How a Falling Star Lit Up the Purple Sky | OPEN REHEARSAL | FOR ONCE

How a Falling Star Lit Up the Purple Sky is an exploration by nine artists of Impilo Mapantsula and American-Swiss choreographer Jeremy Nedd. It was first performed as an experimental work in progress at The Centre for the Less Good Idea in March 2022 as part of the For Once programme.

For Nedd and members of Impilo Mapantsula, How a Falling Star Lit Up the Purple Sky is an attempt at investigating “the grammar of isiPantsula and creating a dynamic visual poem that proposes shifts to the paradigm, rearranges the idea of archetype and hopefully invites a re-evaluation of the psychic and terrestrial spaces which ‘The Western’, ‘The old West’, ‘The West’ and ‘The South’ occupy.”

Through the unique prism of isiPantsula’s dynamic form, Nedd and the members of Impilo Mapantsula test and tease out the varying interpretations of this central notion. What is there to consider when breaking down the genres, tropes and motifs of the Western? How has the collective imagination been influenced by these well-worn concepts of heroes, villains, frontiers and territories? And how can isiPantsula be a tool for experimentation, interrogation and exploration in this regard?

A series of solos open the performance. Here, we see the minutiae of isiPantsula – the poised strut, the energetic footwork, the form, fashion and language of the dance form – in key performative vignettes. Later, a touch of the carnivalesque as a towering dancer emerges on stilts and occupies the centre of the stage, arms ostentatiously folded. There is also a nod to the history of isiPantsula through a series of dances that take on an intergenerational tone – choreographic conversations between characters young and old.

A solo by Nedd introduces a stylistic counterpoint as he moves across the expanse of the stage in a series of languid, mercurial movements, before the dancers gather on stage and begin a ritual of instruction and repetition, working to polish a routine again and again. It is performance in process – a generous display of communal choreography and rehearsal.

Music, of course, is a key component. In How a Falling Star Lit Up the Purple Sky there are none of the traditional driving sounds of isiPantsula. Instead, Nedd borrows from the soundscapes of Westerns and of 70s cinema, working to identify the sounds of “the black cinematic era.” One song, Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By” becomes a crucial refrain, with Nedd extracting and looping the piano from the chorus. In this looped, instrumental form the song takes on a rhythmic, mesmeric and poignant quality. All the while, the dancers of Impilo Mapantsula work through their routine, their relentless rehearsal process.

Following the performance, Nedd and Impilo Mapantsula remain on stage for a while, taking questions from the audience and sharing further insights into their process, their research methods and their ongoing collaboration. While How a Falling Star Lit Up the Purple Sky is likely to change and evolve, this early iteration of the performance is an opportunity to publicly trace the process of the work, and allow its collaborators to incorporate the feedback and insights of the audience into the work’s continued development.
– David Mann

CREDITS:
CONCEPTUALISER & CHOREOGRAPHER | Jeremy Nedd
PERFORMERS & CHOREOGRAPHERS | Sicelo Xaba, Vusi Mdoyi, Thomas Motsapi, Bonakele Masethi, Kgotsofalang Moshe, Vuyani Feni, Sibongile Mathebula & Elma Motloenya.
TECHNICAL MANAGER & LIGHTING DESIGNER | Thomas Giger
STAGE DESIGNER | Laura Knüsel
AUDIO DESIGNERS | Fabrizio Di Salvo & Rej Deproc
COSTUME DESIGNER | Rosa Birkedal
DRAMATURG | Anta Helena Recke
PRODUCTION MANAGER | Regula Schelling / ProduktionsDOCK
PHOTOGRAPHER | Bukhosibakhe Kelvin Khoza

PRODUCTION FOR THE CENTRE (2022)
ANIMATEUR | Phala O. Phala
DIRECTOR | Bronwyn Lace
MOMENTEUR FOR THE SO ACADEMY | Athena Mazarakis
DIRECTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY & EDITOR | Noah Cohen
SOUND DESIGNER & ENGINEER | Zain Vally
ADMINISTRATOR & STAGE MANAGER | Dimakatso Motholo
SPACE MANAGER AND COSTUMES & PROPS ASSISTANT | Gracious Dube
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS LIAISON | Hayleigh Evans
PHOTOGRAPHER | Zivanai Matangi
LIVESTREAM ENGINEER | Chris-Waldo de Wet
JUNIOR CINEMATOGRAPHER | Bukhosibakhe Kelvin Khoza
LIGHTING DESIGNER | Wesley France
LIGHTING ENGINEER | Matthews Phala
LIGHTING ASSISTANT | Bongani Mpofu
LIGHTING EQUIPMENT | Gearhouse Split Beam (Pty) Ltd
SOUND ENGINEERING | Soulfire Studios
FRONT OF HOUSE | POPArt Productions
PROCESS WRITER | David Mann
WEBSITE & UPLOADS MANAGER | Niamh Walsh-Vorster

Special thanks:
Linda Leibowitz
Natalie Dembo
Anne McIlleron
Anne Blom
Taryn Buccellato
Joy Woolcott
Chris-Waldo de Wet
Jacques van Staden
Joey Netshiombo
Diego Sillands
Thandi Mzizi Nkabinde

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