HK Cultural Centre Grand Theatre
Reviewed: October 22
Jarocho is a dance spectacle, directed by Richard O'Neal (formerly of Riverdance), that celebrates the racially mixed culture of Mexico's Veracruz province. Its 17 vignettes focus on the region's African, Spanish, Cuban, classical and modern influences.
Overture is seen through a sheer red screen, condensing the production into quick flashes of dance and costumes.
In Zapateado, set to energetic music, 20 black-clad dancers move as one, tapping their feet and flicking their heads from side to side.
The traditional piece is slower, with fourperformers singing and playing the harp, the donkey jaw bones and small guitars (jarana and requinto). Eventually, dancers join in, the women swirling their full white skirts.