‘Inala’ at the Anvil, Basingstoke  October 1st, 2014

‘Home is beautiful. I will now go back home, because they love me there.’

‘Inala’ translates as ‘the abundance of goodwill’ and ‘harvest to reap’ in Zulu. This ambitious project is the brain child of composer, Ella Spira and Royal Ballet dancer, Pietra Mello-Pittman (aka Sisters Grimm) creating a new language of dance. South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo (LBM) , in particular, Joseph Shabalala collaborate on this dance-theatre production with Ella Spira and choreographed by Rambert Dance Company artistic director, Mark Baldwin.
On stage, the nine singers and 11 dancers, some from Rambert and the Royal Ballet, are all performers together. The dancers don’t sing, but the choir do dance.
Unless you speak Zulu, it’s impossible to know what the choir are singing as there are no surtitles to the eighteen songs – but it doesn’t really matter. There is no obvious narrative line. Instead, for the most part, we are given fleeting glimpses into the lives of ordinary people, going about their work, living their lives. Continue reading Inala →