Bruno Beltrão makes street dance in CRACKz lighter than ever

In minute 1 of CRACKz (Dança Morta) it is already hit. The dancers of Grupo de Rua de Niterói whirl through Zuiveringshal West of the Westergasfabriek leaning on one hand. The space seems made for this performance. The dancers shoot through the air, doing side somersaults and skittering spinning across the shiny floor. They are short episodes, each concluded by extinguishing lights. Anything they can do, these street dancers. It is a world where the possibilities of the human body seem bounded by nothing. Sometimes they are creatures from a cartoon, and every time you have to remind yourself that they are real dancers of flesh and blood, with an unparalleled command of their craft.

The scenes glide off and on. Like waves, the dancers move in formation across the floor and back again. The whole takes on something rarefied, from which the toughness of hip-hop evaporates. With an unassuming look, the dancers detach themselves from the side wall each time to plunge into the dance. No hint of bravado. That is unusual for street dance.

Brazilian choreographer Bruno Beltrão shows much more than the tricks so quickly scored in street dance and hip-hop. He has been thoroughly inspired by street dance in Rio de Janeiro. Elements of it he has incorporated into an extremely refreshing and light kind of modern dance. Later in the performance, the movements become less splashy than at the beginning. The space becomes darker and the dance more introspective, especially when the dancers creep across the stage in a hunched position. Yet curiously, the dance loses none of the sophistication and excitement introduced by the pure street dance of the beginning. Sometimes the movements are slow, but the subtle jolts that shoot through the limbs keep the tension fully alive. Because of the sparse light, you often see little more than silhouettes, with a private interaction between them that keeps them on the tips of their concentration. Beltrão could also have copied those mysterious figures from the streets with their dark corners.

CRACKz (Dança Morta) is original, creative and surprising. Precisely because you are first crushed by the flawlessly executed, inhumanly clever street dance moves, you are then drawn into the darker scenes with extra excitement.

This comes naturally, and this is due to the sublime unity of style and atmosphere that is sustained throughout the performance by the variety and richness of movement.