Cyro Baptista’s “Beat the donkey” can be best described as a delightful audiovisual smorgasbord of all forms of sounds and grooves that you can possibly fit in within an hour’s time. It had everything to capture the hard-to-get interest of tiny tots (a trait shared by many adults these days ) .
The eight member strong team, dressed in wild colors and costumes (one was wearing a chicken head and Cyro made a dramatic entry in a magician’s cape) moved between various nameless instruments on stage performing a different something every time. The background color of the stage kept changing to all bright colors ( like a willowish green or an organza pink or a fiery ochre) and added that extra element to captivate the kids.
As for the program itself, there was a bit of everything! Cyro started out with a loud vigorous beating and his band members picked up and produced some really creative percussion sequences. There were Kodo style drums, an Indonesian dance with Gamelan music (the girl who did this was so graceful and beautiful!), a delightful tap dance, a lovely Brazilian song ( by a team member who belted out really well), some amazing rock style keyboard playing (this guy is good!), some cool guitar action and of course the numerous instruments made from gigantic Coca-cola caps to leftover PVC pipes and recycled gas pipes .
Given that it takes so much to get our interest these days (nothing short of a 4D show), the performance might be considered “i would rather be taking an afternoon nap than listening to this loud what-do-you-call-it” by many adults. But it was a family performance, people! And the many kids jumping around and doing goofy moves in the well between the stage and the audience were obviously enjoying every moment.
It was so good to see an older kid show his moves to a toddler (who must have just started walking and was wobbling his baby arms around with one of the loveliest smiles on his face) and I think that’s what Cyro’s band was aiming for!
Overall, a lovely evening,
For [art]seen,
Krithika
