Fuerzabruta

Stunning, exhilarating, visceral, creative. Phenomenological!

I have been dying to see De La Guarda since I found out that they had created a brand new show. Well, actually, I have wanted to see De La Guarda since the last time I saw it, back in 2004 with Villa Villa. So on my blink-or-you'll-miss it trip up to New York, I had to see it.

And it was totally worth it! Even seeing the show by myself was a total blast, because so much of the show is about collectivity and audience participation. I would say that the theme is "Breaking through the Boundaries." Guy on treadmill bursting through a wall of boxes, watching people just pass him by. A confined "office" exploded as 6 people dance vitally. A giant circle of mylar with people on either side. Two girls running across a mylar curtain that only heightens the drama with the different colors in the lighting. And of course, the water ceiling. Holy crap! Watching these girls skitter and surf across the water above, interacting with each other and the audience. Culminating in a big jump-around dance party.

De La Guarda single-handedly made me understand Phenomenology, especially in terms of theatre. It plays with all of your senses and awareness, forces you to use your body and interact. Feeds on the collective energy. The lights are very saturated and bright, occasionally strobed. You hear not only the throbbing soundscape, but the sounds of the mylar, the breath and stomps of the dancers. You smell the fog as it surrounds you. You feel the water, the bass, the other bodies around you. And the water ceiling makes you feel as if you are underwater, which is a unique physical experience. The show takes place in so many dimensions, in front, behind, above, etc, maximizing on the space. It is impossible to be passive.

Not unlike Blue Man Group, which I saw on my last night in Chicago. Something I had been meaning to see for ages, since I know Blue Men. Total blast. It was proscenium, but funny, unexpected, and visually exciting. It made you totally reconsider paint, PVC pipe and marshmallows. They used audience members, violated expectations and used rolls of paper and black light. It was genuinely FUN. In the same way that I stood agape watching Fuerzabruta, jumping around and dancing in the rain, I left Blue Man chuckling and thinking.

I love theatre like this. I wish I was that creative. Instead, I can just encourage everyone with a pulse to see it. Old people, young people, non-theatre people - everyone was getting into it! And if anyone wants to go, I will totally see it again.

on iTunes: "Beautiful" - Goldfrapp