Jonzi-D Edinburgh show 5.08.15-31.08.15: The Box 6.15pm

 The Letter: To Be Or To MBE

Assembly, George Square, The Box

Jonzi D, the UK’s best known exponent of Hip Hop theatre, presents his acclaimed solo show The Letter. This true and topical tale of one man’s dilemma regarding a proposed MBE honour is told via Jonzi’s sharp and often hilarious portrayal of his friends, colleagues and family. 

Showcasing his signature verbal and physical skills, Jonzi D utilises movement, political observation and humour to explore the concept and prospect of this unexpected accolade. As an authentic East Londoner of Afro-Caribbean descent, his own feelings are as diverse as the various characters he brings to the stage. 

The MBE letter requires a response and just to complicate matters, everyone has an opinion. From the impressionable, husband-seeking house guest to the East London rhyme-spitting weed dealer, Jonzi is confronted by opposing views and gut reactions. His childhood neighbour thinks one thing, a militant friend uncomfortable with an Empire-related honour another. Should Jonzi be swayed and what does an MBE represent anyway? What will his esteemed supporters in the arts think if he rejects it? More to the point, what will his family say? Whilst his eldest sister might not reside in Buckingham Palace she does after all, reign supreme within Jonzi’s family. 

Colourful & warm yet outspoken and at times subversive, The Letter paints a highly personal picture of the ultimate predicament: To be or to MBE? 

Jonzi D is a renowned MC, performer, choreographer and director. He’s been actively involved in British Hip Hop culture and performance since the 1980s and is artistic director of Breakin’ Convention, Sadler’s Wells’s international festival of Hip Hop dance. Breakin’ Convention has been a runaway success since starting in 2004, travelling as far afield as Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theatre. Jonzi’s own devised work includes Aeroplane Man, Tag and Markus The Sadist. The Letter successfully toured the UK in 2013-14. 

As an MC and poet, Jonzi has worked with The Roots, Steve Williamson and Lenny Henry and toured with Gangstarr. He has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Channel 4’s Faking It and his pieces Silence da Bitchin’ and Aeroplane Man have been screened by Channel 4. Recently Jonzi presented his inaugural Ted Talk: Recognition Without Permission. Jonzi D is a Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist. 

“This is a great piece of theatre about the struggle of keeping it real. There is nothing like it. Check it. Jonzi is brilliant. I hate him”. Benjamin Zephaniah 

“The name Jonzi D shouts respect in circles of hip hop dance theatre” The Independent 

“Treads a fine and funny balance between personal and political' The Guardian on The Letter 

Web: assemblyfestival.com Twitter: @jonzid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonzid 

Venue: Assembly George Square Theatre, Box, EH8 9JZ 

Time: 18.10 Running Time: 50 minutes 

Dates: 5 – 31 August. No shows August 12 and 24 

Tickets: August £6 (August 5,6,7) £10 Mondays £12 All other dates. 2 for one tickets available on August 10, 11. 

Bookings: assemblyfestival.com, 0131 623 3030 or Assembly box offices at Assembly Hall and Assembly Roxy, Assembly George Square and Assembly Checkpoint 

Post provided by Anna Goodman from Abstrakt Publicity.

Boy Blue Ent: Freestyle Live @ Rich Mix- 11.07.15

And so to Rich Mix again! Yesterday evening it was Boy Blue Entertainment's turn to host the 'Whose Line is it Anyway' style show in the Main Space. Home Bros provided laughs and quirks for us in the audience (African accents and banter included) whilst the dancers sat either side of the DJ on sofas ready to step up for each round. Now although this was supposed to be the under 18's edition, the dancers ranged from 14 to well over 18. Each team had to send up a member of their three-strong group to compete in games which included:

• Mallet's Mallet
• Charades
• Speed cup stacking
• Dance battles to cartoon theme tunes
• Improvised dance on a theme from the audience
• Rap battles using audience contributions
• Dance knowledge Quiz

There were guest performances from the spoken word and dance world, including a brilliant rap rendition from Tyrus McKenzie who I reviewed as a promising dance talent back in February at the the Future Elements night at Sadler's Wells.

Overall, a swell night was had by all! My tummy hurt from laughing on the night, and Home Bros were an excellent choice of hosts for the evening. However in agreement with the hosts, I would consider dropping the 'Yo Mamma' Jokes' round, it didn't quite work and lost a bit of momentum during the evening.

In true Jendubbz style I took an opportunity to chat to some of the dancers in an attempt to keep spreading the word about young dancers and their commitments in the dance/theatre world. Also in true Jendubbz style the sound quality ain't that great, so do bear with! 

Note to self: Take them outside next time! Hip-hop events = LOUD MUSIC EVERYWHERE!

