Dance St. Louis presents Blast

The Fox

Blast is not an easy show to describe. It has music but it's not really a musical. It has dance — almost non-stop dance, in fact — but it's not a ballet. It also has juggling and other aspects of the circus but it's not quite that, either. You could say it's the world's most elaborate half-time show. That, at least, gives you some idea of the way it integrates brass band music, movement and acrobatics, but it still falls far short of giving you a sense of the sheer visceral impact of this spectacular, high-voltage evening of entertainment. Blast is, ultimately, pretty much its own genre. It's also what you'll have when you see the show.

The brainchild of James Mason, whose numerous credits include founding the highly-regarded Star of Indiana drum and bugle corps, Blast shows its roots in the wide variety of brass and percussion instruments that form its musical foundation as well as in the precise, march-inflected dance steps of choreographer George Pinney and the ingenious variations on baton-twirling with flags, illuminated rods, and even swords and imitation rifles. As someone who spent his feckless youth playing the baritone horn, euphonium, trombone (valve and slide) and Sousaphone in the school marching band, stage band, concert band and orchestra, I suppose I'm rather a pre-sold audience for something like this, but I think only a truly dedicated curmudgeon could fail to be excited by the continual display of virtuosity by the 56 — count 'em, 56 — young performers who make up the cast of Blast. Any one of these kids could be a star in his or her own right.

And, in fact, a few of them do get star turns in the course of the evening. Adam Repa plays a stratospheric jazz trumpet in "Everybody Loves the Blues" while Jeremy Grange, Amy Sanchez and Frank Sullivan — on tuba, French horn and flugelhorn, respectively — lead an impressive solo ensemble in Chuck Mangione's "Land of Make Believe". Jeffery A. Queen and David Brent Ellis shine in a comic snare drum battle that starts off the "Battery Battle" sequence — set, appropriately enough, to the "Dance of Vengeance" from Samuel Barter's ballet Medea - and Vincent D. Oliver plays the hell out of the marimba in "Spiritual of the Earth".

Each number in Blast is organized around a specific color — blue for the blues sequence, green for a setting of the final moments of Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring ballet, orange for the Mangione section and so on — and designer Mark Thompson provides striking and fanciful costumes and set pieces to go with them, underscored by Hugh Vanstone's dramatic lighting. The result is a veritable feast for the eyes and ears; a non-stop riot of color, music and motion that will leave the kids enthralled and the adults impressed. It's the ultimate family friendly show, in the very best sense of the term.

Did I convince you to see Blast? Good. You should. All the superlatives I can pile up here can't come close to conveying the rush you'll feel when you see this much sheer talent on one stage. It's at the Fox through Sunday [2/9/2003]; call 314-534-1111 for ticket information. It's the perfect antidote for these frigid February nights.

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