Same story, different country
Pictured above: UCT Dance lecturer Lisa Wilson with four lucky students who were invited to participate in 'Same story, different country' dance exchange programme
University of Cape Town dance lecturer Lisa Wilson and four UCT School of Dance students were invited to participate in a series of public performances and lectures staged in the United States recently. The visit, which took place in March 2016, forms part of a newly established international dance exchange programme between the University of Cape Town and the University of Delaware (Newark).
Same story, different country is a creative arts project conceived by Dr. Lynette Overby (University of Delaware) and South African musician Colin Miller (University of Delaware). The multi-disciplinary project encompasses research, visual arts, music, poetry and dance and explores issues of oppression and liberation common to the histories of both South Africa and the United States. In 2015, Overby and Miller travelled to South Africa to explore possibilities for collaboration with local institutions. The result was that UCT students were the only African students selected to join the 21-member dance team on the production. American students were drawn from the University of Delaware (UD), and Wilmington and Dover cultural arts centers to participate in the event. Faculty researchers, choreographers, poets, composers and visual artists were handpicked from Universities of Delaware, Cape Town, Towson, the Julliard School, North Carolina and Philadelphia.
The exchange was made possible thanks to funding from the Doris Duke Foundation Grant, the University of Delaware Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center and the South African College of Music’s Master class Fund and Anglorand Capital. Wilson says that the primary objective behind UCT’s participation was to engage in a collaborative research, performance and cross-cultural teaching exchange. “We wanted to expose our students to new life encounters and more importantly, enable them to witness dance education at work in other cultural contexts. They co-taught with me in various community settings in the Wilmington area and taught the urban South African dance form pantsula to American students as part of my lecture on ‘Dance, Culture and Society’. In addition, our students had a chance to experience the realities of being a dancer in a touring company, of being a part of a larger collaboration and learning choreography from other artists. All these experiences help to give students a more realistic and expansive view of a career in dance. This will help them to locate themselves within the UCT curriculum with greater clarity, leading to a greater sense of mission and ease in their learning and development” said Wilson. Another key output from the project has been the creation of educational material from the themes explored in the performance. This resource will now be used in secondary schools in the Delaware education district.
The four South African students who were lucky enough to participate in this year’s tour say that the experience was truly eye-opening. Third year student Thara Alcock says she felt proud and valued as a dancer. “Dancing to an audience who was interested in South African dance, culture and history was intriguing. I felt that my story was valued and worth sharing. The audience applauded us loudly as we represented the apartheid story from oppression to resistance to liberation. They did not say that we should get over it and move on but actually were interested in what we had to say through dance. Many commented on how strong we were technically. I was encouraged and motivated by this.”
