First, second and third-year students of the DUT Drama Studies Department had an exciting start to their week.

Internationally renowned artists showcased a number of techniques and skills during a programme which took place on Monday (8 April 2013) and Tuesday (9 April 2013) which involved representatives from France, Slovak, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Titled Hopes and Memories, the initiative – funded by a number of European sponsors – was created around a forbidden opera written by Jan Meyerowitz, a German Jew who was exiled by the Nazis. His second opera, The Barrier (1949), was based on racial tensions which he witnessed while living in the Southern United States after he had moved there. He used the arts to portray racial tensions that existed during his time.

Similarly, this project which was held at the DUT Drama Studies Department was aimed at using the arts and traditional South African song and dance to showcase and raise awareness about the country’s troubled past.

The programme was divided into five areas, this being Media Art, Set Design, Video Technology, Dance and Choreography and Physical Theatre.

Laurent Festas, an actor who was responsible for informing students about Physical Theatre, used his experience to illustrate techniques that he has used in Europe. Laurent believes that using song and dance is a good way to raise awareness about racial difficulties. “Arts and culture play a major role in transformation. It also helps point out the root of difficulties and forces one to question society,” said Festas. He also believes that the title Hopes and Memories is fitting since “society always has to hold on to memories of the past but it is important to know that hope comes first and is more significant than memories”.

Gyula Berger, an artist from Hungary responsible for interpreting European dance and choreography, demonstrated to students how to use detailed body work to articulate movement from the spine and how to be conscious of the use of the central axis. Berger enjoyed watching the traditional African Gumboot Dance and added that it is very similar to the Hungarian folk dance which also involves dancers wearing boots. “I really admire African dance and appreciate the enthusiasm and knowledge of the students. It is always good share and exchange tradition. I was also very impressed by the performance of the students. They are very talented,” said Berger.

Students present at the Set Design class received invaluable knowledge from Tomas Zizka, a sonographer at Theatre University in Prague, Czech Republic. Zizka was responsible for demonstrating how to use physical movements to enhance imagination of space and your own body. Zizka and the students also made beautiful costumes using brown paper, displaying installation with natural material.

Pamela Tancsik, a lecturer in the Drama Studies Department at DUT, said it is beneficial for students to get input from Europe. “The exchange is certainly an advantage to students and to the European representatives who watched performances by our directing projects and talented students. Now the students are highly motivated and some raised requests to study dance in Hungary and other parts of Europe,” said Tancsik.

– Nikita Smith-Morgan

Pictured: One of the designs made with brown paper by DUT Drama Studies students and Tomas Zizka, an artist from the Czech Republic, who was responsible for the Set Design leg of a workshop held at DUT this week.