There's a new US song and dance show, which seems to be getting its first outing here in London. I haven't seen it, but it seems to be trying to do for marching bands what Riverdance did for Irish dancing.<P>The London critics have admired the skill of the performers, but have not been convinced about the show. Mind you, they didn't like Riverdance or its successors much, which didn't stop them being really big hits.<P>Here are the URLs of a couple of the reviews:<P>Blast! Hammersmith Apollo, London. By Keith Watson:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,114688,00.html" TARGET=_blank>www.newsunlimited.co.uk/reviews/story/0,3604,114688,00.html</A> <P>Blast! By CLIVE DAVIS<BR> <A HREF="http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/12/16/timartthe01002.html?1376249" TARGET=_blank>http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/12/16/timartthe01002.html?1376249</A> <P><BR>More interesting, perhaps, will be 'Fosse the Musical', which opens here in January. Apparently it won the 1999 Tony Award. Has anyone seen this show?<p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 12-16-1999).]

Blast! is news to me but I have seen Fosse. I have Broadway-type friends who think it's the best thing playing. However, personally, I felt the transitions were more interesting to watch than the numbers as they seem more original and creative. If I'm not mistaken, Anne Reinking of Martha Graham did the choreography, so maybe I'm all wet in my assessment.

<B>BLAST</B><P>Reviewed by David Spencer for Aisle Say<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Marching band has changed a whole helluva lot since I played trumpet in high school. Or maybe marching band is the wrong label–in truth, marching band is a subset of the real art form, which is outdoor pageantry. The astonishing accomplishment of "Blast" is that it has managed to bring the excitement of that indoors.<P>But as I say, we’re not talking about the pageantry of yesteryear–rather, a cutting-edge hipness: a combination of percussion-and-brass corps, dance corps and vocalization–in which a cast of 60 highly trained musician performers from all over the country demonstrate musicality and co-ordination that rivals Fosse-like dexterity. But imagine those hip-pops on the bodies of brassists playing a brilliantly rendered arrangement of "Bolero".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.aislesay.com:80/NY-BLAST.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More...</B></A><BR>