Energetic and energising is par for the course with the award-laden Boy Blue, "Educate, Enlighten, Entertain", their motto. Generation Blue speaks of almost a quarter of a century of commitment to the cause. What an achievement for its co-founder artistic directors, choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE and composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE.
Sandy is visible and vocal, whilst there’s a running gag that Asante is locked in his dressing room and they can’t find the key—with a video to prove it. Host, Sir Ashley J (says he was their first ever student), keeps that up throughout the almost three-hour-long evening. He has quite the presence (great at promoting merchandise… he’s wearing it) and rapport with the audience. It seems he knows many of them.
And no doubt he does, this being a family-focussed affair. Many are parents, chaperones, carers of the performers, who range from tiny tots, through primary school age, secondary school and beyond. Founded in East London in 2001, its Dance School is an all-embracing lifesaver—wish I had this in my youth. Now they are even on the AQA GSCE Dance syllabus with their set work Emancipation of Expressionism, performed tonight.
Toni Racklin, Barbican Head of Theatre & Dance, speaks of Boy Blue bringing “together nearly 200 performers—from the company’s youngest students to seasoned professionals—filling the stage with infectious energy and musicality.”
Musicality flows through the young bodies—some have it naturally, some acquire it through training, and the training has to be rigorous to get them to the awe-inspiring standard I see on stage tonight: this commitment to learning the complicated routines, the unity of movement, with many soloists and groups breaking out, the community spirit.
I am mesmerised by them all, but particularly taken by a confident little girl with pigtails, I’m guessing about eight, who channels the beat and complex moves—timing just so—through her small, supple and strong body (I envy those effortless squats), a complete natural. It must be exhausting, but none of that is visible. Adrenaline always carries one through on the high of the moment. The collective celebratory spirit is uplifting.
I’ve seen them many times (Blak Whyte Gray, REDD, The Five and the Prophecy of Prana, A Night with Boy Blue—this one in 2018) and each time, they captivate me with their response to a whole range of musical beats, hip hop, jazz, reggae, rap, martial arts (the Taoism of dance?), and do I hear some classical music… talk about versatility and covering all bases.
Hip hop and commercial dance, abstract and narrative, earnest, jovial, witty, funny, hard-hitting, a whole range of emotions, with some extracts from old pieces, which are developed for the present cohort. And are the umbrellas a reference to you-know-which musical? I also think West Side Story and Into the Heights.
The audience does not hold back—which makes for both a relaxed and an electric atmosphere. A little girl falls asleep near me, another behind me says it’s too loud… it’s like a school display, with proud families and fans determined to stay the long course.
The dance numbers, some seventeen split between two halves, are a very generous offering. It’s almost as if they can’t stop. It’s a juggernaut. Or like Red Shoes, once it’s in your blood, you’re infected. I’m touched by the warm spirit, the dedication, but most of all by their skills, mental and physical, honed over hours and hours of practice.
Vicky ‘Skytilz’ Mantey (PhD), former dancer and choreographer, is presented with an Achievement Award to her speechless surprise. The list of dancers and creatives is very long… all I can say is that they all pull together: the lighting, the costume designers, the teachers, the creative programmes manager Bruno Perrier, who makes a speech—I said it was like an end of year presentation.
But the bouncy, life-enhancing joy, the music that tugs at your inner beat and heart, is priceless. I come exhausted from a busy week, I leave high as a kite. This is serious fun. Here’s to another quarter century.