This is high-level pop. The pace only occasionally slackens, and everything gets a hand. Decoufl has some entrancing screwball ideas. But he hasn't Bausch's pessimism. The result is a hypercharged mix of halftime displays, parade-ground drills, dancing, and the athletic fervor of drum groups like the Japanese Kodo.
Splashy effects abound some beguiling, some corny.
In a well-played blues number, a stellar trumpeter, lowered from the flies, delivers his solo standing on a blue chair in midair. Banners and other bright-colored objects are waved and juggled ad infinitum. A couple of cheesy pas de deux seem extraneous. Tell us what you think. E-mail this story to a friend.