Dance review: Prodijig: Footstorm, Glasgow

A THREE-MINUTE routine on Sky 1’s Got To Dance may have endeared Prodijig to the judges and viewing public – but choreographer Alan Kenefick knew he would have to come up with a lot more before taking his company out on tour.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

***

If only Kenefick had more confidence in his abilities as a choreographer, performer and talent scout, Footstorm could have made it to the stage with artistry, rather than spectacle, as its main attraction.

As it is, this is a show over-produced to within an inch of its life.

Lasers cut through the auditorium, computer game-style graphics fill the screen and an earnest voice booms out from the speakers. This is a tale of epic proportions, involving time travel, ecological destruction and good triumphing over evil.

Science fiction meets Irish dance? OK, we’ll go with it. Kenefick proved himself a choreographer who can think outside the box during his spell on TV, so it stands to reason his first full-length show would take us to new territory.

But Kenefick’s choreography is so strong, his performance style so mesmerising and his eye for good dancers so sharp, it renders the theatrical overkill of Footstorm wholly unnecessary. Who needs a complex narrative when your fast-paced unison, inventive use of arms (no longer glued to the dancers’ sides) and accessible yet groundbreaking choreography do the talking for you?

In the closing moments, Kenefick and his 17 dancers come out dressed in simple T-shirts for a non-narrative encore. It’s the highlight of the show.