The popularity of 360 Allstars’ modern take on the traditional circus remains strong continuing to entertain generations of families after a decade. A fusion of BMX, basketball, breakdance, acrobatics, music, and street art create a unique and exciting spectacle gasps and cheers from parents and children throughout the one hour performance at Riverside Theatre.
Film projections of suburbia take the audience to the street while a narrative of rap and percussion with Mirrah and (Producer and Director) Gene Peterson sets the stage for each act. Each act choreographs their routines to the the rhythm and beat enhancing the visual spectacle of their specialised disciplines while adding another layer of excitement and energy to the show.
HERU ANWARI - BMX WORLD CHAMPION
Heru’s 360 requires a lot of speed and momentum, as well as precise timing and balance and delivers this crowd pleaser to massive audience cheers as he does a full rotation in the air. His smooth transitions into tailwhips seem to be his sweet spot where the crux of his agility and coordination are seen as he defaults to visually stunning variations of this bikeframe spin and stationery pedal move throughout his routine. Had there been more room on the stage, it would have been interesting to see the way this guy does his Flairs and Backflips.
LEEROK GONZALES & PETER SETTE - BREAKDANCERS
What street stye circus wouldn’t be complete without the form of dance that originated in the streets of New York City during the 1970s. It is a style of dance that involves acrobatic and athletic moves performed to hip hop and funk music. Breakdancing has since evolved into a global phenomenon with various styles and moves.
Peter and Leerock both command the stage on their own with phenomenal footwork in their toprock and powersome core strength seen in their freezes of airchairs and handstands with such precision and control.
A dance off between the two makes it hard to decide who is the more skillful with swipes and headspins that command the audience’s attention equally. Each has their own character and quality the audience responds to. Peter seemed to be the playful of the two, a hit with the mums while Leerock tended to get more cheers from the kids with his light-on-the-feet and effortlessly looking springboard Powermoves achieving great speed in his spins, flips and jumps. Visually, each move was clean and exact right through to landing.
BAVO DELBEKE - BASKETBALL FREESTYLER
One of the most impressive feats of Bavo’s juggling and freestyle tricks is with five basketballs at once. This requires a high level of skill and focus, as well as physical strength, endurance and hand-eye coordination. Juggling five basketballs requires a consistent pattern, quick reflexes, and excellent timing. Much of the routines in all acts relies on a substantial amount of mime and slapstick and in terms of comedic swagger, this Bavo takes the award with co-star Peter coming a close second!
THE MISSING ACT WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
The show must go on and unless you didn’t know what you were looking for in Tuesday’s performance you might not have noticed. There seemed to be a build up from each act to the Cyr Wheel act and if you were unfortunate enough to see trailers and promos from previous shows your expectations might have been a bit too high. On a positive note, the crew came together when one of the team had to call in sick with this evening’s performance, and it was break dancing sensation, Leerock who stepped in last minute. Until we were told this at the end of the show, there was something that felt a little off during the actual performance, only because I had previously seen particular tricks in this portion of the act.
In saying that, it's not an easy role to step in to last minute. The cyr wheel is made up of a large metal hoop, usually made of aluminum or steel, that is connected to two smaller hoops or handles. The performer stands inside the hoop and uses their body movements to spin the wheel, creating a variety of dynamic and mesmerising visual effects. It requires a high level of skill and physical fitness to perform. It requires excellent balance, strength, and coordination. Performers use their legs, arms, and body weight to control the speed and direction of the wheel. While the skill was there for someone not fully grasped in the intricacies of his colleague’s act, he did deliver enough ‘wow’ moments to stop the show from being cancelled for the night and most likely strengthened his standing in the show as one of the more memorable performers.
A great night out with the kids this school holidays, depending on the venue, the cast also like to meet and greet fans post-show. Playing in Riverside Parramatta, the Northern Beaches and Chatswood, check local listings for tickets and performance dates.
Photo credit Darren Thomas
