Fancy footwork

Blazing hot: The five jailbreakers – Gray, Lump, Joker, Tricky and Dandy – of Break Out, an extreme dance comedy theatre from South Korea.

Straight from South Korea, comes Break Out – the non-verbal, hilarious dance theatre that will have you rolling on the floor in laughter.

AMIDST the present scorching weather comes a blazing hot show from South Korea called Break Out. The internationally-acclaimed extreme dance, non-verbal comedy theatre plays in Malaysia one week from now and tells the story of five clumsy convicts who stage a daring escape from prison inspired by a sacred text that mysteriously lands in their hands one day.

As the comedy would have it, the five jailbreakers seek shelter in a hospital, when pursued by the authorities, and there they meet sexy nurses; another pitstop is a convent where they befriend innocent nuns.

The tale is told in the form of extreme dance which combines gymnastics, hip hop, breakdancing, yoga, martial arts and slapstick comedy to infectious beatboxing and catchy DJ music.

Break Out premiered in Seoul in April 2007 and made its British premiere at the Peacock Theatre in London two weeks later. In August 2007, it played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it topped the box office, and earned the Cavalcade Best Walking Group Winner accolade.

It went on to play in Vientiane (Laos), Mumbai, London, New York, Shanghai, Bangkok and Singapore.

Produced by Yegam and Sevensense Inc, Break Out began its run in Seoul from Dec 14, 2007. It currently plays six days a week at the Cinecore Building, with two shows on Saturday and a break on Monday.

Director Jeon Jun-beom was particularly upbeat during an exclusive interview held at the theatre in Seoul city after a recent show.

Hilarious: The five jailbreakers disguise themselves as doctors and patients as they hide out in a hospital during their escape .

Jeon, 30, who hails from Suwon, started off as a dancer himself before getting more involved in research and development.

“While taking a different show, Jump, to Edinburgh in 2004, I kept thinking of what other b-boy show we could present to international audiences. Then, this idea came up and we started Break Out about three years ago,” offered Jeon, adding that the Sevensense R&D team included three directors who worked out the concept and theme for Break Out.

Apart from Jeon, the Break Out production team includes founder and executive producer Kim Kyung-Hun, as well as an artistic director, assistant directors, composers, lighting director, set designer, lighting designer, prop designer, costume designer and make-up designers. Yes, it may look like a stark show, but there’s a lot to look into.

While the company has more than one team staging Break Out, the dancers get opportunities to perform both on home ground as well as overseas.

“We don’t differentiate between teams playing overseas or locally. Everybody gets to play in different locations,” said Jeon. “While the story is the same, when different dancers play the same role and execute similar moves, their unique personalities and skills come into play, in effect giving each performance a different feel.”

Jeon explained that the overall dance choreography and storyline is up to the director but for the individual tricks and moves, the dancers themselves discuss and decide on what they feel is best.

The set and props for the show in Malaysia, which are identical to the ones in South Korea, have already been flown in to the country. The dancers will arrive two days before the show to acclimatise themselves and commence rehearsals.

“While the props and set are basically the same as before, slight changes were made as the performance is constantly evolving. We sometimes need to modify performances to accommodate the venue, depending on whether we have a larger or smaller area to play with.”

Jeon takes it upon himself to attend every show to observe each performer’s acting and gestures. “Because they are originally dancers, the acting may need some improvisation. After making observations, we gather and discuss what works and what doesn’t.”

With the best interests of the show always in mind, Jeon admitted that constantly “upgrading” Break Out – in terms of overall storyline, set design and music – is most essential. He said: “In the past we have even made changes according to the requirements of the situation, and to accommodate the culture and sensitivities of different countries.”

Since Break Out is now in the midst of its open run, the company holds auditions as and when it requires additional members.

Before its charity performances here next week, the Break Out cast will judge the semi-finals for the Korea Sparkling b-boy competition at Sunway Pyramid this weekend. Ten breakdance crews will be selected – five tomorrow and another five on Sunday – to participate in the finals on May 22.

To add to the b-boy fever, a surprise is in store for these competing Malaysian b-boys. Jeon revealed: “We’ll be selecting two dancers from that contest to participate in Break Out! The characters have yet to be decided on, as we have to observe their personalities before we assign the roles.”

He added: “We hope in future to audition foreign dancers from different countries and have them join us in South Korea while we train for more overseas performances.”

Organised by Korea Tourism Organisation, the Break Out charity performances are managed by GFW, presented by Korea Sparkling and sponsored by LG. The show has the support of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture Malaysia, the Penang government, the Malaysian Association of Hotels and the South Korean Embassy. Media partners include Star Publications (M) Bhd, 8TV and One FM.

The Break Out schedule includes six shows in Malaysia: four in Kuala Lumpur at Wisma MCA on May 23 and May 24 (at 3pm and 8.30pm) and two in Penang at Dewan Sri Penang on May 27 and May 28 (at 8.30pm). Proceeds from the performances will be donated to two charity organisations: LG Cleft Lip Project (KL shows) and D’Home Mental Health Association (Penang shows).

Tickets are selling at RM63 (free seating) and RM93 (numbered seats) and available via Axcess hotline ( 603-7711 5000), online at axcess.com.my and all authorised Axcess outlets. Six lucky ticket purchasers stand a chance to win 42” LG LCD television sets.

Source : The Star