VIGNETTES. Presented by WGRUV Dance Company, Johannesburg. Holly Gruver Founder and Artistic Director. Compania Sophia director Carli Olivier. At The Star Theatre, 27 – 29 October 2022. SHEILA CHISHOLM reviews.
Blown in by Cape Town’s gusty South Easter was Holly Gruver’s Johannesburg-based WGRUV Dance Company. For their second season at Star Theatre that same wind blew many regular dance patrons away from opening night. Yet this young company (ages 16 to 24) showed true professionalism by performing to a handful with as much spirit, and bravura as though watched by 1000’s in a mega-seating auditorium.
Titled Vignettes, the show is precisely that. A series of classical, contemporary, Flamenco and musical items performed to live or recorded music. I pay tribute to artistic director Holly Gruver and her team for mounting 10 vignettes on a small oblong stage where its shape could have proven tricky performing en diagonale and en manege enchainment.
I also doff my hat to lighting technician Simon King for his eye-catching lighting; Vanessa Nicolau for her silver multipurpose backcloth, Kirsten Bailes and Monique Els for their tasteful haute couture costumes.
Exquisite air sculptures
A much-appreciated novelty was the ‘cat-walk’ musical interlude on cello (Daliwonga Tshangela), djembe (Tommy Gruver), piano/hurdy gurdy (Chris van der West) and Carli Oliver on castanets. As well as Tshangela and Van der West’s special music performance preceding Olivier’s vibrant Spanish Ballet (a la Sevillanas) and matadors Lex Gruver and Lesedi Moima’s cape swirling Paso Doble.
Weaving a beautifully embroidered ‘felos manton’ (fringed shawl), in their trio Olivier, Monique Els and Marilie Viljoen created exquisite air sculptures.
Vignettes opened with Holly and Lex Gruver’s La Bayadere Variations. Wearing glittering pastel tutus Chloe Oosthuizen, Ashton Parker and Saili Gruver’s delicate foot work and clear lines brought stylistic elegance to this 1830 romantic ballet. Ken Yeatman’s pas de deux staging of August Bournonville’s 1858 The Flower Festival in Genzano matched Claire Lecuona fluid grace alongside Moima’s good ballon and neat batterie.
In contemporary styles part two began with Kanji Segawa’s setting to Iva Bittova as a solo for Jawaun Bester. This piece, Fast Footprints, saw Bester fast-foot work covering the stage in movements employing angular arms, legs and flexed feet. Unchanged by Gruver took the form of a duet for Ashton Parker and Lex Gruver. Dominic Walsh’s jazzy The Whistling, saw the full company forming interesting patterns and the full company brought the evening to a merry close with TKO a fun dreamscape of what happens when a fighter is knocked out.
Building a reputable company from scratch takes time. May WGRUV’s appeal grow. Vignettes certainly laid out WGRUV’s artistic value.
What: WGRUV Dance Company Vignettes
Where: The Star Theatre, HCC Events Centre
Info: https://www.wgruvdance.com
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