MenwhoDance

Reviewed by Rod Lewis, Glam Adelaide official Fringe Reviews 5/5 Stars Now in its second year as a fully-fledged show, Men Who Dance is two hours of energy, comedy, costume, flirtation and flesh, presented by six highly talented locals giving a strong international flavour. Charlie Herkes, Ricky Revilla, Willian Rodrigues, Dhuruva Padmanabhan, Calin Diamond, and Bailey Kiejko amaze and delight across 22 numbers, presented in two acts. They bring with them a multicultural flavour from their Australian, American, Brazilian, Indian and Filipino heritage, sometimes incorporating those flavours into a routine. There’s something for everyone, whether you like the more traditional styles of tap, ballet and salsa, or prefer some modern hip hop, acrobatics or seductive stripping (sorry folks, no nudity!). These boys aren’t shy or lacking in any genre and, most notably, they all seem to excel in each style rather than specialising in just one. They even sing. Hats off to vocal coach David Gauci. Under the creative direction of Malcolm Harslett, the performances are enhanced with a video backdrop, Luke Bartholomew’s busy lighting grid, and a weird, wonderful rack of costumes by Richard Laidlaw, Bronwen Bassi, & Antoinette Neumann. The cast are as engaging as they are gifted, having predominantly choreographed the routines themselves, along with former cast member Kurt Benton. Men Who Dance is all you could hope for in a modern dance show. It has the pace, the whimsy, the nod to past styles and, most importantly, a cast of characters played by six men who really know how to dance.

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2022. Star Theatre One at Star Theatres - Hilton February 23 – 27, 2022 Sometimes the simplest things are the best! This is the case with Men Who Dance. It is simply that, five men who dance. Having said that, they don’t just dance - they sing and most of all, they entertain! The five men in question - Charlie, Kurt, Ricky-Jai, Willian and Dhuruva - individually have their own styles but mould them into a tight unit for the hour they perform together. Like a union of Human Nature and Manpower, they are the boy band of dance groups. The evening is a fast paced sixty minutes of ensembles, solos, duets and trios with different dance styles. There is so much to choose from stylistically, ranging from a narcissistic number with a mirror to the soundtrack of ‘Love Me Tender’ to the jazz era recreated to ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ and a close encounter of the third kind with a friendly alien complete with a Segway and umbrellas. I particularly enjoyed the tribute to Spartacus and his battle with Gannicus ,featuring the balletic talents of Charlie and Kurt who later tap battle in ‘Everything Old is New Again’, bringing back old Hollywood. Other highlights are Ricky-Jai and Dhuruva’s number with a gold hat that causes the performer to change dance styles, Ricky-Jai’s hip-hop routine, Willian’s testosterone-charged number as a workman, complete with sledge hammer and the boys’ version of ‘Fever’, performed on stools and reminiscent of the famous ‘Cell Block Tango’. Presented at Star Theatres, a venue which is rapidly becoming the ‘Off Broadway’ of Adelaide, this show is well suited to its intimate auditorium where you can get ‘up and personal’ with the dancers. The production is well paced and devised by Malcolm Harslett and cleverly lit by Luke Batholomew. Men who Dance is a joyous exploration of diverse dance styles from five extremely talented men and is sure to please any theatregoer that enjoys real entertainment. Barry Hill Stage Whispers

Men Who Dance | Adelaide Fringe 2022 review A solid hour of moves that run the gamut from classical and modern, through hip-hop, freestyle and even a dash of Bollywood. Peter Burdon