It sounds like a wacky mash up straight out of a sitcom or children's book. 3 B-Boys (hip-hop break dancers from Germany) hook up with a Swedish ballerina and hit the road, on tour with modern street dance to a score by Bach! Believe it or else... it's true. This show is opening right HERE in Chicago THIS Friday, and they've been playing all over the world to rave reviews.
Check out their insights on how this show is uniting old and young audiences and fans of quite divergent genres, and bringing packed houses back in cities where theatre and dance had been dying off. We also asked them "What's in your ipod?" and more. Catch our interview and clips from a hip-hop class they taught below:
WHO: Four dancers from the Berlin-based dance crew The Flying Steps, four-time break dance world champions, including Swedish contemporary dancer Anna Holmström and break dancers Mikel, KC-1 and Lil’ Ceng…
These fierce 4 were a treat to meet. They were personable and incredibly talented.
We chatted off camera a bit,too, after the formal interview, and asked the B-boys if they lived for touring and if it kind of sucked to have to teach classes or vice versa, since teaching and taking the stage sometimes require different talents and personalities. Of course, the guys admitted they dig performing and touring the world, but they also said one of their favorite things to do is teach hip-hop to KIDS in Berlin! Love it. They've even run their own school since 2007! I bet they're fantastic at it, too.
WHAT: Talk to press and host break dance workshops with local troupes and students at downtown Chicago dance studios including beginner and advanced sessions with high school and college students.
Here's the Scoop:
DISCOVER THE HIGH ART OF GETTING DOWN.
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- When: June 21-22 & June 27-29 (Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30pm, Sunday afternoons at 2pm)
- Where: Civic Opera House
- Cost: $24 to $88 via Ticketmaster or at the Civic Opera House box office
This June, Chicago scores a major coup in the arts & performance sphere: The Flying Steps, four-time break dance world champions, perform Red Bull Flying Bach, a show making its exclusive U.S. stop in Chicago only for six performances at the prestigious Civic Opera House, June 20-29. This follows a sweeping tour with sold-out shows in over 24 European cities plus Japan, Australia, Canada and Chile.
Red Bull Flying Bach blends eye-popping urban dance – power moves, head spins, flairs, freezes, popping & locking – with live classical music performed by Christoph Hagel, opera director and pianist extraordinaire. Swedish ballerina Anna Holmström joins the seven international members of The Flying Steps. German-Lebanese b’boy Vartan Bassil is the show’s lead choreographer. The music? J. S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, of course, plus electronic beats. Two disparate genres like classical music and break dance come together in amazing and surprising ways.
EXCLUSIVE U.S. ENGAGEMENT
of Red Bull Flying Bach Brings World-Renowned Dance Crew The Flying Steps
to Chicago for six performances only, June 20-29
For the first time in the United States after three seasons of sold out performances around the world, the celebrated and distinguished dance crew The Flying Steps will bring Red Bull Flying Bach to Chicago, making its debut in an exclusive U.S. engagement for six performances only downtown at the historic Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, June 20 – 29, 2014.
Bach and breakdance don’t go well together? The four-time breakdance world champions The Flying Steps and opera director Christoph Hagel prove the contrary with their breathtaking performance, Red Bull Flying Bach. With their interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, they shift and overcome the borders between classical and urban culture. By combining Bach’s classical masterpiece with modern electronic beats and clever choreography, the audience of each performance truly experiences a powerhouse production invoking visual amusement with delightful sound.
Red Bull Flying Bach has sold out theaters around the world, such as Sweden, Australia, Germany, Iceland, Chile, Russia, Japan and Austria. The show itself is a beautiful blend of the minds of Artistic Directors Vartan Bassil (choreography) and Christoph Hagel (piano, musical director). The Civic Opera house, playing host to this one-of-a-kind performance, is eager to have the show debut on its famed stage later this year.
“We're really excited to host Flying Bach for their U.S. premiere this June,” said Rich Regan, Director of Facilities at the Civic Opera House. “It's a groundbreaking blend of traditional and contemporary entertainment that will be completely new to Chicago audiences.”
Swedish ballerina Anna Holmström joins the seven male break-dancers of The Flying Steps, fusing key elements of urban dance culture with precision ballet.
Tickets, ranging from $24 – $88, are now on sale by visiting at: http://www.ticketmaster.com/Red-Bull-Flying-Bach-tickets/artist/1595623 or by visiting the Civic Opera House box office. Red Bull Flying Bach will be performed over two weekends only: Friday and Saturday evenings, June 20, 21, 27 & 28, at 7:30pm, and Sunday afternoons, June 22 & 29, at 2pm.
ChiIL Mama's Photo Favs:
ABOUT RED BULL FLYING BACH
High culture meets urban art: In this clash of cultures, Red Bull Flying Bach turns the international classical world upside down. The creative performance visualizes and revives Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier crossing the borders of serious music and youth culture. Note by note. Step by step. With piano, harpsichord and electronic beats. With head spins, power moves and freezes. With visuals and a storyline, 70 minutes long.
ABOUT THE FLYING STEPS
The Flying Steps are consecutively one of the most successful urban dance crews worldwide with breathtaking shows and one-of-a-kind choreographies, appealing to a diverse audience. The group was founded by Vartan Bassil and Kadir “Amigo” Memis in 1993 in Berlin. The Flying Steps specialize in urban dance styles like b-boying and popping-and-locking, and have won several world championships, like the Battle of the Year and Red Bull Beat Battle.
In 2007, they opened their own dance school in Berlin – The Flying Steps Academy. With a mission to guide the next generation of urban dance and offer young prospects an opportunity with social projects, the Academy is how the Flying Steps set the stage for the next generation of dance.
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