We're breaking the code of the dance rhythms in Bach's music.
Breaking Bach is an exciting new adventure that brings together a group of talented young street dancers with the internationally renowned choreographer Kim Brandstrup. The collaboration will be a meeting of the worlds of JS Bach in the 18th Century and Hip Hop with its roots in the Bronx in the 1970s.
The production celebrates the rhythmic intelligence and astuteness of a new generation of dancers, with a background in street dance, break dance and Hip Hop, to engage with the complexities in Bach’s music in fresh and innovative ways. The project is a direct outcome of the OAE’s groundbreaking residency at Acland Burghley School in Camden in north London where many of the young dancers are or were students.
Breaking Bach will premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival on 20 August. There will be a further performance at the George Enescu International Festival in Bucharest on 11 September with events in London and elsewhere to be announced.
The story so far...
One of the first groups the OAE met when it moved into Acland Burghley School in 2020 was its talented, committed dance community. Shortly afterwards we worked together on an interpretation of Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, with the OAE even becoming part of the students’ GCSE coursework!
In 2023, a conversation between the OAE’s chief executive, Crispin Woodhead, and Kim Brandstrup gave birth to the idea of co-creating a new dance piece exploring the unlikely symbiosis between the rhythms of Bach and the grooves of hip hop. Even more excitingly, this offered the opportunity to break down conventions by involving young people who have the moves of street dance in their bones as partners with an equal voice in the creative process. During the summer of 2023, Kim and the dancers – now joined by two professional dancers, Tommy Franzen and Deavion Brown – devised an 18-minute piece to Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. In October 2023 this was performed to an audience of peers, family, friends and invited arts sector professionals. The only question at the end of that evening was not whether it worked, but… what next?
This August, the next leg of the odyssey will see Breaking Bach become a full-length production and hit the stage of the world’s biggest arts festival for its premiere.
"The musicians of the OAE and I are facilitating this meeting of a group of street dancers and Bach. We are helping the dancers ‘break the code’ of some of the complex music - while encouraging the dancers to break any stylistic rule in the book in order to respond and enjoy the rhythmical power of Bach’s music."
Kim Brandstrup
The Music
Bach’s orchestral and instrumental music is deeply rooted in the rhythms of dance. Despite their origins in baroque dance suites, the speed, intricacy, and seeming improvisational virtuosity of Bach’s compositions elevate them to something much more visceral and immediate. His orchestral works are far removed from courtly formalities, transcending the conventions of baroque.
This rhythmic endeavour forges a dialogue between the classical artistry of Bach and the electrifying physicality of contemporary street dance. The result is a vibrant, boundary-breaking encounter that reimagines Bach’s music for today.
Breaking Bach will include performances by the OAE of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto and Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 as well as other orchestral works and pieces for solo instruments.
Kim Brandstrup
Choreographer Kim Brandstrup is renowned for his award-winning work in ballet, opera, theatre and film.
Creating for world leading companies including The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Bregenz Festival and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Kim is recognised as one of the leading narrative choreographers of his generation.
He founded his own dance company, Arc, in 1985, forging a narrative style that owes more to his early cinematic training than to classical story ballet or to the kineticism of contemporary dance.
Throughout his career, and at times at odds with current trends, he has sought a theatre of movement that is both powerful and subtle, creating poignant and suggestive narratives that are always intensely human and emotionally revealing.
Since 2005 in freelance commissioned works for a range of international companies including The Royal Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the Royal Danish Ballet, his narrative approach has found new paths, growing more refined and precise while enjoying a looser, more experimental tone in its storytelling.
The Dancers
The Breaking Bach ensemble is made up of professional dancers working alongside talented young dancers selected through auditions. The ensemble for the premiere will be announced shortly.
The early stages of this project were supported by The Linbury Trust.
See Breaking Bach Live
Tickets for Breaking Bach at the Edinburgh International Festival on Wednesday 20 August go on general sale on 27 March. For more information see the event page on the EIF website.
Tickets for the George Enescu International Festival on Thursday 11 September are on sale now.
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