and costume, to see the two pieces side by side, it was real magic in the studio. I think we were all shocked at how these dances, seemingly worlds apart, were actually variations of the same movements. It was one of those moments where any lingering doubts evaporated and we knew it was going to work.
Impact was a significant factor on my knees, thighs and core after getting properly stuck into the Morris dancing. I consider myself pretty strong and fit, but what these guys were doing was seriously tuff stuff. I’d always had it in the back of my mind that the folk dancers should do some Hip Hop choreography and I think after they saw us Hip Hoppers throw ourselves at the Morris dancing, I was bowled over when the suggestion actually came from the dancers. The Morris team could not only execute the steps but dance it with real Hip Hop attitude.
Initially there was some thinking that it was risky to create so much in such a short space of time, placing so much expectation on the dancers. Some of the original and challenging tasks included wildness like asking the band to play songs through their mouths on imaginary instruments, performing songs in characters from U2 to barnyard animals. We soon
realised that we were all bursting with character, story and with the skills to boot. This coupled with the overall message of what we wanted to say were the magic ingredients. It was genuinely interesting to learn about each other’s worlds in terms of music, settings, and vocabulary. I think from the sharing and understanding of the movement, interest in the rest of the cultures grew in the dancers. ‘What is it like at a Bboy jam, can we come to one?’ Equally ‘what’s a real folk session like?’, ‘where’s my nearest pub session?’ Since the project began we’ve all gone out to events in our own time that a year previously we would never have imagined we would pay money for go to and enjoy so much. Ultimately, both cultures are about getting involved and I think much better enjoyed ‘live’.
One of the important realisations for me was how English folk culture is treated in the media, often the butt of jokes and seen as a relic. I was very much guilty of this stereotype and dismissive of the whole culture before my chance encounter with The Demon Barbers and the group. Since then my understanding and outlook has completely transformed. Until recently I had missed that although Hip Hop is massively popular, there is still a huge misconception of what Hip Hop is especially outside of my
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