Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Dance N’Speak Easy
Underbelly and Wanted Posse
Venue: Underbelly Bristo Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The choreography includes acrobatic walkovers, lifts, daring acrobatic moves, solos, muscular duets, and exciting ensemble dances. These elements all add to the visual storytelling – which also includes humorous, witty and dramatic moments. The cast work hard and with non-stop energy, nimble feet, rhythm and physical expertise!
Review
Wanted Posse present an energetic dance show based on hip hop dance, breakdance, song and burlesque directed by Philippe Lafeuille, with choreography by Njagui Hagbé set in a New York Speak Easy, evoking the 20s to the present day. Deep rhythmic music beats at the top of the show build excitement for the first dance number of synchronised dance by the five male dancers holding bottles. What follows are a series of different scenes, all set in a Speak Easy bar in New York and each evoking a different aspect of what we would see in a typical bar but with some interesting contemporary twists in some of the dance moves.
The cast of Jessie Perot, Ibrahim Njoya, Martin Thai, Claude Messi-Fouda, Arthur Grandjean, and Marcel Ndjeng are all different in personality and clothing and look like a tight group of friends enjoying themselves out at a New York bar. The scenes are theatrical and physical – demonstrating great strength and rhythm from all of the cast.
With a few chairs and a table on the stage and some colorful lights and set high up above the stage and on the upstage wall, the setting is evocative of a bar. The cast and choreography make full use of the wide stage space, which is quite large. Interesting non-verbal dance scenes take place exploring the individuals, their personalities and relationships which are relatable. For example, one of the scenes shows how some of the guys are competitive in the group and try to out do each other. There is also competition for the glamorous singer in a sparkly dress who dances alluringly with slinky moves. She sings beautifully and is well received by the cast of friends in the bar, as well as by the audience!
Lighting effects are interesting and well used throughout the show adding to the moody and jazzy atmosphere of the bar, especially the purple lighting during the singer’s scene on the table. The fog gives a smoky environment and there’s lots of fascinating choreography with the chairs – featuring a very bendy dancer with phenomenal strength and energy! There are also slower moving dance numbers which are equally effective and enjoyable to watch and are a welcome change of pace!
The choreography – set to beautiful deep rhythmic music throughout – includes acrobatic walkovers, lifts, daring acrobatic moves, solos, muscular duets, and exciting ensemble dances based on hip hop, breakdance and burlesque with song. These elements all add to the visual storytelling – which also includes humorous, witty and dramatic moments. The cast work hard and with non-stop energy, nimble feet, rhythm and physical expertise!
