Peacock Theatre, London – until 16th June 2019
Reviewed by Heather Chalkley
4****
Jennifer Masters and her team have produced a jam-packed theatrical performance of dance, drawing from many genres. The mash up of street and ballet has been cleverly choreographed so the beats are on point! She manages to make crumping and plies look natural together.
The melding with ballet draws out the grace and beauty of street. By the same token, we see ballet performed with grit and edge. To see ballerinas moving as one with street dancers, mirroring the movements with classical poise, is eye opening. Then to be wowed by a B-Boy head spinning, surrounded by a line of pirouetting ballerinas. Throughout the performance dynamic shapes are formed, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.
Stand out performers for me are Brodie Chesher, who makes the male classical ballet scenes look effortless. Chesher also brings his own brand of cheeky camp humour. Oriana Siew-Kim is outstanding in her diversity, intensity and energy. Phill Haddad’s street poetry stitches the performance together beautifully. The cast move together as one team, which makes the whole thing somehow work!
The Creative Team ensure the many changes of music and costume do a fantastic job in setting the mood and scene of each piece. They lead the audience through the journey. In the same way the lighting creates a street vibe throughout, although I did find sometimes, the lights are too subdued to be able to properly see the performance.
The tremendous amount of energy thrown into the finale creates a surge of applause from the audience, bringing people to their feet. If you want a feel good, inspirational piece of dance theatre, I recommend Beats on Pointe!