Movin' Out, Apollo Victoria, London
An affair of the Tharp
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Your support makes all the difference.This is a crossover dance show that clearly has mass appeal, melding rock'n'roll with ballet, all set to the pop songs of Billy Joel. Transferring from Broadway, it has already won a clutch of awards including a Tony for its director-choreographer, Twyla Tharp.
Furthermore, for the London gig, James Fox (from the BBC talent show Fame Academy) is starring in the onstage band, seated at a grand piano and belting out the hit numbers from "Uptown Girl" to "Angry Young Man".
Now, it has to be said the scaffolding set is pretty crummy, relying heavily on banks of brash whirling lights which are meant to make you think the whole thing is blinding. The storyline that Tharp has strung together is also skimpy and corny. We start with a bunch of US high-school buddies and their sweethearts in the Sixties, then the boys go to war (Vietnam, we assume). One gets killed and the others are mentally scarred. After a rough patch and faintly silly dream sequence, they find love again and mutual forgiveness.
It's the dancing that is really terrific. Ranging from exuberant teenage bopping to pirouettes to punky flailing and thrashing, the choreography is often thrilling and emotionally charged, executed by Tharp's lead dancers - Ron Todorowski, Holly Cruikshank and David Gomez - with panache and breathtaking athleticism. KB
To 17 July, 0870 4000 889
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