FESTIVAL DANCE REVIEWS
ANYBODY WAITIN’? Slapstick meets slick dance ●●●●●
Who knew dance could be so funny? Presumably all those who went to ponydance’s last Fringe show, Where Did It All Go Right? The Irish troupe is known for mixing slick routines and silliness, and this follow- up certainly won’t disappoint their fans.
This time we’re all in a nightclub to help bosomy Paula find a man, and as the evening progresses, the troupe slides in and out of outrageous cos- tumes, disco routines and chaotic chatter. But if their dance moves are sharp, their comic timing is even sharper. Trousers end up around ankles, lip- pies are plucked from cleavages mid-routine, and game gentlemen are plucked from the audience to participate in the hunt for Paula’s suitor. As well as slapstick and wit, the show is also a
celebration of the joy of dance in everyday life; the nostalgia of finding fun in a pop song, the infectious- ness of a good disco beat. ponydance has billed it as an exploration of filling time and there can’t be many ways to fill 45 minutes that are more fun than this. (Lucy Ribchester) ■ Dance Base @ Silk Nightclub, 225 5525, until 16 Aug (not 13), 8pm, £12 (£10).
FLASH MOB Dance superheroes come together ●●●●●
It’s not often you see salsa, Irish dancing and B-boying on the same bill. It’s even more unusual to see them integrated, as they are very successfully in this glitzy celebration of dance. At first glance the show’s title seems misleading, as the opening 20 minutes consists of a series
of individual virtuoso passages. All of the performers and groups are familiar from TV reality dance competitions such as Got to Dance and Move Like Michael Jackson, including breakdancers the A-Team and Irish hoofers Brosena. The best known face is Tommy Franzen, runner-up on the Beeb’s So You Think You Can Dance?, who is shown off in several solo passages and proves himself an engaging performer and an adept clown as well as the most versatile dancer in the pack.
While at 50 minutes this is a little on the short side for the price of the tickets, the show is deliv-
ered so slickly and with such brio by the young cast that it’s almost impossible to be cynical. Variety is key here: the frequent changes of mood and pace mean there’s never time to get bored, from gland-snapping excitement to something slow and romantic, with everything set to a crowd-pleasing soundtrack that includes Jessie J, Florence and the Machine and Emeli Sandé. While they’re all individually impressive, there’s a palpable sense of excitement when the acts get
together at the end for a mass dance-off, a genuine feeling of superheroes pooling their powers together in the interests of the common good. (Allan Radcliffe) ■ Assembly Hall, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 14), 6pm, £14.50–£17.50 (£12–£15.50).
JISHIN Playful Japanese contemporary dance ●●●●●
There’s a spirit of playfulness underpinning this series of dance vignettes from Japanese company LAN-T003, all flavoured with an urban energy and a pulsing, kinetic style of movement that echoes both reptiles and robots. The piece was written as an uplifting response to the earthquake that changed the lives of many of their country’s people, with the title translating as either ‘earthquake’ or ‘confidence’ in Japanese. The group certainly seem fascinated by the body’s response to a moment of energy passing through it, sometimes working together like a multi- limbed bionic insect, flexing currents through one another’s chests and limbs, other times flinging the momentum more violently between each other.
Bits of Jishin feel bafflingly random; the interlude, for instance, where video scenes of interactions with pets are given live reconstructions. But even these have the effect of passing the energy on, triggering bursts of laughter, something LAN-T003 describe as ‘an earthquake to the body.’ (Lucy Ribchester) ■ Zoo Southside, 662 6892, until 27 Aug (not 14 & 21), 8.35pm, £11.50 (£8).
MEPHISTO WALTZ Theatrical pact with the devil ●●●●●
You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, and it would seem you can’t make a Derevo show without making an inordinate amount of mess. By the time the five performers step forward to take their well-earned bow, the stage is littered with more detritus than a Saturday night town centre. Of course it’s all in the name of art, and although Derevo frontman Anton Adasinsky may be the only one who truly knows what it all means, it’s fascinat- ing to watch. From the blackest of openings, the show moves into more and more surreal territory, with Adasinsky’s devilment rewarded with adoration, then punished with humiliation and torment.
Certain images pack a more serious punch than others, in particular Adasinsky staring wildly into the audience, half-eaten melon on his head, unwound tape for hair, and a sausage cigar, looking for all the world like a deranged wartime general, while Holst’s Jupiter pounds around them.
The only thing missing here, evident in previ- ous Derevo offerings, is an emotional connection between them and us. (Kelly Apter) ■ Assembly Roxy, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 13 & 20), 8pm, £12–£14 (£11–£13).
62 THE LIST 9–16 Aug 2012