TEXT ONE
Pier 17 in downtown Manhattan is not the most likely destination for theatre-goers. But here on the East River, among the wailing seagulls, frying fish and tourists, is an enchanting offer of entertainment. Spiegelworld is back in town for its second summer, with two spicy cabaret shows of dance, music, acrobatics and burlesque. Called Absinthe and La Vie , the shows are staged in the anachronistic opulence of a spiegeltent .
Nobody seems to know how many of these European pavilions are left but most people agree that there are fewer than 20. Built by hand without nails, spiegeltents are beautiful assemblies of teak, velvet, stained glass and bevelled mirrors, created originally in Belgium in the early 20th century as mobile dance halls. Only two families in Belgium and the Netherlands still know how to make them, producing one every five or ten years or so, says Vallejo Gantner, one of the shows producers and a long-time spiegeltent aficionado. But you know it when you walk into an old one. They have a special boutique quality.
This one, which dates from the 1920s and has a painted art-nouveau faade, lends continental glamour to the pier. It holds about 350 people on wooden chairs and banquettes around a modest, circular stage. And it is this intimacy, this proximity to the performers, that gives these shows their special feel. Erotic contortionists, balletic hand-balancers and bawdy jugglers emanate a sweaty, tangible humanity. Many of them, Mr Gantner explains, have left larger circus troupes, such as Cirque du Soleil, in order to make eye-contact with their audience. The simplicity of the staging gives their performances a gritty authenticity.
Once in a while, a family on a childrens outing is fooled by Spiegelworlds festive red-and-blue tent spires. Make no mistake: the shows are for adults. La Vie , created by Les 7 Doigts de la Main, a Montreal-based troupe, laces an array of artfully sexy circus acts with the premise that everyone is dead and in purgatory, travelling on a flight to hell that never quite gets there . Wearing what looks like a straitjacket, a contortionist moves in a highly unsettling way to a recording of Crazy , crooned by Patsy Cline. The show closes with a steamy pas de deux between the devilish master of ceremonies and the evenings lip-curling seductress.
Absinthe is a more explicit grab-bag of stripping, cross-dressing and intrigue, without a unifying theme. The shows strongest moments come from the acrobats, all of whom carry a powerful sexual charge. Two women sway with suggestive grace on the trapeze. An aerialist in black trousers, his sculpted chest glistening, pulls and twists himself up two hanging straps to the lusty music of Jealous Guy , sung by a transvestite diva.
Sexy but not tawdry. Despite colourful language and a brief moment of unnecessary male nudity in La Vie , the setting is too elegant and the talent too astonishing for that. Its a bit of risqu fun that has been warmly received by New Yorkers, many of whom have grown tired of the wholesome, tourist-friendly fare of Broadway. Last summer Absinthe ran for two months to sell-out crowds; this years two-show programme is for three months until the end of September.
小升初英语考点祈使句并不难 只需记住这5点
名师分析:小升初英语 状语从句考点
小升初英语语法点 反义疑问句如何掌握牢固
背课文
小学英语期末复习方法 注意这4点最有效
小学英语课堂中朗读的重要性 帮助学生记忆词汇
小升初考试中,英语都考些什么?
为什么孩子不能按时完成英语作业
小学英语期末复习四方法
小升初英语黄璐老师论坛答疑精选
首部英语游戏软件2010年向中小学推广
思言妈妈 教给大家如何培养一名英语小天才
经验分享:把一个孩子养大需要多少钱
2011年小升初过程中有哪些重点事件?
KET/PET分项教学
小升初孩子难搞定的英语单词 愁眉不展的 did
小升初孩子忽视英语,日子将会怎样?
小学生就在学校学习英语 应对小升初够不够?
小学生学英语应该注重培养兴趣和习惯
备战2010年小升初英语有高招
小学寒假作业 英语题难倒一片
学而思五一期间各年级课程调整通知
新概念到底学到多少课可以应对小升初的考试?
小升初英语单词速记方法
小升初必考英语语法 “一般过去时”解析
小升初英语选词填空 牛刀小试附答案
小升初英语时间和日期表达训练
2010小升初英语必考考点 祈使句疑问句记忆顺口溜
小升初孩子如何有效学习英语?
2010年小升初英语必考题型
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |