This ‘Hollywood’ is a toe-tapping, hip-swinging, pulse-quickening show

The latest show of Cape Town musical theatre academy Lamta is rather prosaically called Hollywood, but Tinseltown is merely the starting point for a packed programme of fiery, energetic and often edgy and innovative dance numbers. There are also a handful of straight singing numbers, presumably inserted to dial down the adrenaline a bit, so one can cool off. Because as much the audience is seated for the performance, one can’t help but feel the heat rising from the stage. It’s a pulse-quickener, and much of the time it’s not only acrobatic and athletic but also emotionally diverting, whether tinged by some strong nostalgic force or evocative of a clever thematic twist that reaches much deeper than simply getting the steps right or moving rhythmically to a beat.

There are stories beneath the surface, there’s a freshness to the choreography, and there’s evidence throughout of young artists keen to communicate with their entire bodies. There are a few frisky numbers, too.

There’s a tribute to Tom Cruise’s legendary solo dance number from Risky Business, for example. Choreographed by Duane Alexander and performed by Ben Stannard, Euan Frankim, Matt Blerk and Schyler van der Westhuizen, it’s a total blast. They’re in socks, jocks and shirts and they are on fire as they groove and grind to Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock ’n’ Roll. It’s a wild, fun-filled, energetic rush, cheekily executed with all the charge of a rock concert. They give in to the moment, understand that they’re there to tantalise and enthral and do what great performers do: give themselves entirely to their performance, forget themselves and let the characters they’re inhabiting take charge — proof that four Tom Cruises are better than one.

Alexander is also responsible for some of the most technically difficult choreography in the line-up, including a pas de deux between Dylan Janse van Rensburg and Gemma Bisseker that requires some hold-your-breath acrobatic lifts, twirls, holds and throws. It’s not only difficult to pull off but demands that they smile throughout and keep their poise while Celine Dion’s famous Titanic tearjerker is performed live, albeit by three much younger singers: Keely Crocker, Sasha Duffy and Robert Everson.

Jayden Dickson rises above the massive dancing ensemble in a heart-stopping scene from 'Hollywood'. (Photo: Ingrid Owen)

There is also a smart, beautifully executed tribute to the cult French animation The Triplets of Belleville, also choreographed by Alexander, which allows 11 dancers to demonstrate characterisation through movement, gesture and physical expression.

Another gorgeous number is the frolicsome study in characterisation inspired by the chaotically offbeat surrealism of Wes Anderson’s comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel. Each of the eight dancers transforms into an outrageously wacky personality identifiably linked to the manic energy of the film, and they move and dance, glare and stare, and fill the stage with a superb comedy routine that’s as head-spinningly clever as it is brilliant. Choreographed by Michelle Reid, it deserves a show of its own.

Clever, too, is Sven Müller’s whip-smart choreography of a troupe of students to Music to be Murdered By, an Alfred Hitchcock-narrated radio event. It perfectly captures the elegance with which ideas and emotions can be translated into movement, creating what Hitchcock refers to as a “danse macabre”. Although the dancing isn’t meant to scare, it certainly succeeds in conveying the many nuances of physicalised black comedy, all the while tickling the funny bone.

The programme’s many dance sequences are divvied up thematically and separated by lengthy movie clips edited as music videos, as well as a couple of film trailers, compendium sequences and even documentary extracts that help prompt what’s coming next (and to some extent detract a touch from the energy of the live-action performance, but that’s a minor quibble).

The video bits are presumably there to give the dancers a chance to change outfits (of which there are many) and catch a breather between numbers (where they get their energy and stamina from is a mystery of youth), but some of what’s screened is also emotionally compelling in its own right and a way of the priming the audience for what’s about to unfold.

For example, one of the more serious dance numbers, You’re So Done, is preceded by a quick video survey of Harvey Weinstein’s awful reign of terror — a horrible, if necessary reminder of what kind of human being the Miramax movie mogul was (and is). The #MeToo-inspired choreography that follows lends a gravitas to the production as a whole, evidence that this is no happy-clappy feel-good show with its head in the sand. Instead, it’s pretty upfront about the uglier side of the moviemaking business.

The show is also interactive, with a two-part movie soundtrack quiz for the audience that may prove your undoing. (Just when you think you’ve correctly identified the Star Wars soundtrack from a 15-second clip, another John Williams-composed score reveals itself to be the correct answer.)

While most of the dance numbers are performed to unexpected versions of familiar songs, there are several excellent arrangements of well-known and much-loved tunes that are performed by Lamta’s vocal stars in the making. Particularly noteworthy is Robert Everson’s rendition of Robbie Williams’ I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen. It’s surely one of the most faultless and stirring pieces of singing you’ll hear on a Cape Town stage this year.

As is the habit of high-energy dance shows, this one ends on a hyperbolically high note, a dizzying full-cast collaboration performed to some fearsome rock music like it’s a celebration at the end of the world. You walk out of the auditorium feeling delightfully intoxicated.

After the show, on the night this author watched, the theatre’s foyer throbbed with post-show excitement, the audience seemingly taken by an adrenaline-fuelled madness. Later, when one of the performers came over to say hello, he was drenched with sweat, an enormous smile plastered across his face. “That was so much fun,” he said, “so much fun.” DM

Lamta’s dance show, Hollywood, is at Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town until 29 June. Tickets are available on Webtickets.