Culture

Rating: 4/5

A s one dancer rightly pointed out, Bbeals “sure was no swan lake.” To say the least, Bbeals, performed by the New Zealand dance company, Footnote, and a French company, Danses en l’R, was interesting. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from the show. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

At first, I, along with most of the audience, had no idea what was going on. The production is loosely based on the American film, Flashdance — a film I hadn’t seen before watching Bbeals — so I missed some references during the performance, but with limited dialogue and dancers making strange animal noises, the storyline was difficult to follow from the beginning. However, Bbeals is still an enjoyable performance to watch as it explores some very powerful themes relevant to modern society.

Undeniably, the dancers are very talented.With dancers moving through the crowd and talking to the audience throughout the show, the audience interaction is refreshing but also reminds us that we are merely spectators; this is a powerful technique, as the show quickly goes from a light-hearted atmosphere to being dark and sombre.

There are no barriers for the dancers: sex, nudity, drugs, suicide and other forms of abuse are explicitly shown. Gender inequality and sexual harassment in the workforce are major themes in Bbeals; female dancers are exploited, victimised and physically assaulted by their male counterparts. A “cult” develops around the actress, Jennifer Beals, who played the character, Alex, in Flashdance. The stupidity of celebrity worship is illustrated, calling the followers of their religion “the Maniacs” after a song in the film.

Nothing about this performance is politically correct, but it is a powerful performance by very talented dancers. The ensemble of the dance company is mesmerising and, like true theatre, it leaves the audience wanting to see more long after the curtain closes.