Revolution on tour | Much enthusiasm, little ecstasy

The tour of Revolution is bold in putting aside the best moments of the show to offer new numbers. If we trust the clamor of the public on the evening of the premiere, the bet of the director Lydia Bouchard has paid off. However, it lacked a je-ne-sais-quoi that marks hearts.

The approximately 80-minute show is pleasantly punctuated by interventions by the artists who recount – on video or on the microphone – the seasons in the life of a participant. The representation is also tinged with the beautiful camaraderie that seems to reign between them.

Arrived through the corridors of the room in a good-natured atmosphere, the dancers remain on stage almost throughout the evening. In addition to taking part in pretty group numbers, which will certainly gain in precision over the course of the tour, they participate here and there in soloist, duo or troop numbers. This aspect, more than any other, was sorely lacking in the previous edition.

After an introduction during which the artists have fun on the revolving stage (used ingeniously throughout the evening), the show takes off with a sexy number on the song Money by Pink Floyd.

We then hear an amalgam of breaths – which recalls for a brief moment the soundtrack of Mthe show by choreographer Marie Chouinard, presented its world premiere in Montreal last week – before rock arrangements envelop Sam Cyr for a nice number of breakdance and acrobatics.

Katerine and Alexandre, from Team White, walk around three times in huge overalls, a large shirt and under a giant hat, combining dance and clowning in an inventive way.

Playing perfect dolls that express snippets of character, sisters Ophelia and Ann-Florence are not used to their full potential. They have much more explosiveness, sensitivity and technical abilities than this lack of oumph number suggests.

We are also left unsatisfied when Yoherlandy Tejeiro Garcia joins Adriano and Samantha in an invigorating number that could gain in fluidity and which is far from the level observed when competitors with opposite styles combine their talents on the show.

Fortunately, the hip-hop number (Clique, Sunny, Mikaël, Team White, Marie-Josée and Jason) gives the evening a boost. The talented Angelik, who presented a show at Tangente last December with the graduates of the School of Contemporary Dance, offered a languorous number that could have gone further, but which gains in intensity when the veteran Sunny accompanies her.

Distribution of stars

Let’s talk about Sunny Boisvert. His solo is the first big moment of the evening. On piano and saxophone notes that become a mash up between Fallin’ of Alicia Keys and It’s a Man’s World by James Brown, the star dancer is totally invested and dances like a fish locked up in a jar for too long, rediscovering the ocean.

Now let’s turn the spotlight on Mikaël St-Hilaire. A semi-finalist last season, he shines bright every second of the show. When he unfolds solo on the cavernous voice of Leonard Cohen, the dancer is touching and captivating. He could be content with his incredible charisma to curry favor with the crowd, but he goes further. As if all the dances were in him.

How not to greet the teenagers of Clique who did not seem in any way intimidated by the packed house of the St-Denis Theater on Thursday? Their attitude was spectacular. We would see them dance in an hour-long show.

Note also the frenzied number of Adriano and Samantha, as well as that of Marie-Josée and Jason, who we expected to see shine alone from the start. The latter presented a soft and soothing choreography, very far from the unforgettable brutality of their final numbers on the show.

In short, despite the supreme joy of reuniting with adored dancers and the undeniable presence of charming, funny, surprising and energized moments, we were not transported as we would probably have been by seeing certain extremely powerful television numbers on stage. , like a song listened to ad nauseam in our headphones, of which we savor all the nuances live.

Revolution on tourat the Théâtre St-Denis, in Montreal, until February 23