendu. Every suspended moment before a dancer descended from the air. Every perfectly timed port de bras. Every corps de ...
Read more

SARAJEVO

-
Image
SARAJEVO: WHEN THEATRE STOPS FEELING LIKE THEATRE A haunting descent into love, war, betrayal, sexual violence and the unbearable intimacy of witnessing There are plays you watch. There are plays you experience. And then there are plays that make you question the morality of sitting in a theatre seat at all. SARAJEVO belongs to the last category. I walked into Theatre on the Square in Sandton knowing that I was going to see an award-winning play. I knew the reputation. I knew the Naledi Awards had crowned it four times. I knew it had been celebrated for its writing, direction and performances. I did not know that I would leave feeling as though I had witnessed something I was never supposed to see. There is a warning waiting for you before you enter the auditorium: “WARNING: THE PLAY DEPICTS THEMES OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND THEMES OF AN ADULT NATURE.” Believe it. The warning is not decorative theatre etiquette. It is a door. Behind that door are...
Read more

Pink Friday

-
Image
Pink Friday: The Day Nicki Minaj Painted Hip-Hop Pink There are debut albums. And then there are introductions so explosive that they feel less like a first chapter and more like the beginning of a cultural movement. On 22 November 2010 , Nicki Minaj released Pink Friday , an album that did far more than announce a new rapper. It introduced a phenomenon. For years, the world had watched glimpses of her brilliance through mixtapes like Playtime Is Over , Sucka Free and Beam Me Up Scotty . Her unforgettable guest verses had become events in themselves. She stole scenes on tracks with Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Drake, often leaving listeners talking about her verse long after the song had ended. Young Money believed they had discovered a superstar. Pink Friday proved they were right. Nicki Minaj didn't simply enter mainstream music. She exploded into it. With fluorescent wigs, fearless fashion, theatrical alter egos, razor-sharp punchlines and a confidence that bordered o...
Read more

FutureSex/LoveSounds

-
Image
FutureSex/LoveSounds: The Night Justin Timberlake Rewrote Pop Music There are albums that become successful. There are albums that define a year. And then there are albums that arrive so violently, so confidently and so completely that they alter the very architecture of popular music. FutureSex/LoveSounds is one of those albums. Released on 12 September 2006 , Justin Timberlake did not simply release his sophomore album—he announced the arrival of a new era. This was no longer the smiling teenager from *NSYNC. No longer the fresh-faced prince of bubblegum pop. This was a man stepping into adulthood wearing tailored suits, expensive fragrances, strobe lights and midnight confidence. He wasn't asking permission. He was making a declaration. "I'm bringing sexy back..." Five words. Five words that changed pop culture forever. It sounded outrageous. Impossible. How could someone "bring sexy back" when it had never truly left? But that's exactly ...
Read more