Dance: Grupo Corpo

Today - wow, at last, Meetup is running things early enough in the day for me again! Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) was watching a couple of contemporary dance shows by Grupo Corpo - Bach and Lecuona, each streaming on Vimeo and available to rent for 48 hours for £3.95. So I signed up - just rented before watching. Only to find that the price had more than doubled! ($15 when I looked). Hey-ho, it's no more than I'd have paid to see them live - and I don't begrudge it them, the arts need all they can get during lockdown.

I watched them early - why not? First up was Bach - as you might expect, the accompanying music is Bach (or a re-arrangement thereof), to which dancers move as if to visualise the music. I love this kind of dance, and it is beautiful - alternately bubbly and pensive, the movements perfectly matching the sound.

But I have to say, I was more taken with Lecuona - a slightly shorter piece, it comprises a set of pas de deux, performed to a soundtrack of Cuban love songs. Quite explicit, it also demonstrates a quirky personality, more independent of the music we're hearing than the Bach piece is. So, quite an unexpected performance.. and better watched second, to leave you with a smile. Well worth the price of viewing!

With only two of us having signed up to join the organiser, it was a real shame that my fellow co-attendee cancelled at the last minute, citing tiredness. I can't blame her though, it's been an exhausting week for me too! and TBH, I nearly dozed off a couple of times while watching. No reflection on the performances. I signed on for a solo chat with the organiser (and would you believe, found myself reaching for a pen as I logged on! Reflex action from so many Zoom calls with work..). Anyway, it was great to see him again, and we used our full chat time.

Tomorrow - back to Amazon Prime, I guess. And what's coming up next on my list is The Family Man, which seems to be an Indian series about a government agent who has to keep the true details of his job from his family.

And next Saturday, UITCS is watching a performance of The Sleeping Beauty, streamed from the Opera House, and available for rental for £3 in the UK, tax added outside the UK. So I've booked that, and will be delighted to join them. Available till the 28th.