Rasta Thomas's Bad Boys of Dance: Rock the Ballet

Well, your night will certainly be rocked, maybe not for the reasons the Bad Boys of Dance would want, but you’ll definitely leave shaken and possibly stirred by this ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ meets low-budget-Gap-advert dance experience. With a spattering of naked torsos and a soundtrack catering to every music genre going so even your granny will be dancing in the aisles, this show is not for the faint of heart.
 
Act one takes a while to get up to speed, regardless of beat-heavy anthems by The Chemical Brothers and The Knack. The buff male dancers, all brightly attired in chinos and polo shirts, deliver lacklustre wooden hokey cokey-style moves. No amount of cheesy grins, whooping or air-punching can detract from their awkwardly embarrassing display of mediocre dance. It’s like ‘West Side Story’ never happened. There’s a glimmer of hope when choreographer and sole female dancer Adrienne Canterna springs to attention but the dazzle of her leaping flirtations quickly wear off and become monotonously showy.
 
Fortunately act two ups the game and gets its mojo back with backflipping tricks and the ‘high-octane’ flair that we were led to expect. Yet the problems of the first half return, as the evening spirals into a Chippendale audition that might keep a hen party entertained.

For an evening of unadulterated fun that has nothing to do with an appreciation of movement, the Bad Boys of Dance might mildly rock your night, but when it comes to thrills and enlightenment, a show that promises so much falls to earth with an almighty thud.