Troupe dance saves babies

The OYO dance troupe announced the premiere of its new piece, ‘The Dark Medea’, at the Goethe Centre on Wednesday 21 August at 19 00. This stage show is be performed by the dance troupe, with guests Nancy Roberts and Emily Gibbs from the UK. The Darke Medea is an exercise in sensitisation to bring attention to baby dumping.
Statistics about baby dumping in Namibia are rising. Baby dumping is the abandonment of newborn babies, often in isolated areas. Babies are abandoned in dustbins, flushed down toilets or let to die in the veld. In 2010 UNICEF reported that in Windhoek alone, thirteen dead babies were found every month at the sewage works. This figure is on the increase. But what can lead a mother to dump her baby to a certain death? And why is this phenomenon growing in our society? The killing of one’s baby is often referred to as infanticide or filicide. In Greek mythology, Medea embodies a mother killing her children. But why did Medea kill her children? It is revenge against a husband who didn’t love her anymore? Is it madness towards a community that didn’t care? Is it the act of despair of a lonely woman who couldn’t handle it all on her own? There have been many theories, and many artists have tried to understand Medea. Thousands of years later, in Namibia, it seems that the questions remain the same. What do you do when you are a teenage mother and there’s nobody around to guide you? What do you do when the father runs away, and the community blames you? What choices does she still have nd why is it that the young woman gets stuck while the father go unpunished?
‘The Dark Medea’ is a continuation of OYO’s former works, such as ‘Eros and Thanatos’ in 2004 and ‘the Namibian Odysseus’ in 2008. ‘I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology’, explained Philippe Talavera, the choreographer. “They have an incredible relevance even nowadays. Everybody blames Medea. But what of Jason, her husband, who turns his back and walks away?”  “Many boys and men impregnate their partners and turn away. Is it right? Is it fair? Can we really blame a 16-year old girl for an act that is clearly one of despair? Baby dumping shows that there is something fundamentally wrong in our society. It is time for us to look back at ourselves, and try and understand where we are going wrong. We hope ‘the Dark Medea’ will trigger many passionate discussions”, he said.
In the Dark Medea, the dancers created entire sections of the piece, investigating movements and emotions and translating them into solos, duets, canons and unisons”, said Talavera. ‘It has been a collaborative production’.
Entrance is free but only 120 seats are available. Interested people are advised to call Karolina at 061-254915 to book their seats to avoid disappointment at the door.