Blast! An Explosive Musical Celebration

Amazon.com essential video

If your favorite part of a football game is when the marching band takes the field, then you're going to love Blast. Think of the most rousing, in-sync band that you ever saw, turn them way up, add cool costumes and a black-and-white checkered stage with colored spotlights, throw in a good helping of the Stomp vibe, and you've got Blast.

Color is the theme that threads the different musical pieces together. Beginning with Ravel's Bolero, the audience is pulled into this new music/dance/theatre experience as the band takes the stage marching, twirling, and weaving. The performers aren't simply musicians--they dance, sing, act, and play their brass and drums. "Loss," in the Blue section of the color wheel, is particularly touching. Even the flag team--a very sexy and talented flag team--is represented. The Green section melds into a sober and lovely rendition of "Simple Gifts," then concludes quietly with Copland's Appalachian Spring. In the black light of "Battery Battle," you're pulled into the rhythm of the lone drummer, then dueling snare drums, and finally a row of energetic, blindfolded drummers who never miss a beat. "Medea" combines movement and music in a dramatic interpretation of Samuel Barber's piece, and, set to a dance-club beat, "Lemon Techno" is a flurry of yellow flags, poles, and sensuous movement. A spectacularly sultry "Malaguena" drenched in red ends the program.

It's easy to see why Blast is a PBS favorite. It's an amazing new type of performance--one that every high school marching band member will want to emulate. Included here is a 25-minute documentary, Music in Motion: The Making of Blast, which takes you behind the scenes to the conception of the show and into the ensemble's homes and lives as they perform in London's West End. --Dana Van Nest

Customer Reviews:

Good if you like Blast.......2007-06-12

I bought this to show my students in band class at the end of the year. I enjoy this type of thing but when I saw it through there eyes, I realized that some parts of it are boring or seem weird. When I show it now, I skip through various parts. There are some dazzling displays of virtuosity and fans of Blast will definitely enjoy it. Those who like marching band will also enjoy it. The typical "man on the street" may not get into it.

VEY GOOD .......2007-05-07

This is GREAT Musical video i enjoy a lot IT'S GREAT, FINE, VERYGOOD AND MORE

Another Gem.......2007-01-18

I am a veteran marching member of the Drum and Bugle Corps fraternity.
I also had the extreme honor and pleasure of being instructed by Mr. Jim Mason and marching with his brother Marty in the Madison Scouts. Blast is the greatest testament to the talents of the Drum Corps fraternity.

BRAVO!

You thought this was good..........2006-02-16

You should see it live. One reviewer earlier mentioned that the DVD is a teaser, it may be to those who have seen the show, but to the uninformed, the DVD makes a great prepper.

Energy and Precision.......2006-02-15

This is simply the best DVD I have ever seen. I have seen the stage production, and the only thing missing from the DVD is the trumpet slide malfunction I witnessed (the tuning slide for the third valve flew off and landed on the side of the stage during some of the high speed movements. As a former trumpet player and drum major I may be slightly biased, but think about what they did...

Take the best few members of each marching bands in a couple counties and put together a Drum and Bugle Corps. Then let all the corps from across the country compete throughout high school and college, honing their skills. Many of them acquire degrees in music along the way. Then take the best members of those organizations who have just been kicked out because they are too old (over 21!) and put them on stage.

They are absolutely amazing, and are as capable physically as musically. One role (and there are several performers who have to be able to perform it) marches a route that comes towards the center of the stage while playing, takes their instrument down long enough to do a one-handed walkover, and resumes playing while still being in step with the rest of the group.

There is no other disc I watch as often as this. I came here to replace a disc that was burned when a friend's house was totalled.

Happy marching!!

Average customer rating:

Something for everyone
Great!
A good Performances mixes with the boring one.