Boy Blue Entertainment present-Freestyle Live: Rich Mix 11.07.15

Freestyle Live: Rich Mix

See lead players in the hip-hop dance world ‘Boy Blue Entertainment’ host a ‘Who’s Line is it Anyway’ style show at Shoreditch’s favourite arts venue. Watch the performers use their dance skills to answer each other back in a dance battle format! This vibrant participatory event, will give you ‘charades with a twist’ and hosts Home Bros will hype the audience and dancers in what will be a comical marriage of hip-hop, dance and theatre. Only one performer will be crowned the FREESTYLE LIVE Champion.

Saturday 11^th July

8pm

Main Space £7, £5 concessions

Book now!

B-CONVENTION: FREESTYLE FUNK FORUM-RICH MIX-18.06.15

Starring dancers Tasha Gooden, Frank Wilson, B-Boy Mouse and Dickson Mbi, DJ Psykhomantus, human beatboxer Marv Radio, and violinist Amanda Drummond.

Audience members getting involved

Last Thursday, I headed to Rich Mix in Shoreditch to see Jonzi- D, the Breakin' Convention creator host Hip Hop's answer to 'Whose line is it anyway'. We were all involved in the process of creating the entertainment for the evening. Jonzi came to use for the stimulus and the dancers were the entertainers who brought it to life. 

Highlights from the evening for me included the 'textures' section; we shout out a texture such as 'rough' or 'smooth' and then choose which dancer can bring it to life for us. We settled on 'velcro, bubbly, spiky and slimy' which much to our delight were danced out and improvised by the dancers impressively. Frank Wilson had me in stitches with his rendition of 'velcro', moving his body as though he was completely stuck to the floor and to himself! The 'stories' section was also a creative addition. Jonzi asked the audience for stories which were then improvised/danced out by the performers and music makers. The dancers worked cleverly as a team to portray the characters in a humorous way, becoming cartoons of people in the audience to provide a cheeky re-telling.

Jonzi-D breakin' it down

Impressive accompaniments were provided by pro Beatboxer Marv Radio who has just launched his album 'Change The Radio' and violinist Amanda Drummond. 

I must give a shout out to Tasha Gooden, who is a sharp dancer. I adored seeing her talents flourish in 'Some like it Hip Hop' as the lead female and her ability to embody character in her dance is captivating. It's no wonder she is the Breakin' Convention poster girl!

It was a pleasure to be a part of this Hip Hop theatre evening, and I'll be heading to more events like this this year. 

If you're heading to the U.S.A this Autumn, Breakin' Convention are going to be in Charlotte, North Carolina on the 9th and 10th October and in Harlem from Friday 16th-Sunday 18th October.

Find out more here:

http://breakinconvention.com/touring/nyc

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM THE MUSICAL: PHOENIX THEATRE-02.06.15

When I turned up to the theatre on Tuesday, I was afraid. I was afraid that this play, an adaptation of one of my favourite films from my youth; a coming of age story which appeals to my Indian roots, and spotlighted issues I had grown up with seeing and hearing about, wasn't going to measure up to the films greatness. Then I looked at the poster and saw that Gurinder Chadha was directing the production-Hallelujah! This woman along with Kate Prince, is another one of my female heroes due to the fact that she has given a huge voice to British Indian females in the U.K, using her comedic films to also explore some of the wider social and emotional issues around Indians in Britain. So I had a good feeling about this- that it would be in trustworthy hands.

In brief- Bend it like Beckham follows the story of Jess Bhamra, who comes form a traditional Indian family, but lives eats and breathes football. Her family would love for her to attend University, get married and become a Lawyer. Jess wants to play football, and only football. She is talented and gets spotted to play for the 'Hounslow Harriers'  girls team. She secretly commits to the team, making 'acceptable' excuses to her family about where she might be. A strong friendship is created with her friend Jools played in the film by Keira Knightly. As the story progresses, Jess has to choose between taking opportunities to let her talent shine in football, or follow the path that her family want for her.

Immediately I was gripped, as the curtain went up and the stage was covered with a 'Goalie' gauze. 'Jess' was centre stage listening to the voiceover of football chants and Beckham commentary, then a huge burst of colour erupted as the opening scene began-set to uplifting music and storytelling through song about belonging to 'UB2'-Southall. A place where I have spent many days eating food (pretty much all day eating food. My family have been known to do two sittings in two different restaurants just for the joy of it!) and recognisable shop fronts spread across the clever set, including 'Jalebi Junction' which I was in a couple of days earlier buying Indian sweets with my cousin.

The show never loses it's pace as it goes from song to song quite rapidly actually, some more uplifting with the energy coming from the beat of the dhol drum, some more emotive with sweet lyrics and memorable melodies. The songs were well pitched and humorous, linking strongly to the humour in the film.

