En

En, a 90 minute show by the all female drum and tapdance troupe COBU, created by Yaka Miyamoto, features hot, perfectly coordinated. lively tap dancing in unison moves to conga and base drumming; synchronized drumming with the dancers moving dynamically as they hit skins and sides of their drums in a percussion dance; a section wherein a duo does a short Savion Glover piece of feet percussion; a short section with a mixture of traditional Japanese movement and costumes, fans and all, mixed with tapping, which is the only gently-done section of the show; a bit of unison singing, a bit of staff-fighting.

Mostly it's full-throttle, loud, rapid drum smashes, and the storyless numbers, while amazingly precise, ultimately become redundant.

It's fun to see the great, strong, elastic bodies of these lively, cheery women, but unfortunately, the lighting by Ayumu "Poe" Saegusa, is mostly so dim, it is hard to discern the nuances of the fine costumes and the facial expressions of the dancer-drummers.

Much of the show is like being in a cave at night watching movements in the glow of firelight. Okay for a bit, but not enough for about seventy of the ninety minutes.

So it's fun to see these enthusiastic, dynamic, well-trained, exuberant young women jumping around and banging on things with amazing precision, creating their soundscape which sometimes includes Japanese stringed instruments and gourds. It would, for me, be better at an hour, but at it's best, it's an unusual, memorable, entertaining event.