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Whizzing gizmos, flying trapezes, rooftop jumps, and revolving 20-foot floors — all part of STREB dance company’s opening show on March 27.
Think of the show, titled “Catapult,” as a poor man’s Cirque du Soleil.
“We call it an action event,” said Bobby Hedglin, director of the trapeze academy at S.L.A.M. (Streb Lab for Action Mechanics), the company’s home on North First Street between Kent and Wythe avenues in Williamsburg.
“Performers are spinning and turning around on industrial objects and circus apparatuses. It’s like extreme acrobatics. In one segment, dancers are in harnesses so they actually perform vertically on the wall.”
Founder and chief choreographer, Elizabeth Streb, call her the Evel Knievel of dance, established the “extreme action” S.L.A.M. in 2003, combining dance with other disciplines like boxing, rodeo, circus and Hollywood stunt-work.
“She is an action architect,” said Hedglin, referring to Streb. “She pushes the limits of the human body.”
With the circus-like atmosphere, audience members can feel free to move around during the show, even watching from the trapeze mat. For a $10 charity donation, they can become “co-producers” of a new series of 10-second dances choreographed by Streb. The people at S.L.A.M. like to call it “the shortest dance with the longest credits.”
The highlight of “Catapult” is the “whizzing gizmo,” a seven foot yellow wheel that spins as dancers perform on — and in — it.
“Catapult” will run March 27-May 17 at S.L.A.M [51 North First St., between Wythe and Kent avenues in Williamsburg. (718) 384-6491]. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.
©2009 Community Newspaper Group
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