TUTU at the Peacock Theatre

★★★

“all six dancers look mighty fine in mini tutus and costumes, and all have beautiful classical technique – and legs”

Tutu is dance-theatre from the French dance company Chicos Mambo, performed by a company of six male dancers who don’t take themselves too seriously.

The evening opens with what is certainly a female silhouette (Corinne Barbara), wearing a white tutu as she spins. The curtains open and the six male dancers of the company, wearing huge pink tulle trouser tutus, dance and lollop and fall to a classical ballet soundtrack.

There were some stand out dances, as the scenes moved from classical to contemporary, aerial to ballroom with a nod to Strictly and Dirty Dancing, to street dance and a Russian female gymnastics team with hoops and ribbons, all performed by the six lovely dancers, with individual physiques and characters.

The title Tutu is a nod to ballet’s most classical costume and all six dancers (Marc Behra, David Guasgua, Julien Mercier, Kamil Pawel Jasinski, Vincent Simon and Vincenzo Veneruso) look mighty fine in mini tutus and costumes, and all have beautiful classical technique – and legs!

What does not land so well is some of the very French comedy within the piece – with some difficult moments to watch involving a leak prop and tutu like vegetable headdresses on the dancers.

Tutu is choreographed by the French company’s Artistic Director Philippe Lafeuille. Tutu was created ten years ago, but this is its first residency in London, and it does feel somewhat dated. Chicos Mambo was created in 1994, when it would have been a genre defining dance company, with its clever subversion of gender norms in dance. But today, if male dancers are to take on the female dance steps en pointe in female costume, then they need to dance it better than the competition! It worked and was fun when the male company looked in pain dancing en pointe but to pastiche and try to take it to the next level, is just not possible, unless they can surpass the classical female ballet dancer, which they can’t, however hard they work. The aerial ballet solo, literally never got off the ground, firmly placing the dancer en pointe at the end of his not so beautifully arched feet. You wanted him to fly – but maybe that was the message a male dancer can’t fly en pointe….

Some of the more exciting scenes were those that didn’t necessarily include slapstick moments, like the Nappy ballet with the company all in nappy tutus being babies taking their first steps and moves in a beautifully funny choreographed piece – which sadly fell flat as the babies did, when it ran out of ideas. A lovely Dance of the Cygnets’, with the quartet dressed in duck costumes with beaks, again with very funny and clever choreography! A stunning Swan Lake solo, purely of the sinewed muscular back and arms of a dancer, as the back frame and quivering arms worked their magic, with strong lighting by Dominique Mabileau, assisted by Guillaume Tesson.

The highlight of the evening, for me, was the stunning solo from the bearded dancer, dressed in mini tutu and a rugby helmet. This was classical dance interspersed with the physically macho and vociferous grunts, as he flipped into the New Zealand All Blacks Māori haka war dance. It was unique and caught your breath as he switched between the two, becoming confused and fused into one. This would have been fabulous to have developed this concept with the full company….

The Artistic Director Philippe Lafeuille came out to take a bow at the curtain call and stayed on stage getting the audience up and dancing and singing. And with his beautiful French accent he told us that when life is not so good be happy and be TUTU-fied. It was a shame that this fun and lovely moment with him had not been the warm up act.

TUTU

★★★

Peacock Theatre

TUTU at the Peacock Theatre

★★★

“all six dancers look mighty fine in mini tutus and costumes, and all have beautiful classical technique – and legs”