Ripper-Dance

In Ireland there is a dance company called Riverdance, which is internationally very popular, but five seconds accidental exposure of which is guaranteed to make me fling myself against the nearest wall. Ripper-Dance is my proposed alternative to the saccharin-doused excesses of Riverdance.

Instead of the prancing troop of lithe and permanently grinning mini-skirted dancers, Ripper-Dance would be choreographed in such a way as to explore the dark side of human movement and physical form. Based on the story of Jack The Ripper, the sets would be the gloomy, fog-infested alleys of Victorian London. The story of the five infamous murders would unfold as dramatic spectacles of frenzied motion and raw energy. For comic relief, Jack would juggle or skip around after each incident, using his organ trophies as props, accompanied by a merry chorus, with his most recent victim propping themselves up on one elbow and joining in. As a finale, the entire cast would perform a dance-macabre celebration, swaying across the stage to the dulcet tones of Bebel Gilberto performing “So Nice (summer samba)”