Constanza Macras's 'Hillbrowfication' Premieres in Bologna

Argentine choreographer Constanza Macras, based in Berlin for over two decades with her company DorkyPark, presented 'Hillbrowfication' at Arena del Sole in Bologna for ERT's season. The work is part of the Space Tales project, fostering creative exchange between South African and German artists to explore exclusion, migration, and racism in urban architecture. Macras assembled a large cast of children and young people aged 5 to 22 from Hillbrow, one of Johannesburg's most overcrowded and violent neighborhoods, where migrant violence and xenophobia are daily realities. The performance blends traditional and contemporary dance styles with live percussion and recorded afro-rock music, featuring colorful costumes and a narrative where an alien invasion leads to a new social order based on dancing ability. Despite its ambitious themes, the piece is criticized for dramaturgical incompleteness and reliance on stereotypes, lacking the sharp, vertiginous physicality and satirical edge typical of Macras's earlier works like 'Megalopolis', 'Scratch Neukölln', and 'Big in Bombay'.