TNT Elevates Dance With Exodus
Dumisani Ncube | Monday October 19, 2015 18:00
The Exodus theatrical dance act is a play that TNT adapted from the book of Exodus in the Bible, which depicts the life of Moses and his fight for the freedom of the children of Israel from enslavement in Egypt.
It was more of a dance play action without words. It needed one to pay attention to understand what the dancers communicated. Egyptian scenery set up had been put up on stage, accompanied by some contemporary music.
TNT senior dancer, Christopher ‘CJ’ Mangiroza played Moses, with the likes of Sally Chabedi and Moratiwa Molema playing Moses’ mother and the burning bush respectively. The message was conveyed through different dance genres such as Afro fusion, crump, contemporary and slow dance that related with sound and stage lighting.
The dance moves also carried emotions that made it easy for one to relate with Chabedi when she played Moses’ mother. Since Moses was a holy and righteous man his dance moves were more contemporary and smooth while he addressed to Pharaoh whose role was played by Thembie Mpofu. In response Pharaoh acts aggressively as shown through Mpofu break dancing and crumping, refusing to let the children of Israel go. On stage, there were effects and materials such as neon lighting that depicted miracles and holiness. The interesting part was the sea that was made of blue clothing material accompanied by the sound of sea waves. However, the play was short as it only showed part of Moses’ journey, starting from his birth to the time he separated the sea. While Moses and the Israelites crossed the sea, musician Cedric Ncube came on stage to perform Bob Marley’s classic hit Exodus as the play came to an end.
The audience was charmed as it gave the dance troupe a standing ovation. In the audience were notable art performers such as Umbambi ‘Bambino’ Ndiwenyu and Tumisang Baatshwana.
Prior to the staging of Exodus the dance troupe along with two other crews, Aneroid and Buck Boys, joined forces on a dance production titled The Students Plague. The urban electronic dance play was another TNT joint act that entertained audiences at Maitisong Theatre on the night.