By Seleoe Nonyane
The Embassy of Italy Pretoria is bringing Dante’s Ballet Inferno to Lesotho, a music, poetry and comedy performance set to take place on May 17 2023 at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre free of charge
According to the choreographer of Ballet Inferno, Mario Gaglione, the musical is a result of a 2021 collaboration between Joburg Ballet and the Pretoria-based Italian Institute of Culture.
In an interview with theReporter this week, Gaglione said he was approached by the Institute on the occasion of the 700-year anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, one of the fathers of the Italian literature of the XIV Century.
Mario said Dante Alighieri’s famous masterpiece “The Divine Comedy”, has proven itself to be a timeless piece of art and it is still very relevant musical today.
“Its first section, Inferno, sees the protagonist, Dante himself, in a journey through hell. Parts of this section have been translated into the languages of Zulu, Sesotho, Xhosa and Afrikaans.
“This has been the inspiration behind the creation of the ballet and it represents one of the key elements, together with the wonderful score by Hans Zimmer, which accompanies the story beautifully,” he indicated.
Gaglione revealed that the journey of the protagonist, Dante, is narrated through music, dance and spoken word, and it takes the revellers among some of the most iconic sections of the poem, in a scenery filled with desolation and eternal despair.
The choreographer stated that Dante meets several historical and mythical characters from centuries long gone, listens to their stories of life and death and takes the audience face to face with Lucifer himself.
“It’s not your typical ballet with tutus and tiaras, but rather a journey through dance that combines Italian literature and an African spirit,” he said.
He said he hopes that people will feel transported by the story and will dive straight into the realm of the beyond.
He indicated that even though not everyone might be familiar with Italian literature, in this case this is only a bonus.
He emphasized that the journey is universal and all can feel the emotions that the characters go through on stage.
“The dancers of the company are wonderful artists and thanks to them my choreographic vision can come to life.
“This will be the first time that Lesotho will host INFERNO. It is a great honour for all of us and my biggest wish is that there will be many more invitations into the country.
As artists, there’s nothing more satisfying than touching people’s hearts with our craft, and we hope that we will move the audience in Maseru and leave them wanting more.
He expressed that the Italian Institute has been an extremely kind organization and has already promoted the ballet twice, once in Johannesburg and once in Durban.
He said this time the dancers are excited to present it to a new audience.
He warned that the audience should expect to be fully entertained by all the elements of the production: the dancing, the music, the costumes, the story. Adding that above all, they should expect to feel all the emotions of Dante, the beautiful dancer and actor Tumelo Lekana, who will guide the attendees with his steps and his voice through the pits of hell.
