"Street ballet"

A week ago I went to see "Bale De Rua" (translated as "Street Ballet") at the Opera house. The show was a Brazilian dance performance, mixing Hip-Hop, Samba, African dance and Capoeira. It really was entertaining, from the smooth shuffle steps on the scaffold in suave white suits to the demonstrations of tremendous strength in the break dancing (like the Pike the dude's doing above).

There was a singer who provided the music and was accompanied by a very bouncy percussion and brass band. She really wasn't that great but you didn't go for the singing right?

Although the African section was interesting, being a very amateur b-boy, i was focusing on other things. They were technically very strong and showed so much skill in their floor work and freezes. Top-rocking was a bit neglected but I guess that's not what sells tickets.

It was a little weird seeing it in underpants, but it showed it from a different perspective. Breaking in a more conventional sense is executed with a sense of confident arrogance, without the baggy clothes we could see what the body was doing. The dancers were so impressive, they did not look awkward at all doing it with their drought of clothing. I'm sure i'd look like a complete ass with my 'Scottish white' thighs emphasising every wrong movement and evident tan lines.

Capoeira. The martial arts disguised as a dance by the lower classes in Brazil. I actually ran into my friend Jack who finished school the year before me. He told me that he and his friend went there solely for the Capoeira. I don't blame him, it is very cool to see it in person rather than through Eddy Gourdo in Tekken. If you can some how turn a 'flare' into a fighting move without totally stacking it and ending up with a bruised butt, you have some talent.

Overall, it was a wonderful show. It's brilliant to be able expand your dancing experience and I encourage you guys to try watching other styles, because this opened me up to a whole new sect of dancing for me.