Wheels Turn Ballet Around

Illawarra Mercury

Friday May 23, 2008

By JODIE MINUS

LIKE an eccentric modern ballet, a BMX rider dances from pedal to peg while circled by a skateboarder, all to the music of Bach.

Welcome to Paradise City, the show that turned the Opera House steps into one massive skate park and introduced the theatre crowd to the poetry of extreme sports.

Today, Branch Nebula's powerful show arrives at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre's IMB Theatre.

Starring Erowal Bay BMX rider Simon O'Brien and created by Lee Wilson and Mirabelle Wouters, the show pushes the boundaries of modern dance.

"This project has grown out of a love for the anarchic, do-it-yourself nature of urban art forms of breaking, flatland BMX and freestyle skateboarding," Wilson said.

"Paradise City integrates these forms into a tightly choreographed ensemble work." There is a matinee today and evening performances tonight and tomorrow.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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