(Reviewed by John Glennie)
This show is part of the Adelaide Festival (not the Fringe) and was held at the Odeon Theatre in Norwood. I am a huge fan of dance, but this one definitely left me wanting! I have a good imagination and can be quite creative, however I was totally confused as to what the theme was about.
As the name Black Velvet suggests, much of the show was in low light, with what little lighting there was being focussed on the two dancers: American Shamel Pitts and Brazilian Mirelle Martins. I think it was supposed to represent finding that elusive eternal true love and finding beauty in the human body. Both dancers have superb bodies with the promotional material stating “shaved heads and naked torsos offer an intimate celebration of the body; the dance shifting from formalised patterns to uncontrolled corporeal explosions”. It was tastefully done, but many of the scenes really seemed to drag on and were overly drawn-out with a cacophony of techno-noise.
My partner and I were tempted to sneak out early but, being so dark, there was a risk of falling down the stairs! Perhaps it is just me, as some of the very mixed opinions we overhead on the way out were “superb”, “outstanding” and “amazing” – along with many similar words as to what we thought of it. We both said it was an hour of our lives we would never get back but there were many who seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.
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