Vincent Mantsoe steps into a desert landscape. He moves with a stooped gait, low and slow, with small, precise steps. He is alone on stage, though his presence fills the space. 

In Desert Poems, Mantsoe explores, through dance, the allure and tranquillity of an environment characterised by extremes. Early on in the performance, it becomes clear that Mantsoe is not alone on stage. A descendant of a long line of Sangomas, Mantsoe participated, from childhood, in traditional song and dance rituals. Almost all of his performances bear the traces of this history. Here, he is leaning into other worlds, communing with the ancestors. His energy is contained, grounded, rooted. His hands are outstretched, searching, guiding, receiving, energy entering his body and dissipating into the room.  

Desert Poems is a series of dance-driven, narrative vignettes. Mantsoe is stamping, hopping, and burning on the hot sand, taking the audience on the slow journey through an open, endless, barren landscape. It’s a precarious and poetic move between the gasping hot air and the darkened night sky. 

It ends in tears, and Mantsoe takes a while to come back to the performance, to return to the room. Ultimately, Desert Poems is as much a choreographed performance as it is a ritualistic waking up of the body through dance and physicality.

— David Mann

CREDITS

CONCEPTUALISER & PERFORMER | Vincent Sekwati Mantsoe