Press Release: Uchenna Dance Company presents Our Mighty Groove

[Jan McNulty]

Uchenna Dance Company presents Our Mighty Groove

 

Our Mighty Groove is an immersive and interactive piece set within a New York underground nightclub. The audience is both spectator and participant as they observe and experience the individual attributes of five club goers. Let the music take over you as you experience a blend of House, Vogue and Waacking, combined with African and Contemporary dance fused together for what is, Uchenna Dance’s signatory aesthetic.

 

Following a sell out show at the Lilian Baylis, Sadlers Wells in 2013, Our Mighty Groove has been developed into a full-length production. The piece is inspired by choreographer Vicki Igbokwe’s baptism of fire at a New York underground club as she recreates an authentic setting and characters that are based on those she encountered.

 

Vicki Igbokwe, Creative Director of Uchenna Dance said:

 

“Dancing in New York was a life changing experience for me. I was literally baptised on the dance floor of this underground club; I came in as this shy and nervous individual who felt out of her comfort zone and left a confident woman embraced by a loving community of dancers. I wanted to return to London and share this experience with everyone!

 

Our Mighty Groove is for the PEOPLE irrespective of your gender, sexual orientation, age, race, class, education or economic status. Just enjoy the story unfold as you create your own memories.”

 

Dancers: Shanelle Clemenson, Diana Igbokwe, Habibat Ajayi and Sheila Attah.

 

Running Time: 50 minutes

 

Ends

 

Notes to Editors

 

Tour dates

 

Venue Theatre Royal Stratford East, E15 1BN

Date Friday 27 March at 7:30pm and Saturday 28 March at 8:30pm

Tickets: £15 / £12 Concessions

Ticket Office 020 8534 0310 or http://www.eastlondance.org)

 

Venue Greenwich Dance, The Borough Halls, SE10 8RE

Date Saturday 11 April 2015 at 7pm & 9pm

Tickets: £12 / £9 Concessions

Ticket Office 020 8293 9741 or http://greenwichdance.org.uk

(Presented by Greenwich Dance in collaboration with Dance UK)

 

Please note performance details and castings are subject to change.

 

Uchenna Dance

Formed in 2009 under the vision and leadership of artist Victoria Igbokwe, Uchenna Dance operates under three strands: Performance Company, Participation & Training and Events.

 

The Uchenna dance style is unique and cannot be replicated. Igbokwe fuses together a blend of club dance styles such as Waacking, Vogue and House with traditional and powerful styles such as African and Contemporary, creating a signatory aesthetic that simply is, Uchenna.

 

Uchenna Dance successfully delivers a range of participation & training opportunities including an established Summer School and weekly evening classes at WAC Arts, where Uchenna Dance became an Artist in Residence in 2014.

 

Vicki Igbokwe

Vicki is an Independent Artist and works as a Choreographer, Teacher, Lecturer, Curator and Producer. Igbokwe’s career as a dance professional started in 2001 with Impact Dance.

 

In 2004 Vicki was appointed Youth Dance Practitioner for East London Dance and was then promoted to the Creative Projects Manager in 2007. At the same time (2005 – 2010), Vicki was a sponsored Nike Dance Athlete and Master Trainer for the Nike Rockstar Workout.

 

Igbokwe’s most recent credits include: Mass Movement coordinator of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (London 2012). Mass Movement Choreographer of the opening ceremonies for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Sochi 2014), Choreography Coordinator for Opening Ceremony of Commonwealth Games (Glasgow 2014), Sadler’s Wells Wild Card Curator and Artist (Between The Lines, 2013), Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD) Trailblazer (2007-2008) and Trailblazer CHAMPION (2012-2013).

 

Credits

Our Mighty Groove is supported by Arts Council England. Original research and development of piece was supported by Arts Council England, The Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD) and Sadler’s Wells. The piece was presented as part of Sadler’s Wells event Wild Card, Between the Lines, curated by Victoria Igbokwe at the Lilian Baylis Theatre (2013).