Choreographer: The DECA Crew

Artistic Director: Jennifer Weber

Music Mixed by: DJ Boo

Reviewer: Flip Miller

The Public Reviews Rating:

 

The normally sedate Theatre Royal was rocked to its very foundations last night. The all-female, Brooklyn-based, hip-hop dance group Decadance exploded onto the stage.

The stage is dominated by a screen that at times projected film images as a back drop for the dancers to dance in front of.  However, although some of the images were deliberately out of focus the rest of the films were also out of focus and became a distraction.

The show starts with a film homage to some of the great and the good from the world of hip-hop.  This went on slightly too long as the audience were eager to see the dancers.

The first on stage were Megan Alfonso and AdakuUtah. They started the piece called 4, which is a nod to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. They were perfectly in time with each other and their movements were beat perfect. Particularly subtle, but still endearing, were the two hands making a heart and then breaking.  This is an image particularly popular with today’s hip hop and R&B dancers and DJs.  Following their duet Ann Sylvia Clark and Taeko Koji joined in and then continued the piece as the Fall Concerto.  As well as the dancing the expressions are also an important part of the dance and Koji’s face was very expressive. Although this dance was new to their repertoire for this year it was a very slick and professional performance, as were all the pieces.

To end the first half the crew did an ensemble piece mostly lit up by lights attached to their clothes. The effect was slightly marred by a lighting malfunction on one of the dancers tops.  So, for the majority of the piece you were left watching a pair of legs dancing.  However, the dancer, as the saying goes “Kept Calm and Carried On”.  In fact making you wonder if indeed it was part of the act.

The second act was dominated by a piece called When The Sky Breaks 3D. We were all given cardboard 3D glasses. When the girls were dancing and you were wearing the specs it gives the impression of a very bad 3D film from the beginning of that movie genre. The back drop was used to good effect with the 3D.  However, the piece went on for too long and eye strain became a problem.  You do not need the glasses to appreciate the piece and after a while most of the audience ditched the glasses.

The musical arrangement by DJ Boo was excellent. The mix of classical and modern music worked well.  However, the music was too loud and the thumping bass notes carried on with you long after you have left the theatre.

With the excellent dancing, booming music and out of focus film Decadance was certainly a night to remember but perhaps not to be repeated.

Touring Nationally until 16 October

Tags: Adaku, Ann-Sylvia Clark, Decadance, DJ Boo, Georgina Phelp, Jennifer Weber, Megan Alfonso, Octobury Fair, Taeko Koji, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Utah