All quiet on the set

A cornerstone of La Fete’s dance annual programme, with French shows imported and Bangkok battles organised as part of the festival, hip-hop never fails to delight. This year’s featured performance proved yet again that the popular dance has spun way beyond the street and become a fully-fledged performing art in its own right.

Last Wednesday at Aksra Theatre, “Silence On Tourne!” (“Quiet, Action!”) by the internationally acclaimed Pockemon Crew took the audience on a journey through the musical films of the 1930s and 1940s that influenced the early hip-hop moves. The show also paid homage to the world’s first motion picture by the Lumiere Brothers, a native of Lyon where the dance company is based. 

The basic set was already on the stage when the audience arrived and consisted of such standard movie paraphernalia as a white screen, a smaller black screen, and a dolly track that stretched across the entire width of the stage. This minimalist set allowed the dancers to truly stand out and while other set pieces like clothing racks and metal frames were constantly brought in and taken out during the show, at no time did they distract from the action on stage. Quite the contrary in fact, as they were incorporated with the dancers’ movements as if they were extensions of limbs.

Although “Silence On Tourne” was labelled hip-hop, it offered far more than just one genre. The crew also displayed a harmonious combination of acrobatics, swing dance, contemporary dance, comedy and mime as they led the audience through a range of emotions. 

The show started on a playful note, with the dancers portraying a film crew greeting and making fun of each other with simple hip-hop moves. Excitement went up a notch as a dancer broke into multiple headspins and flips in all directions, sending the initially quiet audience into a rapture of cheers and applause. The tension rose even higher as dancers leapt onto their fellow troupe members’ shoulders and showcased their effortless balance by standing up straight.

The audience also had moments to relax as the troupe performed light-hearted sketches and showcased some flowing movements. Halfway into the show, a dancer pushed an oversized chest onto the stage and started fumbling through it for something he never found. His antics as he pulled out useless objects like cheap metal plates one after another provoked laughter, even more so as he began entangled in tinsel, then amazement as in the blink of an eye he morphed from physical comedy to a fluid pas de deux with the decorative strips.

The most memorable scene was a solo by a charming, bearded dancer whose isolation techniques were the best I have seen. He began with robotic moves that perfectly matched the accents of the melodies, before exploding into an extravaganza of body isolations that saw him moving his neck, shoulders, limbs and spine as if each joint was detached from the other. This testament to how far a trained human body can go was heightened even further as he stepped in front of the backlit white screen and duplicated his precise steps in shadow form.

Yet as impressive as the troupe’s physical prowess and creative mix of form were, there was room for improvement in the theatrical composition of the piece. Some scenes were too short and abrupt and the much-anticipated scene involving the dolly was an anti-climax, as the dancers did little more than form tableaux on a wheeled platform that was pushed from left and right.

The performance ended with the customary improvised hip-hop finale and featured several of the Thai dancers who had participated in La Fete’s battle the Sunday before. 

Unlike much of the contemporary dance usually presented at festivals, hip-hop exudes a refreshing sense of camaraderie between dancers, as well as among the audience who happily clapped along and exchanged friendly smiles.