Beats on Pointe: Masters of Choreography is on a 2019 World Tour. The Australian dance team, made up of 13 professional performers, take us on a ‘journey’ through a fusion of Ballet and Hip Hop. There is no narrative to the production, but the merging of styles supposedly represents combining two worlds.
The evening begins with the ‘host’ encouraging us to follow their Instagram page and rapping. As if this was not a strange enough start, we then had a significant break before the show actually began. Not much of a hype-builder. Disappointingly, the music was deafeningly loud throughout the performance I spent the first few dances painfully adjusting to the sound. Completely spoiled the opening. Beats on Pointe is structurally more similar to a showcase rather than a West End show as there is an erratic combination of styles and themes. The transitions are badly planned; one moment we are watching a contemporary duet and the next a beat-boxer and vocalist have a flirtatious feud. The purpose of the show is lost as they integrate comedy sketches with serious choreography and, although the dancers are talented and versatile, it just doesn’t work.
