Zak and Angelo synced their bodies together and gave the audience a good spin
There is something very endearing about Abderzak Houmi or popularly known as Zak. The hip-hop dancer tickled a few funny bones when he called out to Jean Manuel, the director of Alliance Francaise onto the stage to explain and translate his dance into English and pulled antics. Zak is very particular about calling his dance hip-hop dance and not hip-hop. “Hip-hop is a culture,” he mentioned. Angelo's obvious good looks perhaps added to the charms of his dance, in fact Angelo reminds you of Johnny Bravo (the flirtatious cartoon character) and even his dance moves and stage antics seemed reflective.
Performed at Ravindra Bharati, arranged by Alliance Francaise, the hip-hop dance show evoked a few wows and many laughs. A burlesque or a comic hip-hop dance show to be precise, the narrative was in a story-telling format which traces the life and dreams of an unlikely team of Zak and Angelo. Friendship was the larger theme projected through the performance. Zak and Angelo are two dreamers and best friends who go through the ups and downs of life, mostly downs but come out with a big smile and rad moves.
The theme of the show had a tinge of vintage in it, perhaps it was their choice of music, their moves on Zanini's famous number, ‘Un scotch Un Bourbon Une Biere' or Ouvard's ‘Je n'Suis pas bien portant' — cheerful tunes set to Zak and Angelo's snazzy moves. Traditional head-stands, locking and popping here and there increased the energy levels off and on.
The duo made good use of props like the newspaper or the kerchief, the elements fit into the concept without appearing superficial, even their interaction with the audience pulled up the reaction from mild clapping to loud cheering. Another highpoint of the performance was the slow-motion dance, where the movements are exaggerated and heavy and extremely slow.
In a post performance discussion, Zak explained that one must understand their body completely to be able to do the slow motion dance. Timed to barely 30 minutes, the show was a hit, as the audience lapped up what the comical duo passed off truthfully as a comic hip-hop dance.
Keywords: Hip-hop dance
