Ballet Revolucion
A dazzling performance which captures Cuba's joie de vivre, and its people's passion for music and dance.
Overview
Well, I think my enduring memory of Ballet Revolucion may be my friend, who is in a long-term relationship, exclaiming at the top of her voice, just as the audience went quiet, "seeing all those chiselled bodies is making me want to be promiscuous again!", followed by a fit of giggles from both of us.
The fact that we laughed out loud, though, not only made it more fun but also is testament to how out of the mould this ballet experience is, and her comment describes just how mesmerising it was to watch these lithe bodies cut breathtaking shapes across the stage. Instead of the usual respectful silence, it was liberating to be able to whoop and cheer whenever a dancer performed a particularly stunning feat of technical brilliance, as some of the dancers' infectious enthusiasm and Latin exuberance spilt over into the audience.
The show, which features some of Cuba's most talented ballet dancers, hits the State Theatre in Sydney after making its world premiere in Perth. Producers John Lee and Mark Brady enlisted the help of acclaimed choreographers, Roclan Gonzalez Chavez (Cuba) and Aaron Cash (Australia), to create a work which captures Cuba's joie de vivre, and its people's passion for music and dance. Borrowing as it does from influences as diverse as R&B and hip hop, acrobatics and martial arts, Ballet Revolucion fuses these elements expertly with both traditional ballet and Cuban folklore dance to create an eclectic medley individual of dance pieces.
The entire performance is accompanied by a full band, who belt out a diverse mix of music with skill and panache. The sounds span from flamenco and Cuban Jazz to hits by artists such as Enrique Iglesis, Shakira, Santana, Ricky Martin, Usher, Beyonce, Gotan Project and, one of the highlights of the show, Prince. 'Purple Rain' is surely a song meant for interpretive modern ballet?
The performance certainly was revolutionary in terms of its wonderful juxtapositions of music and dance culture, though perhaps the gaps between Cuban beats and urban pop were just a little too large to allow it to be truly coherent. Nevertheless, the choreography was superb, the dancing extraordinary, most of the music infectious (R&B aside) and the atmosphere absolutely electric. A dazzling performance that will leave you reeling.
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