Reframe The Streets

This participatory dance piece encouraged the audience to join in the show as it moved across the town, ending up at a flash mob performance in the market place.

We followed two performers up Regents Road, one chap in a full body black lycra suit, face and all, music celebrating life playing from a small pouch on his hip and a woman in a black plastic rain mac, black wellies, rain hat, and suit case  from which escaped raucous laughter and classical music. The pair walked the boulevard dancing and high fiving passers-by, shaking their hands, having their photos taken by a small army of photographers. It was playful and friendly and apart from a mardy biker in a pub, everyone was willing to participate. Beyond this there wasn’t much more. It was simple and unpretentious but I couldn’t help but wonder whether there was more that the two could do, if there were more games they could play.

I loved their music boxes, which were nicely disguised and the sound was excellent. I particularly enjoyed the manic laughter that emanated from the woman’s suitcase as she led us towards the market place to join a motley ensemble of characters for an improvised flash dance. There was a cyclist in full cycling gear and dapper shoes, a suited man with a bright red helmet, a woman in dressing gown, a workman with a broom, amongst others twisting and turning to the music whilst picking members of the audience to join them. They took their partners through a series of ensemble tableaux including a can-can line dance, finishing in a central image, before it all dissolved away.

All in all there was not much to this piece. The walkabout element of the show was never challenging and never wanted to challenge. Beyond the costumes, which were uniformly excellent, and of course the fabulous speakers they each carried, there didn’t seem to have been much investigation about what the performance. The same too could be said of the flash mob which was a little shambolic. Perhaps it might have been nice for each performer to have taught their partner some simple moves rather than just wafting or spinning and the group images felt they had been rushed. With just a bit more thought this could have offered quite a lot more.

Xavier says in his piece that the walkabout was never challenging. But I would say that the purpose was not to challenge but to connect. I followed the same two up Regent Road. Yes they were giving high fives and having photos taken. It was not overtly challenging. It may not have left the audience remarkably changed.

However it left most people who interacted with them grinning. Each person who they interacted with, or who saw them interacting on the street or who saw them dancing would have thought ‘what is that?’ They may have smiled, they may have laughed, they may have even thought ‘how stupid!’ But they all would have had some silliness in their day. They would have seen something out of the ordinary, which would have changed their day for the better and they may now think of Regents Road differently every time they walk down it. And that’s something to be commended.

There were people who did not want to interact and rejected a high five was offered. But this only made for a more enjoyable show for other spectators.

The flash mob was fun. The focus of it was to get spectators to join in and it succeeded. The dance moves were easy and the performers’ costumes were ridiculous enough that members of the public were happy to join in, as they wouldn’t be silliest thing in focus.

There were a lot of people refusing to join in and actively moving away. I don’t know if they were just being grumpy. Perhaps the performers had not worked quite hard enough to ‘get them’ at that moment. Or perhaps it was more important to concentrate on those who were drawn in. Many of the people watching in the square had not been on the previous walk. If they had, I think they may have joined in more readily.

I do agree with Xavier and think most of the elements could have been pushed further. However, if the purpose of this piece was to create a fun spectacle on the streets, it certainly succeeded.