Bravo Brett Bailey for gathering us around the campfire for Constellations at Spier Wine Estate! The season is now FULLY booked out.
Bailey, adopting a non-directorial approach, has curated three routes, each with three Guardians who receive you around their own campfire. The element of surprise is that you have no idea which Guardians or what type of performance you will encounter on your journey. Each session is approximately thirty minutes long and takes on a variety of forms be it interactive, presentational or meditational, whatever each artist feels best represents his or her ‘Into the Woods’ interpretation.
First stop was Spier Farm Café to collect a scrumptious picnic basket that included a bottle of Spier 3. We then gathered to go ‘Into the Woods’ – the theme for this second iteration Constellations. The colour of the tag on the cushion you’d been given, determined which group you joined. Our party was the blue group, led by Lee, who took us across the river and into the woods. Where again we were split into three groups, each group taking turns to sit around 3 campfires. Silence was requested and it was entirely appropriate as you were taken into three different contemplative spaces and immersed yourself in this interaction with life and nature. The three ‘guardians’ that we met?
Nkonsenathi Ernie Koela seduced with music. No words, his seemingly simple indigenous instruments created their own magic. The sky was darkening, but we could still appreciate the view towards the fork in the river, the sound of the water and the crackling of the fire, The moon got brighter and the wind stronger. It seemed that the branches were swaying in time to the music. It turns out from the programme noted that we only received at the end of the evening, that Nkonsenathi Ernie Koela is a PhD candidate, specialising in indigenous music therapies ,at the University of Cape Town. Our group was entranced.
Nico Athene was our next guardian. .No fire, but a pit around which this person paced in an agitated way. In fact, we seemed to be invading this space and being ignored by a totally self absorbed individual dealing with issues that completely excluded anyone else. Focused and fixated for sure, but initially, I was unsure if this was this a man or a woman. This was a totally engrossing performance connecting body to earth, from birth to death. When the figure disappeared into the woods, we remained quietly – but in vain. Nico Athene has an impressive academic and practical background in the arts. She captivated and connected in a uniquely ‘non-connective’ way that was unsettlingly effective.
Lisa Scholtz was our final guardian, waiting to meet us at the brightly burning campfire. A writer and poet, she was totally engaging. Her communicating skills were through words that were exquisitely woven together and beautifully expressed. The line that resonated for me was that “silence is the first language we learn”. It seemed to eloquently create the perspective that we had encountered along the path that Constellations had been leading us through. Lisa Scholtz is well known as an actor and has appeared in several films and has received her Honours cum laude from AFDA.
Constellations was an unforgettable experience and I look forward to saying Bravo Brett Bailey again some time soon. Or as they say in the classics – so what will you do for an encore?
INFO: For more info please visit Spier and Third World Bunfight See also MapMyWay News Blog Constellations Returns to Spier
About Spier Wine Estate – Green Wine Champion
One of South Africa’s oldest wine farms and a well-known Western Cape landmark, Stellenbosch wine farm. Spier hosts the Light Art exhibition as one of their Growing for Good initiatives, which empower communities to create positive social and environmental change. Spier Wine Estate is acknowledged as a Green Wine Champion on the Cape Town Green Wine Map.
A long-standing supporter of the arts, Spier understands that creative works entertain, inform and educate. They often hold up a mirror to society, offering us a chance to reflect. This is why Spier contributes to several annual public arts initiatives and exhibit a significant contemporary arts collection on the farm.
