Review: Decadance Theatre

Decadance Theatre, established in 2004 and from New York, arrived in Blackpool on the 1st October with a “boom”, that you would expect from
B Girl performers.

Having photographed contemporary breakdance groups, I thought I knew what to expect – I was wrong. Decadance Theatre opened their performance with a short film featuring female greats from HipHop history: Queen Latifah, Salt N Pepa to name a few. Deca thanked them for their involvement in music.

From here the show opened with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons; a contrast to the opening film.  The dance, however, was in keeping with a “street” feel with strong breaking and popping elements.  There was a sense of classical dance moves and graceful, flowing motion crossed with the popping and locking of street dance. The girls themselves were beautiful and easily engaged the audience with a mesmerising performance.

The City Breathing followed the opening segment, music mixed by DJ BOO, a DJ who has worked with artists such as Ghost Face Killah and Kool G Rap. The dancers followed, transfixing in electric blue suits and dancing in darkness as silhouettes. It felt like they were mimicking the feel of the city at night, the nightclub or the electric beat of the funky “get down on the get down” funk soul sister sound.

Following the interval “When The Sky Breaks” invited the audience to wear 3D glasses and experience a sensory overload as the dancers become part of the sound, the set and the music. This was an all encompassing piece which drew the spectator into a visual and auditory feast with the elemental sensation of water. This fluid performance combined impressive vogue elements and allowed the dancers to move in a way that flowed all around, up, down and inside your head and heart, making your feet tap as your head bobbed and your left shoulder dropped.

I’m pretty sure these beautiful, strong and talented women are achieving their goal of combining “street” dance with classical elements, proving that tough can also be gorgeous, and redefining the image of women in Hip Hop.

You can find out more about Decadance Theatre on their website at http://decadancetheatre.wordpress.com