WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2025

BCF 25: Fall and Float
Photo courtesy of Young at Art

There are feelings of calmness and bewilderment as we begin to enter the conceptually clever and charming world which Mónica Muñoz Dance's Fall and Float, performed at the Lyric Theatre's Naughton Studio as part of this year's Young At Art Belfast Children's Festival, will present us with. At first, we see a pair of dancers, in different coloured clothing, choreographically conveying the serenity of attachment and the independence of breaking free along with a small hint at the complexities of each. But then, the music we've been hearing dies out, and the first of many balloons that will appear throughout the show begins to rise in the background.

The stage is set for what I might as well call "balloonacy". Except I'm happy to say that all the balloons that we'll see aren't indicative of spouting a lot of hot air, but rather how intriguingly and unusually high you can go with a vision like this one. Try to think of a helium balloon as not simply a decoration but as an inanimate object that you can really animate, and you'll get an inkling of where Fall and Float goes – balloons that can both frustrate and fascinate the dancers in how they fall and how they float. With these balloons, a set of boxes, props, music and dance, we get a human tale of falling and floating too, an aspirational quest to move and create which also indicates a relatable desire to relax and belong.

Colour is a primary theme, not just in the colours worn by the dancers but in the balloons themselves. For the audience of all ages, it's like a rainbow with added meaning – each balloon seems to motivate a different train of thought from our dancers or signify a different idea in the piece. Among these ideas are the tying of a balloon to one's toe while they lie down and cycle in the air, a harmonica played by the air released from a balloon, a balloon which floats in a coat and leaves a rather spooky impression, a blue balloon lit up to resemble a protective visor on a space helmet, and moving balloons with sunglasses! And, highly commendably, there is no danger of overload - really, the whole theatre is alive with fascination and excitement following an experience which has given us plenty to see and marvel at in such a short space of time. It's a triumph.

Simon Fallaha

Fall and Float ran at the Young at Art Belfast Children's Festival 2025 (#BCF25) in the Naughton Studio at Belfast's Lyric Theatre from Saturday March 8 to Sunday March 9. For more information on the show, click here.