Fringe Reviews: Pump Up the Jam, En deça du possible, Simon a toujours aimé danser

Pump Up the Jam, Geneviève Boulet, Guy Robert Jean, Sylphir *½
Les Productions Fluo attempts to resurrect pop music of the early 1990s (not to mention bright fluorescent colored clothing) with Pump Up the Jam. In the Fringe program, their show is described as “dance and music”, but after seeing the show, I’m forced to say that it should probably read “aerobics and karaoke”. Actually, I’ve witnessed aerobics classes that were more artistic and physically impressive than this. PUTJ does have a few laughs here and there, but it’s mostly just painful. It’s much like watching a high school talent show, but made all the more embarrassing by the fact that it’s actually performed by grownups. I got to see the show for free and I still want my money back.

Pump Up the Jam plays at MAI, 3680 Jeanne-Mance, on the following dates:
12 TUE 23:15
14 THU 22:00
15 FRI 22:45
16 SAT 14:15
17 SUN 18:15

En deça du possible, Maryse Loranger **
At least PUTJ can say that it doesn’t take itself seriously, which is more than I can say about Maryse Loranger’s En deça du possible. If teenage angst could be transformed into a dance show, En deça du possible would probably be it. It takes itself so seriously that the movement often comes across as melodramatic. Still, the talent of the dancers is undeniable, which is something that is not visible in PUTJ.

En deça du possible plays at the Ukrainian National Federation, 405 Fairmount W, on the follwing dates:
14 THU 16:30
15 FRI 23:00
16 SAT 16:00
17 SUN 19:45

Simon a toujours aimé danser, Simon Boulerice ****
Luckily, my night finished on a much better note. Simon Boulerice acts and dances his life for us in the intimate space of Mainline Theatre, which only works in his favor. Like many autobiographical tales, Simon a toujours aimé danser sometimes flirts heavily with narcissism (he watches himself on a TV screen, his name is written on his shirt and on the floor), but Boulerice often compensates by taking the piss out of himself by charmingly being self-detrimental. It is in these moments when he refuses to take himself seriously, like when he reenacts a scene from The Little Mermaid or when he pours water on his head Flashdance-style while dancing to Whitney Houston, that Boulerice is at his best. Whether he touchingly brushes against the issue of wanting children as a gay man, longingly discusses his insatiable desire for meaning (“je voudrais que ma vie soit une fin de film à chaque instant”), or wittily reveals the ambiguities of childhood dreams (“moi qui aurait pu devenir un grand danseur de vidéoclips!”), Boulerice manages to make us laugh enough to make us forget all the show’s imperfections. No doubt that many artistically inclined gay men will be able to relate to his story, which of course also means that it’s sometimes almost a run-on cliché. Ultimately though, you just might feel the urge to hug Boulerice once the show is over, and how often can you say that at the Fringe?

Simon a toujours aimé danser plays at the Mainline Theatre, 3997 St-Laurent, on the following dates:
12 TUE 20:15
15 FRI 17:15
16 SAT 21:30