HIV/AIDS and Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” (1875-76) hardly seem like two topics that go hand in hand. However, a discussion panel held at the Rockefeller Center on Tuesday, “Global Perspectives on HIV/AIDS,” was presented in conjunction with the U.S. premiere of Dada Masilo’s interpretation of “Swan Lake” at the Hopkins Center.
The panel, part of this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. day celebrations at Dartmouth, featured vice-provost for academic initiatives and sociology professor Denise Anthony as the moderator. The panel included global health initiative coordinator at the Dickey Center for International Understanding Lisa Adams, assistant geography professor Abigail Neely and South African dancer and choreographer Masilo.
The panel began by introducing Masilo’s version of “Swan Lake.” The ballet features a love triangle involving a homosexual man, the “black swan,” a heterosexual woman, the “white swan,” and a male prince. Masilo’s “Swan Lake” twists the traditional story by introducing themes including homosexuality, social stigmas and HIV/AIDS, as well as incorporating South African dance with the more traditional ballet form.
Although Masilo initially did not want to make political work, she said she wanted to do something different and to provoke and challenge herself by discussing the harsh South African realities, including the HIV epidemic.
However, many of the effects incorporated into Masilo’s version of the ballet came by chance, she said. One such addition to the performance will be visible in the costumes of the dancers, who will all wear tutus regardless of their genders. Considering the common misconception that men who dance are gay, Masilo said that she wanted to see how the narrative would change if male figures in the ballet actually were gay and dealing with the stigmas attached to homosexuality and HIV/AIDS.
“You grow up and realize there are no fairy tales in life but realities,” Masilo said.
Adams, who worked in South Africa as a physician and tuberculosis expert, said that it was important to take into account the historical perspective of how the South African government responded to the HIV epidemic, especially considering that South Africa has the highest number of HIV inflicted individuals in the world.
“The virus has touched almost every South African,” Adams said.
Adams said that South Africa’s response to the HIV epidemic was unique and disastrous, citing the “silent phase” of the 1980s when the disease first appeared among gay men and then the black community, and the government did little to address the spread of the virus. Adams also said that the government’s response in the late 1990s caused fear and stigma, as regulations required a mandatory 14 day quarantine if someone was suspected of having the disease.
“The care provided under apartheid [was] underdeveloped, and it was ultimately a favorable setting for HIV to thrive,” Adams said.
Neely, who has worked in rural South Africa, discussed the stigmas attached to HIV/AIDS. She said that the HIV epidemic was believed to be a disease of the poor. She noted that the epidemic hid behind a history of impoverished South Africans’ ill health under apartheid.
South Africans believed they became sick not only because of viruses and lack of nutrients, but also because of witchcraft or the spirits of ancestors, she said. She described the three categories of diseases as understood by South Africans and pointed out that each category required different treatments, including doctors and traditional African healers, known as isangomas.
Some South Africans were unwilling to see a doctor for HIV treatment due to stigma and a different understanding of disease, Neely said.
Masilo’s “Swan Lake” aims to address this stigma and help audiences grapple with such complex issues, Masilo said. She said she wanted to tackle discrimination and tell the story of her aunt, who died heartbroken after being diagnosed as HIV positive and rejected from her family.
“When I was choreographing, a section of the ballet became about that heartbreak for me — that grief and the vulnerability and a rejection from family,” Masilo said.
Masilo noted that education can play an important role in eliminating the stigma attached to HIV. She wanted people to realize through her play that the issues surrounding disease were not only about shame, but also about pain and sadness, Masilo said.
Adams said that the stigma prevented people from getting tested, from seeking care and staying on care. People refused to even tell their family members about the disease, Adams noted.
Neely said that South Africans’ different understanding of the disease could be another factor in the reluctance to get treatment. She said that a possible solution would be to expand the role of physicians like Adams in villages to treat multiple kinds of diseases.
The panel concluded with the idea that the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS extended to other healthcare issues like birth control, teen pregnancy and other sexually transmitted infections. Masilo said that some nurses would rebuke their patients who came in with stigmatized conditions. She said that beyond education, access to safe and nonjudgmental healthcare was essential to addressing the stigma around HIV/AIDS.
“It was really insightful and really great to see a diversity of perspectives looking at the same issue and the same stigmas,” India Perdue ’19 said. “I really appreciated that all three of them were professionals in their own right who tackled different aspects of the issue, from social to biological and medical perspectives.”
Adams, in an interview after the panel, said that she hoped Masilo’s performance would spark discussion among students.
“I hope that students who watch the show will take the ideas and themes back to their dorms or their social spaces and join the conversation,” Adams said. “It’s a low hanging fruit that I would hope to see.”
Anthony, in an interview after the panel, said that the panel was a good example of the College’s liberal arts education.
“Weaving all of these perspectives together is just a great way to show Dartmouth education and show that you can approach an issue from almost any angle,” Anthony said.
“Swan Lake” was performed last night and will be performed tonight at 7 p.m. at the Moore Theater.
