A mix of contemporary dance and cabaret was on the menu at the Electric Owl on Friday, October 12, telling the story of Led Zeppelin. The club was shoulder-to-shoulder with over 300 people by nine o’clock. They came for the “Lovers of Zeppelin”, an all-female cast of dancers known as The Lovers Cabaret who tell the band’s stories, with a special focus on the band’s female counterparts.
Those in attendance were given a stunningly emotional story crammed with passion, drama, emotion, fear and death.
Oh. And sexiness. Lots of sexiness.
Opening the show was a female guitarist ably rocking some well-known Zeppelin riffs. Shouts and hollering brought the historic rock band to life within the club. “Lovers of Zeppelin” ran the gamut of the rock and roll lifestyle – parties, jealousy, booze, drugs, sex and death were all expertly choreographed and performed. The dancers brought new emotion and an intimate connection with the life of the band. The show used choreography, dance and symbolism to invite the audience to feel the real emotions and turmoil the legendary rock icons experienced. The greatest achievement of the show was its ability to create complex emotions like lust, envy, fear and grief through a beautiful lens.
Like powerful works of art often are, the performance was certainly not shy of pushing borders. Some at the show mentioned displeasure at the overtly seductive acts. Head choreographer Ashley Sweett was prepared for a possible controversy. She was telling the story of a band at the head of a major social and musical movement. It was a highly unstable time and “Lovers of Zeppelin” reflected that; after all, I hear the sexual revolution ruffled a few feathers back in the day.
To experience the show as offensive was to perceive much of the mindset of the general populace of the time. Here was a band at the centre of a movement that took the Beatles from Hard Day’s Night to Sgt. Pepper’s, and Leave it to Beaver to M*A*S*H. It was a time of controversy, and a real fear of social dissidence. The real beauty of it is that it was possible for so many to have such different experiences watching the show.
The program was the brainchild of producer Vanessa Young, who choreographed some of the numbers. Vanessa Young and Ashley Sweett were thanked by a full standing ovation. As per the show’s theme, they made their curtain call in appropriate rock-chick chic.
With the success of Friday’s show, The Electric Owl has invited The Lovers Cabaret back for an encore performance on Thursday, October 25. You can buy tickets here. Also, look forward to a possible “Lovers of Hendrix” performance in the new year…
Photo by: Shannyn Higgins
