Blaze - Anthony van Laast -
Arts Centre Melbourne, 23 January -
If there was any doubt left that "street dancing" has become mainstream, Blaze will finally dispense with it. This exuberant show was born in that mecca of music theatre, London's West End, and choreographed and directed by Anthony van Laast, a veteran of the stage. It has already toured the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, performing to sell-out crowds in traditional theatre settings.
It’s not surprising Blaze is such a hit. Aside from its infectious display of astonishingly skilful dance, the show is funny, good-natured and clever.
I attended as one who has watched these dance styles develop but is by no means an expert. I must say that I enjoyed the show much more than many of the much more “serious” contemporary dance shows or supposedly “smash hit” musical theatre shows -- churning out dated tap and jazz numbers -- I have seen over the years.
Mind you, in many ways Blaze has a tried-and-true theatrical format. Laast, together with seven co-choreographers, has put together a 90-minute series of set pieces, from solo to groups, which gives all of the cast a chance to show off their skills and personalities. Break dancing, hip hop and crumping are blended with unison group dances and mime sequences. The pieces are slickly and often humorously linked while offering plenty of variety. The humour is almost clownish at times, with sequences involving bowler hats, glow in the dark gloves, funny costumes and friendly jousting between the dancers. One duo on a coach portrays a broken down relationship, but mostly the dancing is just about itself. There are constant costume changes – beginning with all the crew donning their trainers at the beginning – and most of the well-toned flesh stays covered up (surprise!). The acrobatic spins and stunts of the breakers left my head hurting in wonderment.
The soundtrack offers a range of many artists including Justin Timberlake and Rhianna to DJ David Guetta, with occasional cheeky samples such as the “Hey Ho” from the seven dwarfs in the old Disney film.
The set design, by Es Devlin (whose last project was the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony) is simply brilliant. Consisting of cupboard drawers, doors, tv screens, a bed and other indoor furniture stacked on top of each other right up the back wall, it allows for surprising entrances and exits, different performing levels, and back lighting that transforms into gorgeous patterns and colours and is perfectly synchronised with the beat of the music.
At the end of the night the audience is urged onto its feet to have a go at some of the steps. We all willingly obliged. Altogether Blaze is a clean, entertaining and family-friendly show.
- KAREN VAN ULZEN