MALEVO
Peacock Theatre
1st to 4th Nov 2023
“Pounding drums, puffed chests, thundering feet – this is scintillating Argentine dance as you’ve never seen it before
In a blistering and exhilarating take on the traditional Argentine Malambo, Malevo brings its blazing raw talent to the UK for the very first time.
This dynamic all-male troupe has created a performance that not only pushes the Malambo style beyond its limits but gives audiences an extraordinary visual and sensory experience unlike any other.
The South American sensation Malevo was created by director, choreographer, and dancer, Matías Jaime. The company has reimagined the Argentine dance of Malambo; taking what is a traditional Argentinian folkloric dance and elevating it to a fiery and modern heights. They infuse the dance with elements of flamenco and pulsating drumming live onstage.
The choreography combines the use of boleadoras – a leather and stone hunting tool used by Gauchos – with pounding movements, energetic stomping (zapateados) and lightning footwork (cepillados).”
Review by Richard Lambert, 3 Stars
The last time I reviewed at the Peacock was for THE HOUSE OF FLAMENKA and what a fiasco that turned out to be! Not the show, just the organisation of the press night, which had been moved but the PR company hadn’t told the Reviewers. No contact mobile had been provided so I contacted the marketing team who sent an email but this didn’t arrive at the Box Office. I forwarded my email to the Box Office and this also didn’t arrive. The Box Office staff asked their supervisor who suggested I bought my own tickets. And I still haven’t received the cast list despite 4 email requests for this. I’ve now given up with that PR company!
So with trepidation I turned up wondering how the evening would unfold. And the lovely Kevin Wilson PR was there in the foyer to greet and issue tickets. So reassuringly wonderful!
The show has a band of 4 along with 13 x male dancers. The opening number is powerful, exciting and an absolute joy. The finale encore also a true delight! Everything else in the show is a mish-mash and re-hash of these 2 numbers.
With authentic 70s lighting that includes 2 large red fresnel tab warmer fixtures, it’s a simple lighting plot. The band are on 4 x riser platforms – and that’s just about it. That’s all you get.
The company goes out of its way to show you their definition of “manly men”, well in a 70s sort of way anyway. You won’t find any stilettos, boy boy dancing, or nail varnish on the men here. And there’s no mistaking their booyahs, chest thumping, foot stamping, guttural shouts and postering. It’s powerful stuff that Johnny Weissmuller would be proud of. With hand clapping, whip cracking and bolleadoras spinning relentless high energy numbers, it’s quite exhausting to watch all that on-stage testosterone. With long wet hair flicked this way and that, the moisture is flying off the dancers. Their unison, passion, commitment and energy is second to none!
There’s the shirtless number, the open shirt number, the barefoot number and the tight black shirt numbers. And the women go wild and are lapping it up.
There used to be a circus act, the 3 Caballeros, and they’d do a 10 minute speciality act which I always felt should have been 8 minutes. Well this is much better than them – you get a large company of men who perform for 90 minutes.
The audience gave a standing ovation and had a brilliant evening.
