© Stepane Kerrad 'Bale de Rua' reviews more Gareth Vile reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months)

Fervid reviews have claimed that Bale de Rua expresses some quintessence of Brazil’s personality: a rather strange over-statement for a show that is, in so many ways, so rather soulless. It is a visual feast. The dancers are both expressive and athletic. The live drumming and rapping are exciting. Yet in spite of this, the performance never reveals any depth- even the section on slavery is a showpiece rather than thoughtful.

What Bale de Rue does well- fast-paced action, dramatic stunts and delighting the audience- it does incredibly well. It offers light entertainment and physical excellence, funky grooves and witty asides. The use of paint as a costume is intriguing, evoking images of slave markets and made-up football fans; the brief drag section is amusing. Even an episode based around veneration for Our Lady rapidly becomes a moment of exhilarating trickery, as the cloaked statue is revealed to be a spinning dancer.

Bale de Rua
© Stepane Kerrad

It is churlish to want more- a sense of melancholy or characterisation that goes beyond a particular dancing ability, perhaps the odd political statement that isn’t simplistic and trite. Bale de Rua is a good humoured show, a wonderful introduction to dance for innocents of all ages, and only the ill-humoured temper of this critic could demand anything deeper.