‘You have to add the flavour, the butter, the jam’: Boy Blue on bringing hip hop energy to the dance world

Choreographer Kenrick Sandy and composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante’s acclaimed troupe are back with a pulsating new piece, inspired by grime, jungle and carnival.

Sunday afternoon in Tower Hamlets, east London, and the room is full of teenagers hammering out a hip-hop routine, their trainers squeaking rhythmically on the floor. It looks pretty good, but Kenrick Sandy steps in. He’s a powerful presence, with a stillness about him and eyes that you feel are looking into your soul. “I’m listening to the weight distribution,” he tells the dancers, the implication being he’s not hearing what he wants. “Feel the move in your body, don’t just copy the steps.” He quizzes them about exactly what the energy of a step is, the difference between sharp, punchy or explosive. And he’s a stickler for the details: are the fingers together or apart? In a fist, is the thumb on top? In the space of 15 minutes they are transformed.View Full Article on The Guardian