I wasn't expecting funny from the "live-action dance movie" Qwan Sauce, a parody of the slew of poppy dance movies that have exploded on the scene during the past decade aka Save the Last Dance, Step Up, Center Stage, etc....kitschy yes, but funny? And yet the show had everyone in the house laughing--and dancing--on the edge of their seats.

If all of Crash's pieces have the energy of Qwan Sauce, it'll surely live up to its Reader's Choice for "Best Dance Company" title awarded by the Chicago Reader in 2009. The show was innovative and daring, challenging conventional performance and intertwining break dance, hip hop, modern, jazz, and ballet in a fluid performance that entertained and engaged the audience. Kudos to choreographer and senior company member Lyndsey Rhoads.
The small, intimate setting at Stage 773 (formerly the Theatre Building Chicago) made it easy for Mark Hackman, writer/director, to involve the audience through a sort of play-within-a-play, where Hackman played himself as the director, throwing the unknowing Qwan into the middle of the show. The show veers "off script," so technically we never know what was really supposed to happen. Hmm...the idea was clever and certainly a twist, despite spotty execution at times. If nothing else, it made for an unexpected ending!