One Week Later...

I've been putting this off for almost a week, but I feel it is my duty to comment on tabú.

The beginning of the show seemed quite promising, but it very quickly fell into a pattern of monotony, both musically and in structure. If I had to describe the show using as few words as possible it would be "chaos without content".

The transitions, as well as several scenes, all seemed to consist of yelling while swinging on/hanging off of something, most acts struck me as lacking in both technique and artistic, and while there was definitely an atmosphere, it felt more like they were trying to create a certain universe and didn't quite get there.

The German wheel 'act' was simply insulting. I know I'm a tough crowd when it comes to German wheel, but with the exception of his back salto, all the skills seemed plucked from the first session of the first year of circus school, with about as much form to match.

I did like the trapeze number and the fellow who did Chinese pole. Their acts had a much softer vibe (and music), which I'm sure helped them to stand out, but most importantly, both of these artists showed a maturity that I found the others lacked. While the Chinese pole guy may not have had the greatest technique, he had a beautiful, fluid way of moving and great presence. The fixed trapeze number was definitely worth seeing.

Because it really irked me, I need to add that the effect of lowering the apparatus to make it look like the artist just did a really big drop is effective the first time, but the next 10 times, it just makes me wonder why the artists aren't doing drops themselves?

I like the concept of having the audience move around (there were no seats, and ushers placed the public according to the scene) and I thought the Tohu was used brilliantly, though I find it unfortunate that the space outshone the actual show. There were some nice images and some good moments, but not enough to make the show worthwhile.