Watching Ayana / Afrika Ablaze Rehearsals and being Blown off my Seat!

Walking into the Ablaze rehearsals for the up and coming show at the Baxter Theatre is like experiencing the Cape Town weather, you never know what you’re going to get or when you’re going to get it.  Whatever you may have in mind coming through those doors, forget it.  These dancers will have you holding on to your seat as well as holding on to your breath.  The energy of the dancing before you move from the serene and soulful to the fast and furious – a calming sunset, followed by a wicked South Easter that’ll whip around your heels and have you spinning.  The dancers themselves don’t often know what to expect when they get asked to “take their places” on the floor twice a week and it’s this freshness, this organic coming together that makes their rehearsals so exciting to watch.   And these are just the rehearsals, held in a very modest school hall with the bare minimum of resources.  Yet week in and week out these dancers come to rehearse and to express themselves in a safe and loving space. Some struggle to find the transport to get there (their parents sometimes don’t have the money for fares and they therefore have to miss the classes), others take trains and taxis, often returning to dangerous neighbourhoods’ under the cover of darkness.  Yet it is their passion for dancing and who they’re dancing with, overseen by ‘Aunty Glenda’s’ tireless dedication and sheer belief in them, that keeps them coming back to strive to be the best they can be.  The support and camaraderie these dancers have for each other literally bounces off the walls, a community spirit that is refreshing to bear witness to. The atmosphere is contagious and with the music pumping and Glenda’s counting in … 5, 6, 7, 8 – it’s hard to stay seated!

Whilst there are juniors and newcomers, intermediates and seniors, everyone collaborates with each other to come up with an idea for a dance routine based on a theme that is often challenging, gritty and real.  They tap gently on the souls of these dancers, knocking on the doors of their spirits, with a genuine invitation to channel whatever they may be experiencing physically and emotionally – through the empowerment of self expression.  There is no separation in learning the moves, determined by age, so no one is excluded – it’s an all-inclusive vibe.  Active participation from everyone from 3 to 25 years, including critiquing the choreography, is strongly encouraged.  In this hall, everyone gets their chance to shine, to hone their talent for dancing with the support and encouragement of their peers – and this is in essence what makes Afrika Ablaze so unique in its approach.  It is the dancers who shape the shows for they are actively encouraged to own and embrace the routines, to not be shy with their suggestions, to come forward and share their ideas.  It’s a ‘grass roots bottom up’ approach and the proof is in the performance of each and every one of these dancers.  They even practice routines in the car park during the break.  They rarely stop moving.

Yet with scarce support in terms of transport and venue and the barest of equipment, so much is given but sadly so much can also be taken away when a dancer cannot afford to continue and has to put away their dance shoes and aspirations in place of a routine job with a regular salary.  Yet their spirit has been awakened to the gift of possibility; they have experienced the applause and the accolades, the sheer joy of creative expression.  What replaces the empty void of not being able to develop that gift and take it to the next level?

Ayana / Afrika Ablaze deserves strong moral support to keep them motivated to continue the excellent work they has been doing for the past 20 years.  They deserve to be recognised for their sterling work they do within the Western Cape and beyond.

Georgina Lyttelton

Certified Life Coach