One amazing performance I saw at the Uitmarkt was - get this - a hip-hop breakdance opera! It was called Monteverdish.
Based on the opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi, it was performed by the dance/theater/music company ISH ("the name comes from the suffix ‘ish’, which is added at the end of a word when something cannot be precisely defined because it’s both one thing and another") and an "international atelier for innovative music theatre," VocaalLAB.
A hip-hop breakdance opera sounded like a crazy combination, but I wanted to see as much dance as I could at the Uitmarkt. It did not disappoint! There were about 4 opera singers and 4 dancers, who all interacted with each other-the dancers dancing around the singers, the singers joining in the movement... so neat. The storyline involved love and war, of course.
There was such passion in both the singers and the dancers, which might have been what brought it together so well: both opera and (break)dancing involve PASSION. Which is something I definitely learned while dancing at SMC- you have to have passion, and you have to be into your movement, music, performance, whatever, if you want the audience to buy it... and love it as much as you do! These two groups combined had that down. Very professional. Especially the lead female singer (in black & white)- she was amazing, and participated the most in the dance portions.
What an awesome mixture of art. You can actually see the whole thing here (about a minute in)- but it's not nearly as good as in person.
No comments:
Post a Comment