Taking it seriously

Serious About StreetDance provided a fantastic conclusion to my working week.  The acts were polished and I sat aghast at the talent before me, most of the performers being in their mid to late teens.  If ever there were an alternative version of the stereotype that gets attached to adolescents who choose to wear baggy clothes, trainers and hooded sweatshirts, this was it. 

It was a spectacular evening.  Everything we saw was a spectacle.  No two acts were the same, yet the performers within each were beautifully choreographed and perfectly synchronised.  As someone who appreciates but claims no expertise in the genre, I was simultaneously amazed and impressed by the versatility - streetdance itself comprising a broad spectrum of very different dance styles.  

There was plenty about the evening that was serious - serious talent, serious creativity, serious dedication but it was full too of 'wow' factor (in fact, I cringe to think how many times that was the only response I could muster - apart from enthusiastically whooping and wooing, cheering and clapping from the Balcony of the Indig02!) 

Now in it’s 4th year, the Serious About StreetDance event was created by Nike Athlete Kymberlee Jay who hosted the evening with confidence and charisma from the almighty height of her flaming orange heels.  Her extraordinary evening has come to be recognised as the leading street dance extravaganza in the UK.  This year is brought together over 200 performers, making StreetDance accessible to a lay audience. 

Whilst every performance caused a stir, for me the acts whose progress I will be sure to follow were Soldiers of the New School, the young all female Streetdance crew from Manchester, the Shockarellas; and the brilliantly innovative Project Patchwork. 

"The body says what words cannot"

Martha Graham

The energy was contagious (which was helpful, it being a Friday night) and I found the evening exhilarating - the precision with which the dancers performed their pieces, the timing and coordination were absolutely flawless speaking volumes about the relationships forged by those on stage at the same time.  Given the skill and athleticism involved I wonder whether Streetdance may one day be conferred status as an Olympic sport.  From a spectator's perspective, it certainly beats synchronised swimming or ice skating.  For the meantime, I'm thrilled that there are events like this raising the profile of this perhaps often maligned and misunderstood activity that forms an important part of so many young people's lives. 

"Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul"

Plato

Kymberlee Jay is herself an established choreographer, dance teacher, performance coach and Nike Athlete based in London.  She began her career in the commercial dance industry appearing in music videos for artists including Madonna and televised/online advertising campaigns for global sporting giant Nike in the EMEA region.  Interestingly, Kymberlee is well known in the UK for being the first plus sized professional hip hop dancer and is currently a patron of Youth Dance England (alongside Arlene Philips and Carlos Acosta) representing the Street Dance contingent.