Thrilling Argentinian spectacle at Limerick City of Culture

Fuerza Bruta at the Limerick City of Culture is spectacular, says Richard Fitzpatrick

THE Irish premiere of Fuerza Bruta, which opens for a 10-day run as part of the Limerick City of Culture, will be unlike any live dance performance in the country this year. The Argentinian dance show has been heralded around the world since its first outing. It is, for example, the fastest-selling show in the history of London’s Roundhouse.

Fuerza Bruta, which translates as “brute force”, is a dreamlike spectacle. Creator Diqui James and his long-time collaborator, Gaby Kespel, created it in 2003. It’s part theatre, part dance, part carnival show, which doesn’t let up for 75 minutes. It also drags its audience into the middle of its mayhem.

“The audience is an active participant in the show from beginning to end,” says Brooke Miyasaki, one of the show’s stars. “You walk into the space and from the get-go you’re standing. You’re not bound by a seat. When you hear the introduction of the show, you hear in the announcement that you’re invited to move around — you will be asked by the crew to move to allow different set pieces and props to come through. The show will happen amongst you.

“Right then and there you go, ‘OK, this is not traditional theatre.’ Either people decide to leave their inhibitions at the door and see where this goes or some people might be a little bit nervous, but it’s all part of it. We beg you to feel what you feel in the moment. You see performers come out into the audience, inviting you to join in the party.

“You see a pool pulled over your head. You can actually look up and see women on the other side swimming in the water. You’ll be asked to make way for a 12-foot treadmill, which, from your point of view, will look like a man is walking on your head. There’s also a curtain that envelops the space, which has women running very quickly across it.”

The American dancer Miyasaki is a veteran of one of the director’s previous shows, De La Guarda. She is also an actor, having starred in the 2005 film adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha. Her husband, Liam Lane, an actor turned aerialist, is also part of the Fuerza Bruta troupe. Miyasaki had to stop performing in a previous run of Fuerza Bruta four months into a pregnancy. Their daughter, Scout, will be two on St Patrick’s Day.

A Latin, exuberant sense of play infuses Fuerza Bruta. Its performers laugh a lot during a show. “I know because the show comes from Argentina, there is an element of freedom and joy and expressiveness that comes naturally with the culture,” says Miyasaki. “When we think of its roots — it’s coming from Buenos Aires — Diqui is thinking the people of his country put that feeling into his show.

“There is something inherent in the culture there. There is a very relaxed and passionate fuel that runs through its people. It’s interesting when you take it out of Argentina and start casting in other countries. When new people join the group, there is a certain quality that you’re looking for — not just to be able to dance well or be a good actor, but something about having an open spirit is important.”

Fuerza Bruta will be performed as part of the Limerick City of Culture, from Thursday, March 13 — Saturday, March 22 at The Culture Factory (former Dell Building), Plassey Park Road, Castletroy, Limerick. For more information, visit: www.fuerzabruta.net.