ACE dance and music

Using captivating physical expression to discover what makes us function as a human being, six dancers explore the invisible signals we give out and the force and flow of feelings running through our veins. From the outside we look different, but underneath, aren't we all the same? Artistic Director Gail Parmel worked with two established International choreographers; Akiko Kitamura from the Leni-Basso Dance Company of Japan and Vincent Mantsoe from Soweto South Africa to create a show which explores what lies beneath the skin, where our skin begins and ends, the spirit of unity and all the things that we all share.

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Split into two halves, the first is Blind Trip by Akiko Kitamura a wildly explorative piece that asks as many questions as it finds answers. The stage resembles a laboratory, with spot-lighting underfoot, futuristic projections and high contrast lighting. Blind Trip’s movement is inspired by the ceremony of fighting, dancers invade each others space with respect, allowing the skin to use its own sophisticated ways of communicating between bodies. Blind Trip explores miracles of the skin that science just can’t explain, miracles that make us human-beings rich creatures; the invisible signals that we give out and the microscopic details of the feelings of our skin awakening every emotion that we have.

The second piece is Letlalo by Vincent Mantsoe. The word Letlalo is Mantsoe’s native mother tongue for Skin. With its roots firmly planted in African culture and spirituality, Letlalo takes you on a journey through time, reflecting on the natural patterns of people, exploring energy and change. As with Blind Trip, Letlalo explores what lies beneath the skin, the spirit of unity and those things that we all share. Letlalo is about human power and spirit. One of post-Apartheid South Africa’s leading choreographers, Vincent descends from a long line of Sangomas (his mother, aunts and grandmother are healers/diviners) and draws his inspiration from ancestral worship aswell as world cultures.