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Dancing in your mind's eye

Blaze: The Streetdance Sensation

Birmingham Hippodrome

***** 

AS AN impressionable young boy, I sat with my brother and was mesmerised by Breakdance: The Movie. Such was the draw of what I saw, I was immediately drawn towards the Yellow Pages in search of formal breakdancing lessons.

That was the end of my breakdance career. 

Alas now, not only am I not a breakdancer but I am not even young, so it was with interest that I visited the Birmingham Hippodrome to watch Blaze: The Streetdance Sensation. 

How I wish they'd have had such a night all those years ago. 

With various performances going on in the foyer, prior to the show, it was an opportunity to appreciate the burgeoning talent of Birmingham's youth. Not only did it make the preshow enjoyable but it also heightened the sense of event to the whole night. 

Once the show did start - the audience was sucked into the streetdance world. And what a world, with sets by Es Devlin of RSC fame, it's vivid and witty and apt. 

POISE AND GRACE

The artists themselves - 12 dancers, 3 breakers and 1 MC - are superb. With poise and grace they make me once again believe that I could break. Blaze is so accessible that there's something for everyone and the crowd reflected that in it's eclectic make-up. 

If you loved, So You Think You Can Dance then the presence of Tommy Franzen and Lizzie Gough should sate you thirst. But they're just the tip of an excellent show. 

Running at the Hippodrome from Thursday 7th October until Saturday 9th, it's a recommended spectacle that might make you want to dig out the Yellow Pages at the end of it. 

Recommended: For youngsters & anyone who likes dancing

Running Time: 1hr 30 mins

Sum It Up in a Sentence: It's like someone's tapped into your brain and created a show about how you'd like to dance, then put it to a brilliant soundtrack. To 09-10-10

Theo Clarke 

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