Madiba

Madiba, a celebration of the life and ideas of Nelson Mandela, premieres at the Joyce Theater in New York. The work has elements of modern and Afro-Caribbean dance as well as ballet, performed with elegant athleticism by dancers of varying body types. It includes a sensuous ballet-inflected duet and a modern version of a South African circle dance. Fagan injects technology into the choreography by attaching a small high-definition video camera to his lead dancer’s head at times. This allows him to film the other performers while he dances, with the images projected onto a screen. These images are meant to suggest Mandela’s perspective and memories of friendships, love, incarceration.

I want Madiba to be an inspirational piece for survival, for change. I’m interested in the strength, the perseverance, in uniting his country. It’s a community of people. It’s more than one person.