Conceived by Austin McCormick and Zane Pihlstrom

Written by Austin McCormick and Jeff Takacs

Company XIV

Bond St. Theater

Brooklyn, NY, USA

Metro Paper:

Fairy Tales for a New Generation

By Elizabeth Zimmer

Take a little bit of Vivaldi, some Aphex Twin, a few tracks of Danny Kaye singing Frank Loesser's wonderful songs from Hans Christian Andersen and a trio of baroque opera singers who resemble Lady Gaga but sound like angels. Stir them together in a former tow-truck warehouse in Carroll Gardens, accompanying half a dozen dancers and a powerful actor with a booming voice. The result is Le Cirque Féerique, an appealing fantasia choreographed by Austin McCormick and designed by Zane Philstrom, which provides just enough narrative detail. Acrobatic movers fill a revolving stage with eye-popping feats, swirling fabric, and genuine emotional connection. Stories ranging from Little Red Riding Hood to Ferdinand the Bull are lovingly re-created, with terrific dancer Davon Rainey inevitably cast as a sort of vampire disco villain. Jeff Takacs, the burly ringmaster who introduces each act and vamps during scene changes, also adapted the stories (some in rhymed couplets) and performs as the hapless ruler in The Emperor's New Clothes. Because he speaks all the parts, the dancers are free to do what they do best: parade and tumble in Philstrom's gorgeous neo-baroque costumes, swing from trapezes, and, as in Ferdinand, doze among the flowers in a Picassoid mask.