Masters of Choreography: Beats on Pointe
Peacock Theatre, London
Seen on February 20th, 2018
Reviewed by Jade Prince
★★★
I wanted to love this show so much due to its unique collaboration of two drastically different dance styles.
Beats on Pointe is the creation of Masters of Choreography which has been very successful in Australia and now pirouetting its way over to London. This dance show brings street dance and ballet to the same stage to demonstrate how dance styles worlds apart can be brought into the same space.
I was very excited reading about this show and believed that it would have great potential. However these initial thoughts were soon put away once the show had begun.I didn’t hate the show. I thought that the majority of the dancing was beautiful and it was very nice to watch but I did want to see more ballet. I’m a sucker for a bit of ballet! Especially pointe work.
I didn’t like the comedy sketches thrown in between. I appreciate that the dancers need a break in between energetic numbers but there are ways to do it. A bit of well written comedy here and there is greatly welcomed however a lot of this was bordering on the type of material that you would see at a holiday village like Butlins. It was rather cringeworthy.
A lot of stories were presented through different numbers, some less obvious than others with some really in your face. There were a few which felt incredibly cheesy, the old couple, and I personally found that detracted from the enjoyment of the dancing.
The first act didn’t really seem to have a direction. There was no real story moving from dance to dance. Actually, the whole show didn’t really have an overall story. Well, not one that I could see. Act one consisted of a lot of the cheesy audience participation i. e. “How are you doing tonight, London?” and then there was this one section I wish I could have heard more of. The section, which I shall title the “stomp inspired section” was beautiful! I could hear all the beats they were making however I feel amplifying that sound would have really benefited and made it consistent with the rest of the music. Everything else was very loud and then all of the sudden it went very quiet. It would have been great to have those beats ripping through the theatre!
A few of the other elements thrown into act one seemed redundant. I can’t fault the talent from the drummer and singer but it didn’t fit in with the rest of the show. Evidently just a filler.
Something which was bugging me throughout the show was the timings. Timing is key in dance and there were a few of the female dancers who seemed to be a beat behind the others in a lot of the routines. Although in the much faster, street dance sections the timing was there and everything was so incredibly precise!
It was rather nice how they experimented with the use of lights within the costume. This produced a very nice effect on stage.
The second act got a lot better and lost all the unneeded comedy which was nice. My only criticism of the second act (along with the timing which occurred throughout the show) was how rushed it felt. There were no real pauses in between the dances or any scene/sound transitions. As soon as one group finished performing the next ran straight out.
The majority of it was great to watch and of which I really enjoyed. If they removed all the ‘cheese’ I would probably go back to see it. I really appreciate the amount of work those dancers put into that show every single night. Its just a shame that it hasn’t found the way to utilise all of its potential.
Beats on point is running until February 24th at the Peacock theatre.
For more information about the show and for tickets, head to: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2018/masters-of-choreography-beats-on-pointe/
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