Cape town:
I don’t think I could write enough about Cape Town. It’s a world contrasting of beautiful
malls and beaches that are built next to townships where millions of South Africans live without proper plumbing or water systems daily. It’s also place where people use their story daily to survive. I went to the townships of Langa and Khayelitsha, and these townships have the storytelling factor in every corner. Young kids I saw were dancing around in the streets, waving their arms and hands in welcome to me. Even if they couldn’t speak my language (their native was Xhosa, where you click your tongue as if you’re urging a horse to go), but I could still speak theirs. Through movement, we exchanged our stories. The kids performed dancing for me, and I was able to speak to them through my movement, too. With moments like this, dance and theatre is displayed at its highest, because you don’t always need language to project something you are trying to say. I was
touched by the people and their willing spirits. Everywhere I went, I felt like I was in the land of story telling. My muscles could tell you lots of stories from the soreness I felt from
climbing the outstanding Table Mountain for seven hours. To me it’s like a drama\3 within itself. The backdrop could tell a story with the lush green mountains and misty
cloud hovering above. I felt like I was listening to a natural music soundtrack, with the beautiful sounds of surging waves, rain and wild birds. Theatre is in the everyday lives of people who know how to tell it, and I am forever sure that it’s a long lasting story that will continue to press on my hear, throughout the townships in South Africa and all over this vast and beautiful country.
Ghana
There is one from of theatre that you cannot beat in Ghana, and it comes with one simple
word: dance. In other words, I found out that if you don’t dance, you’re practically not alive.
The least you can do is move. I went to a Palm Sunday service for a visit, and the entire
church was practically up front dancing. They whirled their palms in the air as if
trees swaying in the wind themselves. I happily joined them at the front (and hey, can I just say it was the funnest church service ever?). Everywhere I went I found people moving. They could express themselves beautifully, even if it was by twirling a plastic chair above their head in excitement to say hello and welcome. At one point, I was with some fellow students while we were helping build a foundation for a school. The entire community was singing and drumming, dancing and clapping as we arrived. I learn these people match actions with words. It’s something I’ll never forget and will take home with me. Their simple way of saying “thank you”.
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