Reviewed by Georgia Cassimatis
A Sydney Symphony Family Event
If ever there was a first time for something, this would be it: a lively, energetic 45 minute performance by the Sydney Symphony orchestra, for kids and families.
For those parents wanting to ditch the popcorn, coke and the latest action movie, this classical music show is for you. It’s not just the latest pop music or Wiggles anthems that can entice movement and dance in kids, but also classical music made for dance. As the organisers say: ‘Music can make you happy, sad, jump around, go crazy, sit quietly and think, and it can make you want to dance!’ Testament to this were the kids that mimicked the conductor, jumped around, did their own form of interpretative dance, cried, and laughed, as well as those were simply stunned, quiet, transfixed and enthralled: one child even yelling out: ‘that instrument is huge!’ about a 400 year old Tuba. Opening with SBS TV presenter Andy Trieu he set the scene for letting the audience know that they were about to embark on a journey through ‘rhythms that leap’, and ‘melodies that sway’, every musical note propelling one on a journey around the globe.
Renowned Conductor Umberto Clerici was the perfect musician to take us on a global journey showcasing how classical music for dance made its way into concert halls worldwide: from the waltzes of Vienna and the folk dances of eastern Europe, to the vibrant energy of the can-can and the irresistible rhythms of Brazil.
He described French composer Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, the Can-can, as a fun dance which at the time was sCANdalous, to the point where people were even jailed for doing cartwheels with their skirts that ‘showed things’! Then there were the Slavic folk rhythms; Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances Op.46, No.8 from the Czech Republic, J STRAUSS II Voices of Spring Waltz, Op.410, Elena Kats-Chernin’s Dance of the Paper Umbrellas: playful and bouncy with the harp and the marimba playing together, and Australian composer Matthew Hindson’s Dance with Dinosaurs 50 Fanfares Commission which was written for his six year old son who asked him to write music about dinosaurs dancing around in the jungle. Cymbals clashed with loud drum beats and triangles shrilled while flutes were fast and furious, the trombones loud. Post Australia, we then finally made our way to Brazil with a complete 180 degree change in tempo with Zequinha De Abreu’s Tico Tico no Fuba: a style of music known as choro, with a happy and fast rhythm. With interaction a component in the show, it was at this time the audience were asked stand up and dance the samba Brazilian style with everyone’s favourite moves: including the Saturday Night Fever disco dance move.
Ending with Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody, the 45 minute performance was just perfect for all those mini person attention spans, and toilet breaks.
A show that kills not two but three birds with one stone: with its musical education, interactive dance and sensory visual and sonic delights, not to stop there the take home program was also informative. Not only is it packed with information about the various musical groups: percussion, keyboards, brass, string and woodwind, it asks kids to think about music and what it is about music that makes them want to dance. Is it the speed of the music called the tempo? The flow and energy called the rhythm? The tune which is called the melody? Who said tradition was dying and that screens were taking over? Let’s thank the Sydney Symphony orchestra for making it come alive!
For more information about events held by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra go to: www.sydneysymphony.com