Revista Veja - Veja Rio 22 de NOVEMBER de 1995
Revista Veja - Veja Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22/NOVEMBER/1995
By D?bora Ghivelder
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT
The aerial Mountain Climbing makes Velox a great show.
Deborah Colker is a phenomenon. First she launched her company when she presented her work with the so prestigious American groups Momix at Teatro Municipal nearly a year ago. Now her second work, Velox is an unforgettable event. The old theatre Carlos Gomes, at the dull Tiradentes square has changed its looks and brought back the good old times of glory - big audiences, sold out tickets and tickets scalpers at the vicinity of the box offices. A great success proving that when there is quality the public knows and shows up.
And quality does not go amiss in Velox. On stage the dancers are athletic, agile and tuned. They perform a vigorous and lively show, which is divided into five choreographies. The highlight is, by no means, Mountain Climbing. This part features a huge climbing wall (twenty-foot-high) where dancers swing, hang and spiral in an unbelievable speed. The daring movements are done with precision and synchronization. The audience gapes, feels tense and scared that something might go wrong. Mountain Climbing is one of the most inventive things that have come up recently - it’s a real show. Maybe that’s why the other parts of the dance seem less engaging, yet interesting. Deborah is extremely inventive. She has accurately studied the movements, however she should also seek a bit more to get a choreographic design. She does it better in sports, when she exploits the kinetic tour the force of athletes, extremely well structured - it’s another good moment of Velox.
We have nothing against explosion of movement through movement, but both in Mechanics as well as in Quotidian, mainly the latter, there should have more occupation of space and fewer interrupted movements (such as dance, sit, stand, dance). The whole piece is correct, clean and inventive like in Martial Arts, with Kung Fu movements. But Velox is more than that - there is the Mountain Climbing and for that, Deborah Colker, her troupe and her show deserve the best praise.
