South African-born choreographer Vincent S.K. Mantsoe came to CalArts last week in the midst of a five-night run of his latest work, San, at REDCAT to teach students of The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts.
San brings together five dancers of different cultures—all linked in one way or another—to trace the “history of a people forced from their land, silenced and subjected to continued brutality.” In the piece, Mantsoe and his company, Association Noa, use movement to reflect ancestral influences and express a range of emotions, from joy to despair.
Throughout his career, Mantsoe has gained recognition as a contemporary artist who has forged a distinctive style of “Afro Fusion” dance, which energetically mixes the ritual dances and rhythms from his family line of traditional healers with street dancing and popular moves.
The video above shows Mantsoe’s high-energy and expressive movement in process with CalArts’ students from a Contemporary Technique dance class.
Video: Scott Groller