An Extreme Evening
STREB Extreme Action– their name says it perfectly– extreme action is indeed exactly what we saw last night! The audience was energized, captivated, and making plenty of noise, just as the Company requested. One of the first things they told us was to ignore the “turn off your cell phones” message and that we should take calls, take photos, take videos, and of course make noise to show just what aspects of the performance we truly loved. I had my camera out and was happily snapping away throughout the incredible action. I loved the variety of contraptions used for what they call “Action Events.” Everything from a spinning floor to flying bricks of cement, to a plexiglass wall!
One of my personal favorites was a box that each dancer squirmed into and piled on top of one another. Just when we thought it was full, the eighth dancer wriggled through in front of the pile of contorted bodies. As the title of that particular Action Event stated, it made me “Squirm” in my seat just watching!
The day prior to their performance I was able to observe a masterclass that the STREB dancers taught at Portland Ballet. It was great to see the young ballerinas jump in and try the Pop Action technique, something completely different from their normal ballet classes. All eight of the STREB dancers shared in teaching different parts of the class, with the others demonstrating and jumping in to help and correct the participants.
Check out a few pictures from the performance in the image gallery to the right, and find us on Facebook to see photos from the masterclass… and if you ever find yourself in NYC, take a trip to S.L.A.M. in Brooklyn (STREB’s Headquarters) and see what new feats STREB Extreme Action is up to.
portlandovations.org says:
An_extreme_evening.. Slap-up :)
Coastal Studies For Girls says:
Usually we have study hall on Wednesday night, but last week we were unexpectedly pulled out of study hall, and told we were going to see a performance in Portland! We all wondered why we were we missing study hall for a performance. We are a girls school for marine science and leadership, maybe it had something to do with that? When we were seated in the auditorium and the acrobats sprang into action, we knew why. Because it was amazing!
The feats that STREB preformed were supper suspenseful! Many of us had our eyelids glued open, forgetting to blink, forgetting to breathe. Tiny airplanes flew about in our stomachs. The acrobats danced around swinging cement blocks, and dropping themselves backwards seconds before the block would hit them. They threw themselves off a beam from thirty feet in the air, while the audience gasped and cheered in shock. When we arrived home, all of us agreed on one thing: it was worth missing study hall for this performance!
-Charlotte
“The performance made me want to wear gold spandex shorts more often. Then I could fly through the air in a huge tuning fork as easily as I put one food in front of another.”
-Bebe
“When the dancers threw themselves on the ground, it caused me to squint and tighten my core. Their gracefulness somehow transmitted pain. I was amazed at how beautiful and complex their bodies were in action. It made me feel warm inside and for a moment I felt weightless.”
-Laura
“As I watch them do the impossible, a rush of excitement flowed through me. They blew my mind with their smooth, but fast movements and I couldn’t help but cheer. I cheered until my throat became as rough as sandpaper. When intermission came I was shocked. I wanted to experience more of the power and beauty of their dancing. It was as if they were weightless.”
-Ellie
“A group of young, and fresh talent stole my breath with their amazing kicks and graceful splits in the air. It was the perfect mixture of modern dance and gymnastics that produced my heart to sink, especially when they would free fall onto the floor.”
-Samantha
Ken says:
Addendum to my earlier remark: The opening segment featured performances at a large piece of tempered glass or plexiglass. STREB should make that sparkling clean once secured to place by the 4 point restraints…. the filth already on that was distracting to the performance from the git-go.
Ken says:
For the price, for this early in the new theater season, for the midweek verrrry early showtime it was definitely an entertainment value.
My companion and I were especially smitten by the sophistication and self-body-presence of “Jackie.” She (my date) and I wished the weather were finer so we could have joined a chat at the stage after the performance and engaged with Jackie, and complimented her in person. My suspicion is that this woman has had some ballet experience at close to a professional level- if not, she should. We were especially pleased that Jackie “cheerled” and spotted for the others in the cast…. she was noticeable to us, yet unobtrusive—staying quietly aside from view by most. JUST for the team leading approach, in a most subtle and quiet way. We were gratified that most of the audience noticed that too about Jackie, evidenced by the applause recognition to her at the end of the evening.
That said? Some aspects (as a longtime fan of all forms of Cirque) .... some aspects of STREB were in need of tightening up. Probably the most obvious is the excessive use of forward pratfalls. Though highly skilled and technically nearly perfect bay all, especially timing-wise? By evening’s end it was too much of a “One Trick Pony.” Several routines would have had much greater impact if the length of the segments were shortened by one or two minutes. “Too much of a good thing.”
We adored the ENERGY and stamina of the troupe. But? Sometimes “Less IS More.”
We also believe that starting a show ON time is important. This was a disappointment, coming from the Merrill stage. We made an effort, despite monsoons and a one hour drive, plus parking time, to be seated prior to 7 pm. It seemed that 90% of the audience was “ready” and seated by 7:05…. but the show started toooooooo far off from the 7 pm mark. I do understand the purpose for the warmup taking place on stage v. in the rehearsal hall…. but it went far too long. The backstage hall might have been better utilized, unless the warmup was purely for staging purposes.
We enjoyed the evening; but this level of promised performance does need tightening up—and some greater creativity in variations on the falls. Overall, it was definitely worth being there for… but with SO much talent? “Someone” needs to do a better job at producing and directing, objectively. There is so much more potential to be drawn out from such a highly skilled and energized cast!
That all said? Thanks to all for a fun night of theater with attitude. Refreshing!
Jeff says:
Like watching super-athletic children romping and playing in the park. I liked it and was infected with their enthusiasm. And like a child it was honest and without pretention. 7pm is a great time to start a show during the middle of the week!
Jane says:
Although I love fine gymnastics, dance, and circus performances, I thought this group missed the mark on all scores. My biggest gripe: every single piece had every single performer landing once if not many times in a full frontal flop, always accompanied by a loud electronic bang. I don’t know what this does to the performers’ bodies, time after time, but aesthetically it was very soon very, very boring.
Bill & Yola says:
An amazing demonstration of how far the human body can be pushed in the pursuit of art.
7 p.m. starts are MUCH too early for an audience to enjoy their dinner, and definitely not necessary for a show that has a 15 minute warm-up, a 20 minute intermission, and ends before 9! I want my dessert!
Jim says:
enjoyed the show but it was definitely more gymnastics and less dance…fun, but not “art”
Terry says:
The only “extreme” part of the show for me was the amount of money that was spent to see this terrible show.