Shiamak Melbourne busts their moves to a confident beat
Anybody can dance, but not everybody can shake it like Shiamak Australia’s Special Potential Batch (affectionately known as SPBS), Shiamak Show Kids and Shiamak Dance Instructors.
The face of this collective group of exceptionally talented dancers keeps changing over time, however the oomph factor seems to increase with each batch.
The recently held Shiamak Confidance show at Karralyka Centre, Ringwood was designed to give confidence in dance and served it up in spades.
The Shiamak Dawar Institute of Performing Arts has been performing at the Confidance shows in India for several years, however this was Shiamak Melbourne’s first attempt at bringing the extravaganza to audiences in Melbourne.
It was an intimate venue with a select audience comprising mainly of parents, friends and family of the dancers. It was a cold, wet and miserable day outside, but inside the theatre it was nothing less than joyous.
Youth and ebullience, skills and energy were in ample display as the dancers weaved through each choreographed segment.
Bollywood Rapunzels, Burlesque beauties and Hip Hop experiments created some great atmospheric moods. Costume changes indicated changes in genres, eras and dance styles, but the choreography had the unmistakable, often repetitive, Shiamak stamp.
In some segments a flood of dancers ran onto the stage circling the main dancer, dropped into foetal positions, pounded fists, flung bodies on the floor and emanated what sounded like war cries. No wonder Shiamak calls his dancers ‘peaceful warriors’.
Use of large cubes as props and the rapid costume changes upped the entertainment quotient as the evening progressed through multiple performances.
The social message of stopping female infanticide or gender selective deaths was also depicted through dance. An innovative sequence, conducted without any music, generated awe and much admiration.
Crossovers between jazz, hip-hop, funk, Indian classical and pop was offered through crisp movements and rigorous routines. The extravaganza ended with a group finale that built in intensity, raising to a foot-tapping crescendo much to the delight of the audience.
The diverse group of dancers was not uniformly skilled across all disciplines, however the dynamic dancers were cleverly positioned in the limelight. There were a couple of standouts but every dancer performed with passion and focus.
