Sa-Choom

Opening with incredible displays of human strength set to pounding industrial techno, Sa-Choom is a pretty spectacular, if not a completely oddball, dance-musical (or “dancical”).

Hailing from Korea, where they are seen as superstars on a par with the Spice Girls, Sa-Choom is a dance ensemble that showcases the best dancers in the country. Such is its intense popularity East-wards, that each individual dancer has his or her own personal fan club. So it must be something of a culture shock to arrive in Edinburgh, having to vie for attention with the likes of Jim Rose Circus.

Mixing martial-arts style break-dancing with the odd pop-routine, this is a show that never gets monotonous. Visually it is often spectacular, with constant creativity coursing through the dozens of set-pieces. The lighting effects are brilliant, the music loud and fast and the bass pounds through your diaphragm, creating a thrilling accompaniment to the on-stage action.

There’s even a plot, which tracks a child from conception—brought to life by a somewhat left-field “sperm dance”—through the various trials of growing up, although following it does require deciphering the frankly bizarre Korean-to-English translation. To keep things from getting stale, there are several comic breaks throughout featuring two jester-type characters that bring the audience into the performance and bring some not-entirely-needed light relief.

There are only two problems with this otherwise captivating and excellent production. Firstly, it takes a good twenty minutes of disparate (though impressive) dance routines before the plot kicks into gear. But that is a small time complaint compared to the god-awful Japanese-style power pop music that is sporadically inflicted upon the ears – dross so sickly sweet you could vomit.

Otherwise, this is wonderful.