A group of 6 strong men and one woman dance to mostly rock music. What could be wrong? It should work but doesn’t.
Rock the Ballet wants to be a mesh between ballet and the kind of choreographed dance done by and behind pop stars mixed with a little acrobatics.
There is no doubt that the dancers are all classically trained. The leaps and turns are executed with precision. And endless repetition. But it doesn’t quite come together as they have hoped.
Starting with the first number with “Tonight’s going to be a good night” as background it sorely lacked the precision and unity anticipated. It felt woefully under-rehearsed.
And not all of the dancers have the skills to interpret and translate the ballet moves into the rock part of the dance. Not “bad” as the title would suggest. Others miss the comedic moments.
The woman is the Bad Boys’ greatest and underused asset. She’s a beautiful dancer, looks comfortable in the ballet and pop world, breathes the humour and interprets it with the skill of an actor.
And the humour that is choreographed into the dance falls flat. They are like one-note jokes. The dancers are paired up with inflatable dolls.
Maybe ballet and rock are two different dance forms that do not marry well. Rock The Ballet strives for much and misses on most counts.