The set was so clever, with revolving panels that revealed Southall Broadway, the training ground, the German football pitch. The bedrooms of Jess and Jools came out from the wings on a raised platform and the highlight for me was the lit up recognisable Semi- detached in Southall with a picture of Babaji coming from the flys. Very cleverly done. I also loved the fact that we could see the orchestra all the way through, and they had chosen to place them at the top centre of the stage backdrop so that we could see them in all their glory-the glory that an orchestra deserves.

Some highlights from the show for me where:

• The football scenes with the girls team on the pitch- I thought the choreography was very clever. If someone told me to go and choreograph a football dance, I could imagine feeling quite limited at first, but the choreographer did a great job with this, and the song sung by Jools felt very liberating and fun!
• The 'engagement party' sequence was hilarious, and touching. When the families were discussing how they had arrived in England and what they had achieved, it made me think about my own Grandparents and how they had settled in Hounslow after moving from Bombay. I wonder what challenges they may have faced that I didn't know about? The song and music in this section were beyond brilliant! Celebratory, fun, very Indian, and made me want to get up and dance. 
• The musical 'mash up' arrangements throughout were fantastic. A brilliant mash up between Jools, Jess and both of their Mum's made for a sweet rendition that moved me, and the mash up towards the end of the finale between the Wedding song and Jess' final game was outstanding. Really outstanding.
• Jess' song before the interval where Beckham appeared and a light projection of a football was used to show the scoring of the goal-very clever!

I could go on, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who is going to go and see it. This is not a copy of the film (although classic moments such as 'Lesbian? I thought Jessminder was a Pisces' were left in thank goodness!) but a brilliant musical in it's own right. I left the theatre feeling elated, feeling proud of my mixed race roots, and very proud to be British. Book your ticket now!

http://benditlikebeckhamthemusical.co.uk/

R.I.O.T-paniclab- The Place: 27.05.15

Playing from 7-31st August 2015 at Zoo Venues -Edinburgh

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of dropping into The Place in King's Cross; a sturdy London venue that allows you to practise, watch and champion dance in many forms. This was true for the evenings performance, if you can include humans that morph into superheroes, that change into secret even more special versions of those superheroes, and then back to the original superheroes. Confusing much? Well that seemed to be the point of this pieces narrative; utter confusion and an inability to keep track of what's going on because, well, we all want to be the heroes of our own story right? The characters of this story certainly did, and it was being re-written and re-told over and over and over again...!

Starting from the top, the main character (known as CAP) delivers an 'origin story' where the audience learn about the loss of his closest friend and partner in crime 'Lucky.' CAP makes it his mission to seek justice on behalf of his friend and enlists the help of three other superheroes with different powers. Just as CAP goes on to try and deliver his 'I'm a strong American powerhouse who will save the woooooorlllld!' story the other actors start to break their roles to intervene with a query or costume quabble. This is where the humour was most definitely injected throughout, especially as the characters are often simply saying what you are thinking. Just as you had your 'suspend disbelief' hat on, it was whipped off your head and replaced with the 'break the comic book cliche' hat and then switched around in an instant.

Each character wilfully joined in with CAP's retelling of the story to a point, until it wasn't quite what they were hoping for their character's fate. This came in line with the political link, as the constant power struggle between heroes was put on show for all to see. Sound familiar?

The movement was highly impressive and boy were these guys strong. The piece was carefully choreographed and delivered by the performers themselves, which was clear to see as each performer made the best out of their skills and abilities and showed them off well.

Some choreography highlights were the 'Tango' section performed to 'El Tango de Roxanne'-Jose Feliciano, the ensemble performance to 'Slam' by Pendulum, and 'Sidekick's' carefully choreographed fight with a group of invisible villains. This was super creative and delivered highly on the illusion front. In fact it is so far my 'creative highlight of the year!' The 'Tokyo' video game reference was fun and nostalgic-enough to make me put a date in the diary to go to the arcade just so I can have a go on the old school games myself.

The graphics and animations which were projected throughout the production were a huge part of the show and added so much to the set, which was quite minimal. It gave it a filmic value which I think was necessary for this kind of show, and the visuals had an iconic element true to any comic book fans taste.

For something different this summer, do go and check this out in Edinburgh. If you're a dance fan, Marvel fan or comedy fan, the has a lot to offer and I promise you will leave smiling.

For more information visit:

http://paniclab.co.uk

or

http://www.zoofestival.co.uk

Photographs by Manuel Vason
with thanks to Anna Goodman at Abstrakt

Follow your Danceheart....03.05.15

On Saturday 3rd May I went to the Breakin' Convention, and got to speak to Cindy Claes (see her interview posted earlier on the blog) and her Intern who decided to follow her passion and ask Cindy for a chance to work with her. As always, I love to promote inspiring dance stories so here is a little clip about how she approached following her 'Danceheart' and also a great clip from Cindy discussing her performance from the night which told an important and familiar story. Sadly the sound quality wasn't so great on some of it but it's still great to hear about!