Blaze, unlike many of the street dance performances I’ve seen in the last year, didn’t really bother with a narrative to tie its action together; instead it was dance, dance, dance all of the way through. There was a group of about 10 dancers, male and female, that did a lot of the crowd performances, and then a trio of men I imagined as the core of the group who did lots of fancy solo work. Mostly the group did a lot of combo group moves and solos, with a bit of “women versus men” as well as some “guys admire girl/girls admire guys.” There was, as usual, little couple dancing, though at one point there was a duet performed on a couch that I thought was good – reminicent of the recent (ballet) but actually more connected.
Among the women, my favorites were a woman with short black hair I imagined being from Eastern Europe (Lizzie), who moved like butter and had one of the most amazing solos ever, in the center of the backdrop, the universe spinning away from her (via animated projections) while she just got her groove on. It made me want to dance, I tell you. There was aslo a very thin (but of course muscular) black girl who swirled and snapped like she was made all of ball bearings; I couldn’t help but think of Spinderella in Into the Hoods. There was also much ot be said for a handsome white guy with a cleft chin who was utterly, utterly ripped and could hold himself off the floor with his hands with the greatest of ease.
Even more impressive were the trio of guys, two black and one who back home I would have imagined as “Hispanic” but really, who knows? (They announced where he was from at the end of the show but everyone was clapping and shouting too loudly for me to hear it). The best of the three was Nadeem, who had incredibly powerful and tight moves – holding himself on one arm, flipping sideways, I can’t even describe how he moved very well because so much of it seemed to be denying the laws of physics and physiology. Once I figured out how good he was, I kept my eyes on him whenever he was on stage.
Then, late in the day, a big African-American guy showed up (Kane, I think, from America). He actually shuddered and shook so tightly as he walked that it looked like I was watching one of of those old silent movies, or that I just wasn’t able to see him right. He came back for several featured dances, my favorite being “Atomic Vegetables,” in which he did a dance for all kinds of food – not just mashed potato and chicken, but broccoli, beans, celery, and ham.The rest of the group was dancing with him and having a great time, and I wanted to jump out of my seat and dance along.
Overall, I thought this show could have benefited from more of a through-line instead of just being a bunch of random bits – guy walks out of a fridge, girls listen to music on headphones and dance together, guy and girl tap dance on suitcases (though I was excited about the tap dancing) – and the final bit, with three “contestants” in a “reality dance show” wasn’t too good – but the dancing seemed pretty good overall, and the crowd was roaring as always. And the whole thing was done by about 9:10, actually getting me home in time to not be exhausted the next day – perfect for a weeknight! I look forward to seeing what this group comes up with as they mature more.
(This review is for a performance that took place on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010. Blaze continues at The Peacock Theater through March 28th, 2010. Please also see Clement Crisp’s far more coherent review in The Financial Times.)
Tags: Blaze, peacock theater, sadler's wells, street dance
Life in the Cheap Seats - Webcowgirl's London theatre reviews 
March 19, 2010 at 3:14 pm |
Your review is well justified. Great show, but disconnected and random without a storyline. At the same time, it is just to do about the dancing. So it’s either/or for most.
Breakers (b-boys):
Mouse = Philipino (not Hispanic, although I sort of see why you’d think that!)
Neguin = Light skin Brazilian
Machine = The macho one!
The MC was DJ Hazze (pronounced ‘hays’) and his style was a type of popping called ticking – flexing and relaxing his muscles to every beat of the music – it’s a really difficult technique to master!
Lizzie Gough was the dancer with the bob hairstyle that did the solo with the ball of light. She was a finalist on BBC So You Think You Can Dance earlier this year.
I can see why it was difficult to hear the MC announce each dancer in turn, Wednesday night was really loud! If you didn’t get your hands on a programme then the other dancer bios are on http://www.blazetheshow.com – I’m curious to find out who this “utterly ripped” dancer was!
And on a final note (and a blatant plug) I embedded all the video podcasts for Blaze on my website, so you should check them out – there are over 21 episodes!
March 19, 2010 at 3:26 pm |
If I could add one thing, it would be for there to be some time for the audience to dance at the end! The energy was high and we were up for it!
Hazze was amazing, he was like a snake charmer or something – I just couldn’t believe what he was doing.
Ross was the ripped one. He was just shockingly hot. Not that I was looking.
March 19, 2010 at 4:05 pm |
Your review could have helped with some of the names involved – much easier to read than that “black guy” or “the ripped one”.
I haven’t seen the show yet as will be seeing it on Thursday but I’m surprised they didn’t let Tommy Franzen take off his shirt as well, it caused a stir last time he did in SYTYCD.
March 19, 2010 at 4:17 pm |
I tried to write down the names when they introduced people at the end but I couldn’t hear them properly, so I had to do my best.
March 19, 2010 at 4:19 pm |
Seriously, do you expect me to know performers names through my psychic powers? Even at the ballet where I’m seeing the same people over and over again you can’t do it just on sight, and for this, it’s not like they were wearing shirts with identifying details on them.
March 19, 2010 at 5:11 pm |
Not through psychic powers but through research or just the plain asking and nosying around? *shrug* I thought as you are obviously critiquing shows, you could take a critique yourself. Please don’t be so defensive and don’t take my comment the wrong way because it isn’t meant to be such.
I just think it’s less jarring and more polite to use names, not to mention it sounds professional too.
March 19, 2010 at 5:49 pm |
I certainly agree that it’s more polite unfortunately I’m not a professional and usually have to write these things on my phone as I go home from a show. And again, with dancers, it is very hard to match names to faces – much easier for actors who are referred to by a name on stage and can be cross-referenced in a cast list (usually free).