The Sacrifice

The Sacrifice is a masterpiece being shown in frames of the ImpulsTanz festival in the impressive environment of the Burgtheater. It is also about abuse, inequality and violence and the question of healing and moving beyond dramatic experiences. The Sacrifice is telling the African story, but it is also a connection between various cultures and their influence on each other.

The Tswana dance and its rituals are the central element of the performance which also has elements from creations of Pina Bausch and the complex rhythms of the Stravinsky and Nijinsky The Rite of Spring. The performance also has influence from the dances of Botswana which are elegant, rhythmic, and expressive at the same time. The also include movements of small animals integrated with elements of the contemporary dance.

The music was originally written for the performance and was performed life on stage by Thale Makhene, Ann Masina, Leroy Mapholo and Nathi Shongwe. Singing of Ann Masina was one of the central elements of the music. Her strong and intensive voice could be compared to the musical masterpieces created by Miriam Makeba. Ann who was born in Mpumalanga received informal education from the Africa Sings Choral choir and already in 1991 started singing in the Nico Malan Opera so complex roles as Carmen and Aida. Ann was a member of the famous triple Grammy award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir. She performed in famous houses in London, New York, Dusseldorf, and Amsterdam and received the Nadeli Award for the Best Performer of the Venus versus Modernity

The Viennese publicum knows already masterpieces of Dada Masilo from the ImpulsTanz festivals in 2014 and 2017 where her performances were shown with a great success. Dada Masilo is a young artist, only in her middle of thirties who is however already well known and celebrated in several cultural cities of the world. Dada was born in Johannesburg and began her carrier as a dancer at the age of eleven already within the Dance Factory. She also received education from the Performing Arts Research and Training Studies in Brussels. After her return to South Africa she received several commissions from the National Arts Festival such as Romeo and Juliet, Carmen and Swan Lake.

The creations of Dada Masilo were performed in Ottawa, Montreal, Hannover, London, Oslo, Saint Petersburg, Los Angeles, and New York. She was nominated for several prizes and awards for best performances and for outstanding modern female performers. The Sacrifice is a unique, very picturesque, dynamic performance which brings spectators to the atmosphere of the African savanna. This is a whole piece with perfectly integrated diverse elements which make someone’s watching of the performance on one breath when then the entire hour is passing by like five minutes.