The African Dance Group Juxtapower has a name that suggests a juxtaposition of entertainment: part theatre, part dance, part song. The troupe performed last Sunday in Uncommons, bringing to campus a tiny slice of traditional South African life. Using narration about South Africa’s rich culture, heritage and history, and traditional South African dancing styles, Juxtapower informed its audience while also thoroughly entertaining them. The group used a range of performing styles: the production told its story through traditional South African dance, step dancing, hip hop and even some ballet. The different types of dance seemed to mirror the diversity in South Africa—the many ethnic groups, myriad languages spoken and the different cultures within the country. By showing us this diversity, the company shed light upon the untruths in common stereotypes about African countries. Micere Johnson ’11 said, “I thought it was really interesting how they mixed styles of dancing…they put on a really great show.” South Africa is home to many ethnic groups, 11 different languages and many different sub-cultures. Juxtapower started by stating that certain facets of South Africa depicted on television, such as abject poverty, are not realistic; in reality, South Africa has its fair share of skyscrapers, major manufacturers and world-class banks. The image of destitution is perpetuated by various biased channels, including CNN. After their performance on Sunday, I asked one of the members of the company whether they perform with any mission in mind. He replied that Juxtapower primarily aims to educate people about South African culture as it is today, especially in theatre and school settings. Though South Africans have gradually learned to embrace their heritage since European colonization, the influence of America on South Africa is still a one-way street, not an exchange. Beside their dance performance and short skits, Juxtapower also showed a short clip on South Africa, switching between pictures of rural areas and great cities, traditional and global culture. This seemed to reflect the message conveyed in the entire performance: American culture has been a major influence all over the world, but although South Africa has become a part of this global culture, its own culture has thrived in harmony with Africa’s globalization. In Juxtapower’s performance the group seemed to comment on the mix of tradition and globalism (driven by American pop-culture). They mocked rap music and hip-hop culture, and made quips about African-American names in pop-culture such as 50 Cent and Michael Jackson. At the same time, they contrasted these pop-culture elements with traditional song and dance. The multi-talented group took South African culture and gave us a true representation of it: one heavily influenced by American hip-hop culture, but at the same time steeped in tradition.
