Carnival spirit in Bale De Rua

How does Cuba do it? And Argentina and Spain? These Latin countries produce umpteen dance shows, many good, a lot not, but all have us queuing for a feel-good fix of salsa and tango and flamenco. Even only so-so shows sell well, while the best are jam-packed, so it’s little wonder that Brazil has shimmied over with a show that draws on its carnival culture and multi-ethnic heritage.

Balé de Rua ("Street Ballet") is the result. First seen in Edinburgh last year, the show and company share a name whose origins track back to three street dancers and their community project in Uberlandia, a small city in the middle of Brazil. Fernando Narduchi, Marco Antonio Garcia and José Marciel Silva make no bones about Brazil’s slave history, although they’re as quick to celebrate Africa’s music and religions and how they morphed with Catholicism and spiritualism to shape Brazil’s culture.

And that’s pretty much a sum-up of the streets-to-stage show that features 15 wonderful dancers, mostly men, most of whom are also percussionists (sadly, the rest of the music is taped). The moves are both vigorous and filigree, athletic and ethereal, more urban than rural, with elements of capoeira and hip-hop mixed with gestures that evoke the rituals and processions of the Umbanda religion. This last section and the capoeira are especially good, as they hint at how Africans survived slavery without losing their culture.

All this is engaging stuff. However, the show suffers from weak direction which isn’t up to the story it seeks to tell. There is also a goofiness to the production which undermines the Umbanda spirituality, with its "guides" and "sensitives" and possession cults, while large chunks look like they’ve escaped from a carnival float.

You wish the dancers would drop the story-telling and the plodding narrative, for which they have little acting talent, and just get on with dancing. Their bodies are so eloquent, their focus so true, their story tells itself.
Until 31 May. Information: 0845 120 7554, www.barbican.org.uk.

Bale De Rua
Barbican Theatre
Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS