Review-Les Illusions de L’Amour
27-6-13
By: Harry Oram
It was a Wednesday night at “Bisous” and you could barely squeeze another person into the venue. The lights went down and we were greeted to the sound of “Disney”, as the show began with Marsha singing a few songs as Belle and Ariel (yes, I know my Disney!).
Having seen “When Rick met Marsha” before, I knew Marsha Yuan could sing and she was on top form last night. Eddie Villanuea, Sarah Mackenzie and Joshua Pagtalunan joined her on stage to complete the cast of performers.
The Disney opening was intense and perhaps a little manic as the cast switched from 30 secs of Disney song to 30 secs of a Disney song. What was clear from the outset, however, is that the performers clearly had some moves, a great sense of humour, and a seemingly inexhaustible amount of props and costumes!
The dancing got more intense to the song “I Can Be a Freak” which was a break dancing number. There was some very nice choreography and it immediately struck me that all four performers were well versed in a number of dance forms. As a ‘dance showcase’, we were really being treated to a large variety of styles, varying from break-dance and hip-hop to more classical ballet and then some latino, salsa-esque numbers.
The range of styles and moves that were showcased was the highlight for me. There were some fantastic costumes, hair-styles and make-up (provided and sponsored by Tony & Guy). But the audience was really being treated to a wide-variety of styles and each number was performed with such impressive intensity I was not surprised they needed an interval after 25mins in.
The only fault I could give the show was that it had no running theme and each segment was not neatly linked together. There were some breaks where the audience was entertained by a soundtrack while the performers prepared for the next number. Both these things could have been solved with an MC to keep the audience engaged and things flowing smoothly. It may be a personal taste and a personal desire to have some sort of theme or narrative that linked each number together - a challenge in itself given the extreme variety of some of the numbers, and especially since this was a ‘showcase’. Nevertheless, the use of an MC or other aid to keep the audience engaged and the show flowing smoothly would have made the evening that much more successful. Having said that, the show did a wonderful job considering there were only four of them performing at a high level intensity, on a shallow stage with not that much room to really extend on moves and a ceiling that perhaps was a little too low to really perform more lifts (I always love seeing lifts in dance shows).
The performers were all of a high standard and armed with a wonderful sense of humour and Marsha’s singing ability encompassed the array of styles and entertainment. The Latino number with Ricky Martin type wigs was one of my favorites but I also really enjoyed the dance number to the song “Fashion Freaks”. The guys dancing in heels reminded me of the Kazaky dancers and both Eddie and Joshua switched effortlessly from suave and powerful to fabulous.
I must give a special mention to Eddie who choreographed the show and who I thought to be a superb dancer. Sometimes it was not the difficulty or complexity of the moves that were so engaging but just his evident passion and intensity which so clearly dominated the stage. All four performers were fantastic and I hope, now they have experience in this venue and working together in a show like this, they return with another more challenging show. They all clearly have the passion and the talent but I’d love to see them perform again and test their abilities to the extreme.
As Eddie and Marsha mentioned at the end of the show, they sought to have fun, express themselves and bring the community together. I believe they had a successful and enjoyable night and I look forward to them performing again.
Les Illusions de L’Amour was a one time performance. For more information, click here.
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