***spoiler alert*** If you are going to tonight’ show, and want to be surprised, come back to this review after Friday night’s final performance.

Like wine and cheese, it was a perfect pairing. Encore & Applause introduced Adelaide Fringe audiences to the Australian Calisthenics Theatre Company, once again fusing the dance style of calisthenics with live music, this time from Cameron McIntosh‘s musicals and featuring the supreme vocals of Ten Tenor JD Smith.

As I entered The Vault at Fool’s Paradise (Tartdanyangga Victoria Square), I marveled at the acoustics the ‘tent’ would surely bring; what a setting for an intimate performance, right in the heart of Adelaide. The audience was situated around the thrust stage, with the excited tones of Mary Poppins’ music adding to the expectant atmosphere. The urgent tones of Phantom of the Opera told the audience the show was soon to begin.

Perhaps Smith needs no introduction, but I was left wanting some kind of introduction to the show, or at least an announcement of his arrival on stage via a spotlight or crescendo. The initial dance number was very ‘calisthenics’, and I tried to put myself in the shoes of a ‘non-calisthenics person’ and appraise my first impression. Like any good performance, I felt hopeful and curious.

The show moved into a more fluid style of contemporary calisthenics and Smith became more comfortable with the dancers around him. If it weren’t for natural breath sounds I would have thought I was listening to a recorded voice. Warm and resonant, Smith’s voice came to life in the higher ranges and was controlled and atmospheric in the lower, quieter moments. If Hamilton needs an extra understudy for Eliza, Ayanna Burgan-Minniecon is all but ready. Taking but a brief moment to find her pitch, she delivered an emotive performance of Burn and when I closed my eyes, the performance was reminiscent of a much bigger show and gave us more emotionally than perhaps Smith did.

The dancers were very engaging not just with their eye contact and close proximity to the audience, but with their signature ‘wow’ moves and a level of extension usually only seen by contemporary dancers extensively trained in ballet. The calisthenic dancers exuded control, grace and nerve as they jumped and rolled perilously close to the edge of the stage, with something to marvel from every dancer, even as they moved individually in a collective rhythm.

Watching from the front, I tried to wonder what the audiences at the sides of the thrust would be experiencing. At the beginning of the show they were specially catered for, however I felt Smith needed to acknowledge these parts of the audience more throughout the show, and the unison sections are ideally enjoyed from any angle.

Upbeat dance highlights were You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two and Step in Time. In Pick a Pocket, the group of 5 character dancers sat at the edge of the stage and teased the audience with their charming ways, but once again this was largely focused on the front of the audience. Step in Time featured calisthenic rods (similar to a baton, only longer and thinner) and showcased the skill of intricate choreography with apparatus – right up there with the skill of seasoned musical performers. Speaking of apparatus, the show also featured club swinging, another skill of calisthenic dancers that can only be partially compared in intricacy to the swinging of Pois by Maori women. For the average avid theatre-goer, it’s a new style of movement that leaves you wondering ‘how do they do that’, and for the calisthenics afficionado, we enjoy watching without the anxiety of the sport’s strict rules being broken – it left me wanting more from this apparatus’s creative possibilities.

The show moved me through all the highs, lows and changing tempos of the legendary musical numbers. In future collaborations, I would like to see Smith interact more with the dancers and the audience, although in moments he seemed simply amazed by the dancer’s skill and grace as they shape-shifted around him, drawing him into their enchantment. I hazard a guess that he hasn’t performed in this style before, with such dynamic movement occurring around him as he sings. It begs the suggestion – perhaps all future Ten Tenor performances need to feature the visual spectacle of calisthenics!

The Australian Calisthenics Theatre Company does for calisthenics what no other initiative has done so far – it shows that elite calisthenic dancers have a depth of training that enables them to perform in mainstream theatre. It has given these dancers a pathway beyond the calisthenics competition circuit to use their comprehensively crafted and uniquely honed performance skills. If you love the songs of musicals and want to hear a world-class singer paired with some of South Australia’s most elite dancers, head to the heart of Adelaide for the final show of Encore & Applause tonight at 5pm, and be prepared to experience musical theatre in an engaging, elegant and moving way.

Photography credits: asbCreative Professional Photography