Melbourne Reviews

360 All Stars, billed as an urban circus, is a collection of tricksters each showing off his own speciality, from breakdancing to basketball antics. There’s a youthful hip hop vibe and a big screen with retro video-game styling to bring atmosphere and hook in the target market of kids from around three to 12 years old. 

The hour-long show is at its best when the whole ensemble of seven (including freestyle rapper Mister Monk and percussionist Jordan Peseira) riffs off each other in playful group routines that relish in mixing up all the spinning things – BMX, basketball juggling and acrobatic cyr wheel. These displays are joyful and infectiously entertaining and build a sense of community. Fun touches include the cyr wheel becoming a spotlight to jump in and out of, the boys flirting with each other’s skill sets and mini-duets that pair up one set of arms to a different set of legs. 

Before the group shenanigans, every person in the all-male cast, including the musicians, struts their stuff in a solo act. Each has an extended and hyperbolic introduction. There's no lack of talent or quirkiness in the bunch, yet the continuous solo format gets predictable.

The breakdancers, Jack and Alejandro, are a double act. Their friendly duelling peppered with head spins and one-arm balances, brings a nice change of pace. 

The full-cast interplay is left for the last third of the hour, which, in terms of the show's pacing, feels uneven and bottom-heavy. But it does leave the show on a high. 

360 All Stars is a great concept and fun way to spend an hour. There's potential to further explore how both the spinning objects and humans can inter-relate and cross-over tricks and skills.