Explosive Dance
Starring: Yuri Yanowsky , Thomas Edur , Claire Johnstone , Darcey Bussell , and Ashley Page
Director: Ross MacGibbon
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Ballet & Dance | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004ZESZ
Release Date: 2000-10-31

Amazon.com

Filmed in 1998 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Explosive Dance opens with a trio of jazzy tap dancers showing their stuff. Soon they are joined by a trio of Irish step dancers and a dance-off ensues. They tap and twirl, challenging each other, and ultimately blending into one seamless troupe. This is one of the best performances of the evening. Strictly Ballroom fans will love Antonio Márquez & Dancers. A tall, robust man in a sequined matador's jacket, Márquez can command a stage. The Jiving Lindy Hoppers are enthusiastic and show incredible athleticism in their too-short set, and the Club Salsa Dance Company outdo themselves with a sexy, intense, booty-shaking number. Of the five ballet performances, the best is the second number by the English National Ballet. A minimalistic modern piece with erotic overtones, it's a sleek and provocative duet. The impassioned duet of a policeman and his lover by the Royal Ballet, however, is also very gripping. Choreographer Wayne Sleep heads a Charlie Chaplin number that is entertaining but disappointing in its lack of originality. For the finale, the cast of Riverdance (not including Michael Flatley, Jean Butler, or Colin Dunne) takes the stage and wows the audience with their precision and flair.

A major oversight of Explosive Dance is that it does not provide the titles of the musical accompaniment. This is particularly frustrating for the ballet numbers (is this Swan Lake or are feather headbands back in style?). Explosive Dance is enjoyable and has many good performances, but it devotes too much time to traditional ballet for a show that bills itself as "explosive." --Dana Van Nest

Description

This fast-moving dance special brings together the world's foremost dancers performing at The Royal Albert Hall in London on September 15th, 1998. Headlined by the spectacular "Riverdance" cast, choreographed by Wayne Sleep and directed by Ross MacGibbon, never before have so many different genres of dance appeared together on one stage. With mesmerizing performances from the "Riverdance" cast, Darcey Bussell & Yuri Yanowsky (The Royal Ballet), Antonio Marquez, Dmitri Gruzdyev & Tamara Rojo (The English National Ballet), Deborah Bull & Ashley Page (The Royal Ballet), The Jiving Lindy Hoppers, Club Salsa Dance Company and many more.

Customer Reviews:

Something for everyone.......2002-10-23

If you like dance, you'll enjoy "Explosive Dance". Filmed at the Royal Albert Hall as a Red Cross benefit, this medley of dance styles has something for just about everyone; ballet, modern, jive, salsa, Irish step dance, even flamenco. The main gripe I have is that there are no subtitles to tell me exactly what the heck I'm watching. Some of it I recognize: pas de deuxs from "Sleeping Beauty" and a weakly orchestrated "Don Quixote", and the unmistakable thunder of "Riverdance" (the performance opens with the delightful "Trading Taps" and closes with the energetic finale). However, the notes on the package only identify the performing company, not the individual dancers or the piece they are performing. Also, the camera has a disconcerting tendency to show close-ups of the dancers when we'd really rather see their feet. Still, this is a good one to have in your dance library, if only for its variety.

Great!.......2000-10-23

This video features a variety of different dances, including Spanish, ballet and two performances by Riverdance's Liffey Company. The first Riverdance performance is 'Trading Taps,' and the last is a wonderful version of 'Heartland' performed by Breandan de Gallai and Joanne Doyle. Trading Taps is the first performance on the tape, and Heartland is the very last performance. Breandan and Joanne show what a fantastic leading couple they are in this performance.

A good Performances mixes with the boring one........2000-08-07

As for a fault about this video which I point out, the dance being printed on the package is that it isn't being recorded in this video.It is a thunder-storm in the Riverdance. Some sets of teams in the video played a wonderful dance. I was almost satisfied. And, this sentence is being translated by the translation software. Forgive me for the poor sentence from Japan.

Average customer rating:

Something for everyone
Great!
A good Performances mixes with the boring one.

Ballet & Dance | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: 6305701717
Release Date: 2000-03-14

Amazon.com

Description

This fast-moving dance special brings together the world's foremost dancers performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London on September 15, 1998. Headlined by the spectacular Riverdance cast, choreographed by Wayne Sleep and directed by Ross MacGibbon, never before have so many different genres of dance appeared together on one stage. With mesmerizing performances from the Riverdance cast, Darcey Bussell & Yuri Yanowsky (The Royal Ballet), Antonio Marquez, Dmitri Gruzdyev & Tamara Rojo (The English National Ballet), Deborah Bull & Ashley Page (The Royal Ballet), The Jiving Lindy Hoppers, Club Salsa Dance Company, and many more. 90 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

Something for everyone.......2002-10-23

Great!.......2000-10-23

A good Performances mixes with the boring one........2000-08-07

DVD:

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