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Last night I saw Bruno Beltrão / Grupo de Rua at Dance Theater Workshop. Hands down, it is one of the best pieces that I have ever seen at DTW! H3 features a series of solos, duets, and group movement selections, which fuse hip hop with contemporary dance. The set and atmosphere are simple and offer subtle qualifiers, such as a warm window of light that moves from one place to another without anyone noticing, the faint hum of cars on a street, and a shiny, almost wet-looking and sneaker-scuffed area that has three sides outlined with a glow-in-the-dark rope.
The piece starts off relatively slow, gaining more and more momentum and power. Without any music for the first third of the piece, explosions of movement (all of which are composed of hip hop mixed with krumping, capoereia, and quarky gestures) come only ever couple of minutes in between more subtle conversations and phrases. But when they do come - wow! These dancers move with grace, power, and force. They are all truly beautiful movers. I will highlight one performer that consistently delivers not only energetic and crisp dancing, but also a focus and commitment nothing short of brilliant; Danilo Pereira's presence is undeniable.
Each section notably ends as another begins with dramatic shifts in lighting and more aggressive, waves of dancers passing trough the space with agility and breath. To add to the heightened level of anticipation and energy, comes music that fuels the fire. And when I say heightened level of anticipation I am referring to the increasingly dramatic and forceful periods of time that I am waiting for the dancers to actually make contact. They rarely actually touch each other, but still build up an incredible kinetic flow just waiting to be released through the touch/contact with another. This describes what the piece is exploring on a more intellectual level; boundaries and space. Beltrão has me sitting on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, wanting, cheering, screaming inside for the next point of contact to occur. Sometimes it takes a while and all I can do is grow more excited, more hopeful.
The most poignant moment was during the third section when the men start to run in backwards circles outlining the floor. One at a time two dancers heave-ho on a third dancer's, the runner's, arms and throw them backwards into a sprint. Tears came to my eyes. I could watch this for hours. It was the perfect segway to the final section, which draws nicely from earlier, softer moments and relationships. RUN to DTW and see if in the end Beltrão respects the boundaries he has set through the entirety of the piece, or if maybe he too, releases some anticipation.
Image Credit: Yi-Chun Wu
NOW Through Feb 23. Dance Theater Workshop 219 West 19th Street