Black!...White?, the most recent creation by Nelisiwe Xaba to grace South African stages, is one of the most extraordinary works being performed at this year’s FNB Dance Umbrella. Xaba is no stranger to international dance circuits, and her latest project is evidence of the world-class standards by which she sets her own goals.

The work uses the South African metropolitan culture as a backdrop for exploring themes of racial stigmatization and the embodiment of fear in the individual’s avoidance of the Other. Through the merging, contrasting and opposition of the concepts “black” and “white”, Xaba’s imagery questions racial stereotypes in contemporary culture.

Black!...White? is a collaboration between Xaba, Carlo Gibson and Lukasz Pater. Performed by Xaba, Stacey Sacks and Rob van Vuuren, the work immediately draws the audience in through a sense of self-identification with its protagonist’s depiction of isolation. Confined by racially-motivated fears of the world outside, and drawn to the captivating images of filth and scum on her television screen, the protagonist has withdrawn into a regime of rigidity, television, perfectionism and neurotic fear of the external metropolitan environment.

 Structures lines and cubes associated with the physical and psychological refuges that individuals create in order to keep the unknown out set the scene for the defiance of racial stereotypes.

As the dance progresses, the protagonist (Sacks), surrenders to the merging of black and white (depicted by the black-clad van Vuuren and white-clad Xaba), and the harsh contrasts in the setting are transformed into smoother lines. Likewise, the movements of the dancers become more fluid.  
One outstanding sequence in the production features images of the dancers, who dance and move while remaining horizontal on the floor, projected on a screen at the back of the stage.

This innovative concept allows the dancers to transform a “three-dimensional surface” into a two-dimensional image. With flawless execution, the dancers, dressed in white, who appear upright on the screen, appear to be defying gravity against a stark black background. Through this they are able to produce more exaggerated and animated movements, and at times they appear to be floating, running, walking, flying and tumbling, without ever betraying the fact that they are executing these movements while lying on the floor.

Through sweeping images of colonialism and perceived savagery, and westernization of indigenous culture, the choreography personifies stereotypical geriatric perceptions of racial stratification in society.

The dance allows the audience to begin to come to terms with their own place in fragmented society, and any misperceptions of race and culture in contemporary cosmopolitan life. Xaba’s creation shows that ultimately, black and white can  “only exist in relation to one another”.