Rubberbandance Group dances to an unexpected set of songs

Vincent Rahming
Contributor
When watching a dance performance, it’s important not only to see but also to feel what’s happening on stage. In order to get their message across, most shows tend to have a direct target audience while others bend the rules and bring new viewers into the fold.
Rubberbandance group’s Loan Sharking brought the feeling of dance to their audience using not one, but a variety of techniques – including breakdancing, ballet and contemporary dance – in the latest Danceworks production at the Harbourfront Centre.
The show’s cast of six dancers marvelled their way on and off the stage (literally) during the 90-minute performance. The show’s unique style of dance caught a few audience members by surprise, but that initial shock quickly dissolved as the performers made their mark on the audience, using each angle of the stage by moving, jumping and crawling.
What really made this production different was its selection of music, and how the dancers allowed their bodies to play and connect with every sound, no matter the tone or genre.
In one act, three dancers appeared torn between each other in a triangular formation while dancing to a smooth jazz number. Seeing their physical strengths as they stood on their hands, leaped through the air and flipped their bodies was quite impressive.
The opening of the second act proved to be the strongest of all the routines. What started as a solo suddenly saw the stage doors opened for a collection of dancers as they performed to an unconventional series of songs and sounds.
What most party goers might deem “DJ scratching” actually fit into this part of the performance ingeniously. The music would suddenly slip in and out of its harmonies and take on a reversed tone, where the dancers also moved in reverse. It was reminiscent of rewinding a favourite scene from a movie in slow motion.
The audience cheered when a female dancer straightened her body while being carried through the air by her male partner. Like most theatrical dancing, this type of routine takes great skill, trust and body control to make any performance more dynamic. Despite these strenuous moves, the dancers were fully committed to Rubberbandance coordinator Victor Quijada’s choreography.
Overall, the production left its audience pleased and enraptured with a great fusion of different genres in music and dance.