The Five and the Prophecy of Prana

Photo: Hugo Glendinning

An atmosphere of excitement preceded this show – from an audience with a far higher proportion of youngsters than is usual for a dance performance. But this was hip hop, and hip hop is cool. Fuse it with martial arts and Japanese manga and you’ve got something that all kids want to learn how to do; so much so that they start practising with their brothers and sisters in the interval.  

“Did you see? Did you see? He was in the air for five whole seconds before he touched his toes and came down again! I bet you can’t do that.” Cue two ten-year-olds leaping into the air in the foyer, huffing and puffing and straining with effort. Neither of them can do it – yet – but it’s uplifting to see them so inspired to try.  

Photo: Hugo Glendinning

Boy Blue Entertainment began in Stratford, East London. Choreographer Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante founded the company in 2001 and now direct more than forty professional dancers to present hip hop as an art form in its own right. There are also three youth companies and a large outreach programme associated with the main troupe, designed to harness new talent and train the next generation. Aside from its award-winning performances, it is for this work with children and young people that Boy Blue Entertainment is renowned.  

This evening’s story, an original creation, began in ‘ancient times’. Three screens filled the back of the stage, onto which manga-style animation was projected to help tell this tale of good versus evil. At no point did the dancers speak, but they did mime to a voiceover played for each of their characters. This seemed odd at first, especially since there was no attempt to lip sync, but in a strange way, it actually added to the feeling of authenticity. Perhaps they were actually speaking Japanese and we were getting the dubbed version. 

Much of the movement consisted of fighting, or of learning how to fight and intimidate the enemy by demonstrating prowess in martial arts. The soundtrack switched between pounding hip hop in more violent scenes, to traditional far eastern-inspired music as ‘The Five’ honed their skills in their master Wang Tang’s home in the beautiful Japanese countryside. 

With so many elements to consider in one show, it would have been easy to let things slip and become disconnected. However, clever interaction with the animation, intelligent lighting effects, and choreography that meshed perfectly with the soundtrack ensured that the whole performance remained slick and balanced.