Choreographer: Philippe Lafeuille
Returning to London, Chico Mambo: TUTU brings a fun, uplifting time that can easily brighten an audience’s day, regardless of the constant rainy weather in the city.
The tutu is a well-known costume for a ballerina, to be taken seriously by the dance world. Choreographer Philippe Lafeuille decides to poke fun at the stiff and serious nature of the dance world. He creates a variety of scenarios that touch on different forms of humour and dance. This creates laugh-out-loud experiences for everyone to enjoy. Using the tutu, Lafeuille flips our views on gender norms, the dance world, and the very tutu itself in this fun 80-minute production.
Although there are only seven male dancers, there are 20 scenes in this performance. This means the six main dancers, and one cloaked in black, are constantly moving around the stage and each other. The scenes range from traditional ballet to regular ballroom numbers to more physically demanding pieces like breakdancing. Each dancer wears some version of the tutu at least once on stage. These dancers perform parodies of various dance styles. The choreography is easy to follow and perfectly fits with the comedic moments placed alongside each dance piece.
The pacing and flow from one piece to another is well executed and allows for each dancer to shine in their own way. The seven dancers perfectly balance one another and play off each other well. The music, dance, and facial expressions are all on point. The costumes, designed by Corinne Petitpierre with assistance from Anne Tesson, capture the humour and essence of the various dance parodies.
One of the funniest pieces is the parody of Strictly Come Dancing as two couples awkwardly, yet hilariously, compete to see who wins. The performance pokes fun at the common tropes from the show: ripping one’s shirt open, to awkward shimmies, and eyeing the cameraman lovingly.
These seven dancers are beyond skilled and are fully able to showcase their immense talent, both separately and as a group. In addition, there is a moment after one of the pieces where five dancers crowd the sixth, asking personal questions relating to their profession. From invasive questions (“Are you gay?”), professional (“What’s your real job?”) to silly (“Can you do a split?”), These enquiries highlight the very issue male dancers experience in the dance community and in society. It is a quick moment surrounded by humour, but pivotal.
Due to unforeseen consequences, this production will appear at the Sadler’s Wells East Theatre in Stratford rather than the Peacock Theatre until Sunday 15 February. This change of venue is temporary and last-minute, but the performance does not suffer due to the new location.
Be sure to grab your tutu and experience a joyful evening with this silly yet heartwarming production.
Runs until 15 February at Sadler’s Wells East and then until 21 February 2026 at the Peacock Theatre
