BWW Reviews: BRAZOUKA, New Wimbledon Theatre, September 16 2014

Does it matter if the story is thinner than Brazil's defence against Germany? Does it matter if the music appears to be of that odd "re-recorded (not by original artists)" genre that used to sell well in motorway service stations? Does it matter if Billy Connolly's voiceover reminds us less of Sao Paulo and more of Sauchiehall Street? No - not really - it's the dance that matters.

With Pamela Stephenson-Connolly and Arlene Phillips writing, directing and pulling lots of strings, Brazouka (at New Wimbledon Theatre until 20 September) follows the life-story of Braz dos Santos, a poor fishing boy whose dancing (and fear of the sea) propelled him to Paris and beyond. And, apart from a bit of mumbo-jumbo about local Gods helping and hindering him and a half-hearted row with his father, that is pretty much it - not exactly Stephen Sondheim, but it's not supposed to be.

The 16 dancers - lean and lithe for the girls, with manes of hair to fling back; gym bunny six-packs for the guys, with clothing very optional - move through their repertoires of lambadas, lambazouks and ballet all of which live up to one definition of dance: the vertical expression of horizontal desire. It's very energetic indeed, often elegant and always sexy and it was lapped up by a largely female audience of all ages. It's just about family-friendly (and nothing you don't see on a beach) and any argument that the women in the show are being objectified can be countered with the argument that the men are objectified just as much, if not more.

But, apart from a few references to Braz's impoverished childhood, the Brazil of Brazouka is all about fishing, football (Braz can play a bit on this evidence) and... well, I'll leave the last part of that alliterative list to you. The spectacle trumps the story, any politics and even the music. Then just as the routines are beginning to merge into one, it's time for one last rousing number and a farewell to an ecstatic house who loved the boys, loved the girls and loved the moves. With Strictly Come Dancing showing its age a little, perhaps it needs a bit of Brazouka too - Braz and his troupe wouldn't let anyone down.

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