six-a theater review

Break Out
Choreographed by: SevenSense Creative Team
Directed by: Jun-Beom Juen
Union Square Theatre
100 East 17th Street New York, NY 10003
(212) 505-0700
By: Ashley L. Mathus

Break Out manages to combine slap stick comedy with excellent dancing for an unexpected outcome. Successfully avoiding 75 minutes of overwhelming exposure to one quality, a clever story line about prisoners momentarily escaping their confinements weaves talent, flawless timing, and awareness from this Korean troupe. Ten dancers merge toprock, downrock, freezing, beatboxing, popping, locking, and yoga, raising the B-boy and B-girl status.

Pre-curtain, da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man loomed over the set, transformed into an iconic breaker pose, the one-handed handstand. Reminded the genre spawns from street-history, historical images of Romans and astronauts were projected as break dancers alongside tribal audio. Upon entrance, text typed itself behind the dancers, introducing character traits, which explained their technical silliness. Breaking the fourth wall, the dancers always worked as a team, running through the isles, disturbing the peace, crowding the stage with windmills and butterfly kicks. Hysterically minimalizing their popping and locking for the escape scene, plush headless dolls were strapped to the dancers’ heads while moving through an ant farm-like escape tunnel. Exposure to detailed bodywork demanded physical attention, proving the elasticity of the genre.

What’s pleasantly surprising is the humor behind the dance. Campy facial expressions were often the endnote to stylish choreography. Dance music propelling yoga poses atop a car or hospital gurney’s made the talented prisoners, loveable. The beatboxing security guard used his gun as a microphone, creatively integrating his only prop. The performance transitioned with ease, moving in slow-motion unison, and then shifting to solos without hesitation. The dancers’ timing was near perfection, never missing a beat with a sharp head jerk or an immediate pause. Meandering around stage lighting similar to a game show, their ever-present bonding and limber comedic timing made for a rhythmic romantic comedy. A somewhat magical bound book, one of the only props, got lost along the way, almost emulating the backdrop when convenient. The prisoner’s dreams were crushed, literally, as symbolic crumpled paper covered rock on the beachy backdrop. Break Out ruptured through the story line, finishing on a high-energy look-what-I-can-do attitude.


Look for review on showbusinessweekly.com in a few days, thanks!