Fun, laughs and a lot of love for dance: Chicos Mambo’s Tutu

Sadler’s Wells East, London
February 11, 2026

There is a tendency among some dancegoers to search for deep meaning in work as if it always has to be there. ‘Ah yes, but what is the intent?’ they ask. ‘What are they trying to say?’ And you can do that with Chicos Mambo’s Tutu if you wish. You can sit and philosophise. You can sit and muse on the exploration of gender, perceptions of men in dance and probably a lot more. Or you can just relax and enjoy the fun and games.

And there is a lot of fun to be had. Choreographed by Philippe Lafeuille, it’s been around and has been performed regularly since 2014. That tells you that it works. Whether it would work more than once, I’m less sure mind you. Jokes rarely work as well second time around.

The tutu of the title is there, of course. But the show goes way beyond that, turning into seventy minutes of scenes that generally poke fun at and gently parody dance in all its forms, although there are a couple of very poignant and beautiful moments in there too. But whatever the brilliant and utterly committed cast of six men and one woman (who appears more fleetingly) are up to, it’s all very clearly done with a deep understanding and a deep love of the art form.

It’s not long before the men appear in pointe shoes, tottering gingerly across the stage. But they can dance too. Among the classical moments are excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty, on pointe, en travesti, and done rather impressively. For laughs, there’s what could be ballet’s take on the Cornley Amateur Drama Society and the ‘Pas de deux that goes wrong.’ There’s also a sideways ‘Cygnets’ from Swan Lake, done by four ducks complete with orange bills.

A Dying Swan, performed by one of the men with his back to the audience throughout is seriously moving, his arms evoking beautifully the avian’s last moments. That is, apart from when it is unexpectedly interrupted by very funny hand puppetry, his arms and hands turning into swans’ necks and heads.

The funniest moments come elsewhere, though. A take-off of Strictly Come Dancing that has the professional battling with an enthusiastic but somewhat less that totally able celebrity is utter genius. On the whole, though, the more subtle, more nuanced moments are the ones that work best and that linger in the memory, including a right on the button stereotypical Pina Bausch parade of long haired women.

I also very much enjoyed two skits that borrowed from rhythmic gymnastics and the haka, the latter mixed with Bach’s Goldberg Variations of all things.

Elsewhere, there’s a dash of contemporary minimalism, a Rite of Spring performed by babies in nappies (yes, really!), and a great deal of colour in Corinne Petitpierre’s costumes that include puffy, flamingo-coloured tutu trousers.

Tutu. Expect the unexpected. A show of surprises that leaves you genuinely delighted.