“Les Echos de la Rue” follows. Initially, it seems like a puppet show, with the dancers wearing little shoes on their fingers and imitating the journey walked by city dwellers. Then, there is devastating news footage projected by one of the cast onto the wall of  police brutality and racism, looting, riots and a neighbourhood on fire. The weight of this hangs heavily in the room and it’s an uncomfortable moment.

But the incredible troupe are instead focusing on empathy for others, for conflict resolution: this they do via the here and now, the immediacy of storytelling through their bodies. Their kinetic breaking, popping, locking and acrobatic flips leave the audience utterly captivated. Themes of political resistance, Black Lives Matter and freedom are embodied in the floor spinning, balletic lifts and raised fists. 

Building blocks, which the cast carry and place on the floor serve as both makeshift set and concrete urban environment. A dinosaur mask renders a figure eerily anonymous. A fortress of dancers is created, seemingly impenetrable. Plexiglass serves as a riot shield, mirror and platform. Red and white petals contrast blood and peace.

These symbols aren't empty or merely gestural: they all add up to an evocative whole. Breakdancing has long been a signifier of Black strength, community and power, so too is this performance. It's art as resistance, art as mouthpiece. These dancers—vivid, ferocious, ebullient, sombre—have a lot to say, and do so eloquently.