CYCLES

Image credit — Camilla Greenwell

Cycles by Boy Blue

Boy Blue’s Cycles is an exploration of hip hop dance in all its forms, celebrating change and the beauty of perpetual motion. For over 15 years, Boy Blue has graced the Barbican stage, consistently captivating and inspiring audiences with the profound power of dance and its significance in our daily lives.

In a recent conversation with The Rendition, Kenrick “H20” Sandy described dance as “the harvesting of the land” and Cycles as “an opportunity to reconnect with the essence of hip-hop dance, to humanise the sounds of hip-hop music.” This portrayal perfectly encapsulates the performance delivered by the dancers on stage.

Over the course of 90 minutes, audiences are entranced as the dancers move with an ethereal fluidity, traversing the breadth of the Barbican stage in a continuous flow. Throughout the show, the dancers communicate with the audience through movement, addressing themes such as birth, life, death, and discovery.

Employing a blend of group and solo pieces, the performance elevates before and after the interval, shifting in mood, tempo, and narrative. The interplay of light and shadow enhances the choreography; individual dancers are spotlighted during solo pieces, while even amidst a crowd, their presence resonates through the scattered illumination.

The tempo of the show ebbs and flows, rising and falling at precisely timed intervals, transitioning from graceful unified movements to dynamic bursts of energy. This seamless variation is complemented by an intricate and masterful score composed by co-founder Mikey.

The score not only enhances an already remarkable performance but also breathes life into a simple set, showcasing the emotive power of sound and its ability to evoke a range of emotions through dance.

In Boy Blue’s “Cycles," movement and music are not disparate elements forced to coexist; rather, they are intricately intertwined, each enriching and informing the other.

The result is a captivating demonstration of artistic harmony that leaves audiences spellbound and profoundly moved.

By Eniola Edusi

★★★★☆

Cycles is showing at the Barbican Centre until 4th May.