OUR MIGHTY GROOVE is Back on a National Tour

Following four sold out performances at Theatre Royal Stratford East and Greenwich Dance in 2015, Our Mighty Groove will stop at the Platform Theatre, Kings Cross this weekend (October 15) as part of its 2016 national tour.

Uchenna Dance's immersive dance theatre production, Our Mighty Groove is inspired by choreographer Vicki Igbokwe's baptism of fire at a New York underground nightclub and will be at The Platform Theatre on Saturday 15 October.

The 50-minute production is set within a New York nightclub where the space is filled with dance, music and 'diva' antics. You are the audience and performer as you observe and experience the individual attributes of five female club goers whose personalities and amusing behaviour leave you standing on The Edge of your feet!

Using Vicki "Uchenna" Igbokwe's signatory blend of club styles: House, Waacking and Vogue, fused with African and Contemporary Dance. Our Mighty Groove is the dance theatre clubbing experience that empowers you to let go and live your life on the dance floor!

The national tour includes venues in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Oldham and Bournemouth.

Vicki - who was part of the Mass Movement Choreography team at the London Olympics in 2012 - is already wowing audiences on tour with The Head Wrap Diaries (next stop - The Lowry, Salford Quays, Oct 18), and rather than create new shows she wants to spend the next five years or so developing these two blockbusters.

"Our Mighty Groove is based around the first time I went to New York in 2008 on a research trip recommended to me," said Vicki, who has led Uchenna Dance since it was formed in London in 2009.

"I saw these amazing dancers, not just professionals, everyday people too and every one of them was amazing. I spent about two hours with my back against the wall. Several people came up to me and asked me to dance and I cringe about it now because I said: 'Oh, no, no, I'm from London'."

Vicki stood there as a lone figure as everyone else in the room had a wonderful time. "What made it worse was this one guy kept catching my eye, and as I looked away I could feel him getting closer. About the fourth time I repeated the pathetic line that I was from London.

"He took me into what we call a cypher, a circle. I'd been to a house dance session earlier in the day and I did the moves I learnt from that and all the people around me cheered so much I felt like Janet Jackson.

"I felt as if I'd been baptised and I was one of the last people to leave the dance floor. When I got back to London I knew this experience had changed me. Those dancers just felt like making me feel good, and that's what Our Mighty Groove is all about. It made me realise that we don't get positive affirmation enough in our lives. So that was the inspiration for the show.

With Our Mighty Groove the theatre is transformed into that New York-style club. The audience has no seating and many wonder where they are.

"The performers mingle with the audience under the spotlight and as I watch from afar I see all the different elements that I went through that night in New York," said Vicki. "Some people are literally back up against the wall, the same as I was.

"The audience then gets to choose how much or how little they want to get involved, just like being in a club. I love the show and we've had such great feedback from every performance we have done since 2013."

Vicki's two shows have the common theme of empowerment, entertainment and education. "I want people to think fierce, be fabulous and live free," she said. "It sounds as corny as can be but it works for me and the people I work with. I want people to feel empowered and knowing that they matter, they count.

"When I go to a show I want to connect with it and also to escape a little bit. It has to move me in one way or another. My phrase is to continue to step into your growth. You can't be everything to everyone. Work at your craft and stay in your lane. We get so bogged down looking left and right. Stay in your lane. Know that you are good enough and doing a good service to the world."

"Dance is such a universal language. Even if you don't fully understand the story there's an emotional connection. You can feel their pain, their anger or their happiness. That to me is so powerful."

OUR MIGHTY GROOVE

#OurMightyGroove

Oct 15 (Platform Theatre, London) 6pm & 7:45pm

£12 (£10 concessions) | www.platform-theatre.com

Nov 10 (Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol) 7:30pm

£12 (£10 concessions) +booking fee | www.3ca.org.uk

Nov 19 (ACE Dance and Music, Birmingham) 6pm & 8:15pm

£10 (£8 early bird) + booking fee | www.acedanceandmusic.com

Nov 26 (Vibez 924, Oldham) 8pm & 10pm

£8 (£5 early bird) + booking fee

Dec 1 (Pavilion Dance South West, Bournemouth) 7:30pm

Part of Dance Along the South Coast

£12 (full price) | £10 (concession) | £8 (groups of 10+) | £6 (under 26) www.pdsw.org.uk

Booking www.uchennadance.com/dance/our-mighty-groove-2016

For more information, visit www.uchennadance.com

Following four sold out performances at Theatre Royal Stratford East and Greenwich Dance in 2015, Our Mighty Groove is back for its first National Tour in Autumn 2016.

Our Mighty Groove is an immersive-interactive dance theatre production set within a New York nightclub where the space is filled with dance, music and 'diva' antics. You are the audience and performer as you observe and experience the individual attributes of five female club goers whose personalities and amusing behaviour leave you standing on The Edge of your feet!

Using Vicki "Uchenna" Igbokwe's signatory blend of club styles: House, Waacking and Vogue, fused with African and Contemporary Dance. Our Mighty Groove is the dance theatre clubbing experience that empowers you to let go and live your life on the dance floor!

Creative Director & Choreographer: Vicki Igbokwe

Producers: Grace Okereke and Vicki Igbokwe

Production Manager & Lighting Designer: Pete Ayres

Rehearsal Director: Ingrid Mackinnon

Performers: Habibat Ajayi, Sheila Attah, Shanelle Clemenson, Mademoiselle Ginger, Jessica Larsh, Theo Alade, Fabio Filipo

Composer: Kweku Aacht

Tour Assistant: Jo Molyneux

Stylist: Aiyana Phakeerdoss-Boayke

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and GEd Matthews via Central St Martins in 2016.

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