Nyata Nyata - Montreal by Night
You still have two days to catch the dance show Montreal by Night by the African dance troupe Nyata Nyata. I saw the performance on Wednesday, and was totally blown away.
When you hear “African dance” you may imagine bongo drums, bouncing rhythms, and Lion King-stylings. This is not what Nyata Nyata are about. Choreographer Zab Maboungou’s work is concept-driven, experimental, coherent, and intense. The piece Montreal by Night communicates the urban vibes of a city by night, disconnected souls looking for love, the anonymity of a bustling crowd, and dangers luring in the dark.
We were cramped in tightly at the SAT, and I’m sure that the show could have easily filled a bigger venue. Right on the central stage were large drums akin to hollowed out tree trunks, a DJ station, and a cello. Music and dance are one and the same for Maboungou, and it certainly was part of the narrative. When the drums kicked in the dancers moved in unison, then fragmented into their own spaces in silence. The DJ scratching vinyl brought out sensuous swings of the hips, the cello – which echoed the rhythm of the percussion section – enticed more a individualistic choreography.
I’ve never seen moves like this. The dancers were all about angles: bend arms, elbows sticking out, the torso bent forward, legs bent at the knees, feet sticking up. Awkward, angular, stiff city slickers, each moving in their own space. Duos looked like combat. As the piece progressed, the intensity increased, and I could recognize steps and movements from the one African dance class I took a few years ago. The dancers were drenched in sweat by the end of the presentation (just under an hour, thought it felt like fifteen minutes). Montreal by Night is edgy, dense with energy, and totally hypnotic.
If you’re free tonight of tomorrow night, I suggest you make your way over to the SAT!
Société des arts technologiques [SAT]
1195 Saint-Laurent
Nyata Nyata
Montreal by Night
May 19 – 22, 2010 – 8pm
