B-Boy - Maas Theater en Dans

Vitoria Writes

Anyone that has ever been in Rotterdam will be able to imagine and remember the energetic and busy vibe the city has. The strong wind remembered me how close to the sea I was and while waiting for the tram to take me to the Maas Theater I wondered if Rotterdam with its high buildings and modern architecture couldn’t be Eindhoven’s big brother.

Urban vibe
Arriving at Maas Podium where soon I would watch the B-Boy performance, the same urban vibe carried on. The glass wall theatre with shining lights revealed a DJ playing next to a dance floor from outside already where kids and B-Boys will take their turns to show off the best of their moves.

Kids & families
I was immediately impressed by the amount of kids and families in the audience. Maas makes theatre and dance experiences for children, teenagers, young adults and their family and friends, and even though B-Boy is not specifically made for kids, these audiences are in the heart of their performances and programs. I was really happy to see so many young people around that I immediately wished for the youths in Eindhoven to be so thrilled as I was to watch this performance.

Personal stories
B-Boy is a performance inspired and performed by five breakdancers. The choreographer and director Jolanda Spoel used these guys personal stories and experiences to build up a theatrical performance that explores the ups and downs of a breakdancer. The geometric scenario alluded to the streets, bringing a playfulness to the scene mixed with complex movements, climbs, falls and loops at metal bars. The dancers were comfortable on the stage and in between casual talks, jokes, confessions and dance, the performance was build up in front of our eyes. In addition to the great energy, there is a special guest in each performance, usually a B-Girl that shares the stage and surprises the dancers and audience.

Energetic
B-Boy is a mix of theatre, dance and improvisation carried on by an energetic and easygoing vibe that takes you by the hand through the show. One by one, the dancers personal stories were shared with us, as if we were all hanging out in the same imaginary place. It is true that breakdance battles are all about showing the best you can do, but in such short time it is just possible to see what is on the outside. Choosing to translate the breakdance battle universe to the stage, Spoel got it right in unfolding the untold situations and feelings that are behind the dancers and the battles, making us as audience witness’ and partners in their adventures.

Universal theme
There is a narrative sewing the dramaturgy together with storytelling and audios that unfortunately are in the Dutch language. However since the theme is so universal there are a lot of keywords and even English words that are part of the B-Boys universe that makes it possible for us, nondutch speakers, to follow the performance anyway. The dancer’s personal stories are well carried by the intention of the movements, soundscape and videos so that even when we don’t understand a couple of words we can still follow the performance from the beginning to the end.

Great energy and good vibes
B-Boy is a performance that fits Eindhoven’s urban vibe, it relates directly with a style of life that we see on the streets, during art festivals and dance events. It opens up the dance world to other perspectives that sometimes we are not used to see in theatre productions, it gives us a great energy and good vibes after the show. I really hope everyone gets the chance to watch it, and I hope that you all, specially the kids, will be inspired to put a bit more of dance and movement into your daily lives.


B-Boy - Maas Theater en Dans
Parktheater Eindhoven
November, Thursday 14th – 8:30 PM