Jabbawockeez Theater is completely packed one April evening, 10 days after the grand opening of a revised and retooled Timeless, Jabbawockeez’s third Las Vegas production. The timing of Timeless’ original opening coincided with the beginning of lockdowns, disrupting momentum. Disruptions of momentum are bad for dancing, as well as dance crews eager to bring their newest concepts in choreography to hard-won fan bases.
The capacity crowd on hand for a 7 p.m. performance is populated with members of that fan base whose enthusiasm for Jabbawockeez has not been disrupted. If they are seeing Timeless for the second time, it may seem like an entirely new show. Timeless debuted at Jabbawockeez Theater shortly before the pandemic lockdowns, reopened in a much larger venue to accommodate social distancing, then moved back after protocols were lifted.
“We’ve been through so many revamps of Timeless just because of COVID,” says cast member Rynan “Kid Rainen” Paguio. “It’s crazy that a show we opened right before COVID went to MGM Grand Garden Arena after so many months, and we had all these protocols. We had to revamp the show for that stage and that audience, and then getting back to the theater and having to change to what we had before was just a crazy situation.”
Social distancing extended to stage choreography, so the entire show had to be blocked to create distance among cast members. Contact wasn’t allowed so tandem moves had to be cut or reimagined. Frustrating as it was, it provided leeway to hone the “Regional” segment, which takes the audience on a whirlwind tour of hip-hop’s major scenes, and to mix Busta Rhymes into a moody segment set to Billie Eilish beats.
The enthusiasm for being back in action shows in the effervescence emanating from the stage as Jabbawockeez go back in time to visit dance cultures past, trading track suits for zoot suits at one point. The emotion they convey through body movement alone, enhanced by their iconic expressionless masks and combined with apparently effortless precision, never ceases to amaze.
Timeless is their most up-close-and-personal show yet. Next-level LED technology provides crystal-clear illuminated backdrops, and lasers are used in an innovative way that suggests Jabbawockeez possess magical powers along with supreme dance skills.
One left-field addition made to Timeless is a third-quarter karaoke segment that requires audience participation and emphasizes the comedy skills inherent to the most renown urban dance crew in the world. The Jabbawockeez have come a long way in two decades of existence, driven by the excitement of blazing new frontiers for b-boys and creating a blueprint for how to succeed. They even have a new Timeless NFT ticket that gives fans special access as well as a collectible digital memento.
Ultimately, the show is all about purposeful, expressive movement that entertains as well as inspires. Watch the kids wearing white masks exiting the theater, confidently mimicking dance moves they just saw, and the cultural significance of Jabbawockeez is made more apparent than any words can express.
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