Facial expressions and gestures added to the humor of “Legs” as the performers feigned surprise at their own movements and mimed playing air guitar on their pretend legs.
The mood shifted from introspective to silly in “Legs” and “Clackers.” In the former, the performers donned red suits with false feet that they controlled with their hands, like puppets, for a fun optical illusion. Then, still hidden within the fabric, the trio formed the illusion of a towering, shrouded giant. Next, they dropped to the floor, rolled their bodies inside the sheet, and pulled it over their heads as they crouched low, for an effect reminiscent of Snow White’s evil queen disguised as the witch with the poison apple. First the artists took hold of the fabric’s edges and shook it into the air, like children with a parachute in elementary school gym class. A sheet of fabric was used evocatively in “Rachmaninov,” performed to music by the composer. Imaginative use of props and sound helped create distinct scenes and emotions. “I’m having a great time!” Young Choi replied, while DiRado-Owens drew laughter when he joked, “I wish I could say the same.” Horowitz then added to the hilarity by offering to wipe out to cheer up his comrade. “How are you doing?” Horowitz asked his fellow performers during a change of scene. Cleverly, Galumpha turned many of these moments into opportunities for laughter. In the front row, I could see the sweat and hear the verbal communication necessary to safely execute collaborative stunts. The venue’s intimacy dissolved a bit of the fourth wall to reveal what might be hidden from the audience in a different setting, including how hard the performers worked during an hour of nonstop physical feats. A recurring motif included one performer leaping onto the feet of another who lay on his back. In “The Blues,” the trio spun with two performers hooked around the waist of a third.
Highlights included countless variations on the human pyramid, often incorporating motion. Often funny and sometimes moving, the self-titled show is a meditation on creativity, trust, cooperation, and human expression.Īcrobatic stunts and physical theater are the company’s strengths, and Galumpha delivered plenty. Gil Young Choi and Christian DiRado-Owens joined him at MAAS in a program of vignettes harnessing the performers’ strength, agility, endurance, teamwork, and comic timing. Most dancers retire before age 40, but Horowitz continues to perform. Andy Horowitz, artist-in-residence at Binghamton University, co-founded Galumpha with Greg O’Brien in 2002.
Galumpha combines acrobatics, physical comedy, and choreography into its own inventive, athletic, and quirky style.
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