RUBBERBAND is a Montreal based dance company that supports the creation of work by choreographer Victor Quijada. Vic’s Mix is a remix of the choreographer’s mix and breaks down barriers between hip hop and classical formalism. It’s this jarring mix of break dancing and ballet. It has become its own style, the RUBBERBAND method.
Vic’s Mix is a combination of serious and comedic, classical and hip hop. It’s the streets meets classical music. Everyone is costumed (designed by Camille Thibault-Bédard) in sneakers and casual clothing and the choreography is designed to music is composed by Sergei Prokofiev, Jasper Gahunia, J.S Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Marin Marais, and Guiseppe Verdi. The movement is mesmerizing, because the juxtaposition of classical music and hip hop is everything in dance that you didn’t know you wanted.
The strength in the lifts and balance is wild. I’ve never seen anything quite like the RUBBERBAND method. Ballet technique, with clean lines but breakdancing in between.
The only small edit about this show is that the humourous section in the second half felt like it was there to extend the show. It felt a bit out of place, to give the dancers a break from the intensity of the choreography.
Vic’s Mix was a co presentation of One Yellow Rabbit Theatre and DJD Danceworks, as part of the High Performance Rodeo. Check out DJD’s upcoming performances here.
Photo Credit: Bill Herbert