The Brazilians are well-known for worldwide for their
colourful and exuberant carnivals and parties. Giving a Brazilian flavour to a
family celebration evening seemed the perfect recipe. We celebrated in style by
attending Baila Brazil at the Royal
Festival Hall.
On Saturday 15th August the Balé de Rua dance company staged their final performance in London.
Oh yes, it was loud, colourful, energetic and exuberant. The show was as The Scotsman described:
"Stunning. If only, I'd had a sixth
star at my disposal."
Baila Brazil has travelled the world since it opened in
Sydney, Australia. Over 500,000 performances in 13 cities later, it was
London's turn. The company has come a long way. Born of an art project in the
favelas, its dancers were discovered at the Biennale
de la Danse in Lyon in 2002. Today's professional dancers all trained in
the project's free schools.
I was somewhat nonplussed at the
beginning. A troupe of male dancers dressed as women was totally unexpected.
For the majority of the evening, they were more scantily clad than the two
women. That made a pleasant change.
The dancing was simply amazing. I didn't realise that the
human body could even bend in such ways - let alone dance in them.
Alexia Falcão Lopes had a great voice. She
kept going throughout the noisy, unrelenting show without showing any strain in
her voice. She even sang centre-stage without flinching as acrobatics were
performed about her ears.
The range of dancing was incredible. I particularly enjoyed
the breakdancing. I don't remember seeing a show before in which
so much was danced upside down. The head-spinning on a raised platform was breathtaking.
A number of cultural influences seemed to be at play in the
dances. The slavery scenes were particularly powerful. They stood out for their
change of tone and pace.
I lost track of how many encores there were. The
performers didn't want to stop singing and dancing. They still had energy and
enthusiasm to burn. They came out into the audience to dance. We all clapped
and sang along as invited.
The drummers were brilliant. You could
feel the rhythm pulsating through the floor, your feet, ears and even in your
heart during the show.
We could still feel the Brazilian beat and energy, as we
spilled out smiling into a warm summer evening on London's South Bank.
Just can't wait for the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. We'd all better start preparing our superlatives for the spectacles to come.
Just can't wait for the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. We'd all better start preparing our superlatives for the spectacles to come.
For information on Anglicity's content writing services, email karen@anglicity.com
No comments:
Post a Comment