Luna Park, Sydney
November 21st
By Renata Ogayar
On a warm summer’s night at Luna Park the crowd eagerly awaited the performance of a lifetime. Opening with signer HR King’s upbeat set and talented Melissa Bester, whose maturity and vocal ability was beyond her 11 years of age, the stage was set for an electric show.
The crowd was going crazy. Screams from hyped up The Next Step fans filled the auditorium even before the dancers had appeared.
So You Think You Can Dance’s Charlie opened the stage for the The Next Step dancers as they tapped, flipped, spun, popped and sung their way onto the platform, while the crowd clapped to the beat. With high level energy and continuous momentum, the young men danced as the stage sets moved, creating illusions of dynamic train tracks as they were ‘rolling rolling rolling’ with ‘places to go and people to see’. This trajectory was conceptually and visually pleasing.
Rapper Carlos Velazquez calmed the evening down allowing fans to breathe with a great ballad dedicated to all the ladies. However, Kris Lewis was the stand out performer of the evening for me, with high energy tapping, a natural stage presence, smooth skill and an energetic, yet laid back style. It was hard to look away. A tapping duo was another highlight, with incredible synchronization on the elevated stage. They showed impeccable unison with quick, rhythmic, fine shuffles sounding like one tapper. The breakers were also fantastic, bringing some contrast to the performance as they showed off their skills and muscular ability with spontaneous tricking and flipping.
The Next Step artists were backed up by a band of talented musicians, accompanied by dynamic lighting designs. The lighting and music added brilliantly to the whole effect and was well executed.
The Next Step just teased the crowd, demanding their attention and making them want more. It obviously worked as fans filled the house with their applause and screams for more. The fusion of the vocalists, musicians and dancers did indeed create a mesmerizing show. The Next Step artists are talented and entertaining, and will surely taste great success.
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