As a generator of new material, a prompt, a collaborative component to a performance in process, or as a standalone art form to be expanded upon and collapsed, live improvisational music is an essential part of The Centre for the Less Good Idea’s way of working.

In Season 10, two separate performances, both titled Evening of Percussion, are dedicated to this generative way of working. Featuring some of The Centre’s frequent collaborators, namely Tlale Makhene, Angelo Moustapha, Teresa Phuti Mojela, Micca Manganye and Volley Nchabeleng, the Evening of Percussion is a collaborative, improvisational, responsive performance with a focus on the many ways in which percussion can be located in, and emerge from, the body.

There is no conventional composition to these performances. Rather, the musicians are in conversation – with each other, with their instruments, with their bodies, and with the audience. Makhene begins by developing a rhythm and handing it over to Moustapha who builds on it, adding his own signatures, and passing it on to Manganye. So it goes.

The synergy between the musicians is most apparent here, and as they revel in this collective, percussive conversation, the audience is content to watch them talk. Soon enough, the room is invited in and the conversation grows to include the audience. A call-and-response style moment from Nchabeleng ensures no one is left out.

On evening two, guest performances from Vusi Mdoyi and Simphiwe “Beatz” Bonongo lend a new energy to the ensemble, introducing pantsula-inspired percussive elements and beatboxing respectively.

As much as the Evening of Percussion is an original, live performance of its own, it also serves as a tribute to the musicians of The Centre, and the unique ability of percussion and the body to animate the room, and the process of making.

CONDUCTORS & COMPOSERS | Tlale Makhene & Angelo Moustapha
PERCUSSIONISTS | Tlale Makhene, Angelo Moustapha, Micca Manganye, Volley Nchabeleng, Teresa Phuti Mojela, Vusi Mdoyi & Simphiwe Beatz Bonongo

— David Mann

PHOTOGRAPHER | Zivanai Matangi