On the first Saturday of half term, the Year 11 GCSE dancers descended on the newly refurbished Fairfield Halls and were welcomed by a soulful hub of dance activity organised for the Dance Umbrella Festival in London. Live DJ’s, dancers and Lindy hoppers had created a pop up dance event culminating in a much anticipated performance by Boy Blue Entertainment, one of the companies studied by the GCSE dance pupils for their Dance Anthology.
On first viewing, the piece REDD appeared to be contradictory and possibly much darker than the uplifting and empowering ‘Emancipation of Expressionism’ choreographed in 2013 which celebrates super powers and the flow and connection between people.
However, peel off the layers of the piece and at the core, the message arrives at the same place: connectivity is crucial to our sense of belonging in the world and perhaps REDD is the prelude piece to E of E: as we see a family portrait tableaux fragment before our eyes, it is a poignant reminder of how fragile life can be. In his programme note, Sandy enlightens us a little on his personal plight: “It is in love with me, my grief. Unconditionally. And I must learn to love it back. Or be outlived by it” (R Moulden). Light or shade, REDD does not disappoint.
The Boy Blue trademark moves are all there: group ensemble surges of energy, patrolling, swarming and commanding the space and transporting us, the audience to a startlingly present and euphoric place, where we are reminded of how exciting human potential can be.
Quotes from the Year11 GCSE Dance students;
‘Intricacy and precision of the dancer’s movement fused with Kenrick H2O Sandy’s presentation of the struggle of grief presented dance in its truest form.’ Divinia
‘A mind-blowing dance experience.’ Treynelle
‘I found it great to experience the latest work Redd by Boy Blue. I enjoyed reading into the interpretation of the dance. It was intriguing how they portrayed the story of grief through movement.’ Naomi
‘Capturing, heartfelt piece, from which you couldn’t tear your eyes from the stage.’ Irvana
‘An inspirational, eye-opening experience, that has encouraged me to pursue dance in its various forms.’ Kayla