Penny For Her Thoughts

On Friday night I had the privilege of seeing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Artscape Opera House. As expected, the show was a once in a lifetime spectacular.


The work of this world-class modern dance company is the stuff of legend, and the opening performance of "Night Creature" demonstrated why. Akua Noni Parker led the company in telling a story about a mischievous group of forest dwellers. No words were spoken, and even the music had no lyrics, yet the piece gave the audience a chance to imagine what fun and mayhem ensue in the forest after nightfall.

For the second piece, Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims gave a moving performance of Christopher Wheeldon's "After the Rain Pas de Deux". It is always fascinating to watch a pas de deux: the tightly synchronised movement, as well as the trust and intimacy between the dancers makes each one a thing of beauty.


I believe the highlight of the show was Rennie Harris's "Exodus". It…

I am still trying to re-orient myself after the interview I just had.

I walked into the room relatively calm, though I was unsure of what would happen next. I saw some familiar faces and some new ones. Sitting in that black chair facing this "panel of judges" was quite intimidating.

I spent a lot of time trying to make sure my breathing wasn't too heavy, as I felt my heart racing while the questions were asked. I had to remind myself not to fidget too much and to keep my eye contact steady. (Now was the time for me to get all the "ace your interview!" tips I had read in magazines out from the archives in my mind.)

"tell us a little bit about yourself". Well, what do you want to know? My answer to this question was just a summary of the first few lines of my CV. It was generic, not really a great impression of who I am overall. But then who am I, really? What do interviewers expect me to say when they ask this question?

And then there's the intervi…

Yesterday was the continent-wide release of the long-awaited Akin Omotoso film, Tell Me Sweet Something. I have been keen to see it since last year, when I first heard the news about an upcoming romantic comedy set in Johannesburg. I was intrigued: I am always interested to see what our local film producers can do to revive hackneyed Hollywood tropes.

Nomzamo Mbatha and Maps Maponyane star as Moratiwa Vokwana and Nat Masilo, characters who make an unlikely match. Moratiwa is a struggling writer who feels uninspired and jaded after a disappointment in love. Nat is the "misunderstood model" who makes the effort to prove to Moratiwa that he is "not like the others". They have a chance meeting at a night club, and their love story begins.

Tell Me Sweet Something uses elements of the romantic comedy - the meet-cute, the confession of feelings, the dramatic interruption, the happy ending - in a local context. It doesn't necessarily do anything new for the genre. Notab…