and by making it as exciting and accessible as possible. With this project we hoped that by identifying similarities and fusing these styles with modern street dance we would not only develop our own skills and material but could also gain more respect for them from younger and more mainstream audiences. The folk revival has done an incredible job of resurrecting English dance traditions and without the enthusiasts who recorded, documented and performed them we would have lost the majority of these. Unfortunately though, there has been a tendency by many folk organisations to only preserve them and to perform them the way they’ve always been done. Ironically, the same process that has helped save them is quite often also responsible for stifling their natural development.
A slow, steady development of a tradition is undoubtedly preferable but having missed out on the opportunity for this we hope that project’s like ours will help make up for lost time. One of the strengths of this show is that the majority of the artists involved are connected both professionally but also socially. Many of them perform traditional dance and music as part of their everyday lives as well as performing with The Demon Barbers. This is one of the reasons why the production is set in a pub with the whole cast on set for the majority of the show. The effect is slightly voyeuristic with the audience catching glimpses of a private world that is at times familiar and other utterly bizarre.
The three Hip Hop dancers were new to the majority of the other artists and although everyone seemed to get on well to start with there were definitely some reservations, mixed
with curiosity, from both camps. No one really knew what was going to happen, the canvas was huge and the two groups had no idea what the other did or were going to do to. It didn’t take long however for mutual respect to show. From the acrobatics and precise routines of the Hip Hoppers to the intricacies and physicality of the traditional dancers, everyone was quickly aware of the quality of talent that was being thrown into the pot. The Hip Hop dancers were also very happy to be working with a live band, who not only mixed folk instruments with drum and bass but who also understood their musical backgrounds.
From the outset we were determined not to ‘create’ a show on paper and all the members of The Demon Barber Roadshow were given the opportunity to be part of the project should they wish. This meant that the material from the rehearsal period that was used in the final production came directly from the artists themselves although we did throw in various ideas and themes for them to play around with. We had various ideas and themes that we played around. Many of these were determined before rehearsal but in the main the final material and storylines were created organically in rehearsals, and this was essential to the successof the project.
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