Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Heart, New York, NY.
March 28, 2025.
Boy Blue, the hip hop firm from London, generously graced the stage of the Rose Theater at Lincoln Heart in New York Metropolis for a brief three days on the finish of March 2025. The corporate was based in 2001, by composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE, and choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE with the imaginative and prescient to create a protected, supportive, family-like atmosphere to discover the probabilities of hip hop from each the music and dance views. That is the primary time the group has been to NYC to carry out its extremely profitable present, Cycles, offered by Lincoln Heart Presents.
Hip hop is totally different on the opposite facet of the pond, and there are a pair causes for the divergence from its Bronx roots. England has an extended historical past of supporting the theater and reveres and upholds respect for stay theatrical productions. Moreover, the federal government funds artwork in a extra sturdy approach than within the U.S. Within the final almost 25 years that Boy Blue has been a corporation, creating work comes with these philosophical and structural frameworks in place. Within the U.S., hip hop took a extra industrial route and has but to discover a stronghold within the proscenium theater realm because it has within the UK and different components of Europe.
Cycles is an summary ode to hip hip, each choreographically and musically. The dancers wore gender-neutral multi-layers costumes, and moved primarily as a bunch whereas incessantly permitting one or two dancers to have solo or duet moments of their explicit model. Whereas a lot of the present is clearly choreographed, the freestyle sections are improvisation that modifications from efficiency to efficiency.
In ballet, the work of the corps is commonly essentially the most troublesome, as they have to be completely precise in motion and musicality to create the beautiful impact of whole unity. Even in essentially the most well-regarded firms around the globe, that is troublesome to attain. In Cycles, the “corps” (actually an evolving group of dancers that change relying on who’s being featured in the mean time), was tighter and extra succinct than any ballet firm I’ve seen lately. Provided that the choreography was extra fluid than sharp, reaching this hallowed unity and this sense of rhythmic cohesion was actually spectacular.
Whereas my expertise with hip hop is restricted, my expertise with dance is just not, and watching Cycles gave me every thing I actually love about dance, whatever the style or model: creativity, technical prowess, considerate integration of lights and costumes, sensible music, and an mental complexity nestled into the work in a approach you may’t at all times see, however which supplies the work a steady basis to permit the viewers to really feel protected in no matter journey lays forward.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
