By BRUCE DENNILL
Principal’s Concert: The Gold Rhino Of Mapungubwe Ballet / Choreography by Angela Revie and Mdu Nhlapho / University of Pretoria Aula, Pretoria
Mzansi Ballet’s The Gold Rhino Of Mapungubwe Ballet is a new original ballet that debuted in 2023 and which has had a number of runs around the country before landing for two performances at the University of Pretoria (UP), including the Principal’s Concert, in part a fundraiser for the university’s Degrees Delivered initiative.
In many ways, this is the closest thing possible to the work’s spiritual home, as, in a glorious historic building a short walk away from the Aula theatre, a museum gallery houses the world-famous golden rhino, along with a number of other artefacts from archaeological sites at Mapangubwe. And hosting an event in which both art forms – ancient sculpture and contemporary ballet – are highlighted as culturally important further helps to support a sense of occasion.
The theatre has superb acoustics, which is necessary given the size of the collective onstage – around 30 dancers (Mzansi Ballet plus guests) and 120 choir members from the Tuks Camerata and the UP Ovuwa Cultural Ensemble – along with the UP Symphony Orchestra in the pit. The complexity of rehearsing and staging the project is also notable when considering that only the ballet dancers are full-time professionals. That scale is the abiding first impression, with the stage swelling with activity when the whole of the corps and the choir are performing at the same time. When that occurs, it’s thrilling – the banked singers’ voices add significant heft to the power of the orchestra, conducted by Schalk van der Merwe – and the larger dance numbers, including the Women’s Dance, make the space shimmer with energy and colour.
This presentation of the ballet is slightly trimmed down to create a packed one-act performance suited to the context of this particular event. With more than a dozen scenes and sequences, part of the result is a concentration-testing journey through history and creativity, structured using some familiar classical ballet tropes – royals and their relationships with their community; and outsider intent on adventure; a dream sequence in which a number of threads are explored and a talisman that represents values and tradition along with its worth at place value (the gold rhino, in this instance; the Nutcracker elsewhere, etc).
Repeated motifs in the score, composed by Mark Cheyne, with a number of collaborators, help to connect moods and cultural touchpoints in the story (in the latter sense, often supporting the actions of the Mapungubwe villagers with one sonic style, those of the European interlopers in another, and those of the magical Bird character in another.
As the Bird, Kiana-Rose Prinsloo is excellent, adding a powerful air of mystery through distinctive choreography and a different style of interaction with the characters around her. When paired with the powerful Ariel Mejica as the Crocodile – arguably the most striking of the vibrant costumes from David Tlale – the visuals are particularly arresting. Tshenolo Tshoma as The Princess is equally good, holding the stage confidently when performing her lyrical solos. As the King, Almar Kanda is physically imposing and effortlessly regal, with other leads Mahlatse Sachane, Omogolo Gaorekwe and Bolshoi Ballet Academy-trained Artemiy Pyzhov all giving strong performances.
As a celebration of a genuinely stimulating South African historical epoch (especially alongside the tangible evidence of all that happened), The Gold Rhino Of Mapungubwe Ballet is an meaningful addition to the modern canon, particularly with this full orchestral and choral support.