LES BALLETS AFRICAINS
Les Ballets Africains was formed in 1952, and became the national dance troupe of the Republic of Guinea in 1958 when Guinea gained independence. It makes only limited claims to authenticity, and no bones about that fact. Louise Bedichek argues in an exceptionally intelligent program note that authentic African dance is ritual, and that genuine religious ritual has no place in the theater. Les Ballets Africains bases its dances and narratives on traditional forms, but it also drastically cuts and freely combines the dances and stories of different peoples. What we see onstage is not what Guineans see and do at home.
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I’d love to see what Guineans do at home. Dance is a way of life in Africa–many ordinary people there dance every day. But Les Ballets Africains offers its own distinct pleasures. The dancers and musicians are professionals, chosen by audition and then trained for years; they are very good at what they do. And the people who put this performance together clearly have a lot of theatrical savvy. The two hours went by in a blur.
Extensive program notes describe the dances and stories in some detail, but in a way they’re superfluous: the performers communicate with complete clarity. The next dance, The Bell of Hamana, tells a story that celebrates kindness and reverence for the forest and for all life; a good man receives a bell from a tortoise, the ruler of the forest, as his reward. That narrative sets the stage for various dances of celebration: dances performed at baptisms, as puberty rites, on the occasion of a good harvest.
