There is nothing that can captivate me quite like dance. Whether it is a dancer on a podium or Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, I am guaranteed to be transfixed. This is perhaps because, as a little girl aside from my love of music, that is truly what I wanted to be, a dancer.
Imagine then the fusion of fluid creative chorography, with an edgy and original score, and the odd comedic twist thrown in for good measure, and you have the perfect formula for a hit show. Boy Blue Entertainment (BBE): Touch, not only delivered, but was the perfect marriage of music and dance, of composer (Michael Mickey J Asante) and choreographer (Kenrick 'H20' Sandy) into a breath taking fusion of colour, movement and sound. It is unsurprising that BBE: Touch’s short The Barbican run (28 – 30 July 2011), required additional dates to be added due to popular demand.
The opening montage of clips taken throughout the years, a favourite amongst urban music artists, hinted at the flavour of this multi-sensory showcase and experience. For those unfamiliar with BBE and even seasoned fans of their previous work including the Olivier award winning Pied Piper, Touch was an
up close and personal glimpse, within the intimate setting of the Barbican pit, at the men behind a ten year legacy born out of their clear love and passion for music and performance art. It was also an opportunity to see Mikey revisiting his dance roots, for the first time in several years.
The JFK quote “Conformity is the jailer of freedom", was amongst many projected throughout the show, and there was without doubt no evidence of conformity within their collective and individual performances.
Sandy was graceful yet powerful, muscular yet elegant and imaginative at every turn in his collage of multiple dance disciplines. Guest performers Bradley Charles and Rachel Kay added another dimension to this well rounded performance.
Asante, who I have had the pleasure of interviewing previously, is a renowned and accomplished beat maker, which he demonstrated so spectacularly in one of the show’s main highlights were he created beats from sounds collected from the audience. As he went to work, it was reminiscent of a scientist in a lab putting together the perfect formula from raw materials.
The key motivator for the BBE Co-founders and Artistic Associates of The Barbican has always been a love of what they do and that shone through in a glorious Technicolor. BBE Touch was indeed ‘innovating’, ‘inspiring’, ‘pioneering’, ‘versatile’, ‘energetic’ and a rare and worthwhile treat.
Catch both Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Astante in Channel 4’s One Man Walking, Monday 15 August, 10:30pm.
Part of Channel 4’s Street Summer season, One Man Walking is the powerful exploration of some of the intensity and challenges of life in the metropolis, as told through the expression of raw dance styles such as krump, hip hop and parkour set in the streets of London.
Touch photography (c) Jonnie Malachi
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