Our Mighty Groove celebrates the dancefloor as a space of freedom, identity and transformation, blending club culture and movement to explore belonging, community and self-expression. Our Mighty Groove is coming back to Sadler’s Wells East from 2-4 July. We sat down with Vicky to discuss her upcoming performance.
You describe being “baptised” by a New York house club. What was it about that night that stayed with you long enough to become a show?
I walked into that club as a shy person and left feeling like Janet Jackson!
I had never experienced a space where people were so unapologetically themselves. There was joy, freedom, care, individuality and this unspoken permission to take up space exactly as you were. I remember looking around and thinking, “I didn’t know places like this existed.”
The dancefloor became a mirror. It reflected back possibilities I hadn’t yet given myself permission to explore. It wasn’t just about dancing. It was about identity, confidence, expression and community.
That night stayed with me because it changed me. It reminded me that transformation doesn’t always happen in grand moments. Sometimes it happens in a basement, in a sweaty club, surrounded by strangers who somehow make you feel like you’ve come home. I knew one day I wanted to create a show that captured that feeling.
Our Mighty Groove celebrates finding your tribe on the dancefloor. Why do you think clubs can create a sense of belonging that everyday life sometimes struggles to provide?
Because at their best, clubs allow us to lead with our humanity before anything else.
Outside of those spaces, we carry labels, expectations and roles. We are someone’s boss, daughter, partner, parent or employee. We spend so much of our lives performing who we think we should be. On a dancefloor, those things can dissolve. People connect through energy, rhythm and feeling. You don’t need the same background, profession or life experience. You simply need to be present and willing to share the space.
House culture in particular taught me that belonging is not about fitting in. It’s about being witnessed and accepted in your fullest expression. That’s why so many people describe finding their chosen family through club culture. For many, it becomes a place where they can finally exhale.
The show blends house, waacking, vogue, African and contemporary dance. What happens creatively when so many different dance languages share the same floor?
Magic.
Each of these forms carries its own history, community and way of understanding the world. House brings freedom and groove. Waacking brings expression and storytelling. Vogue brings confidence, identity and precision. African dance brings connection, rhythm and community. Contemporary dance offers texture and emotional nuance. When they come together, they don’t compete. They converse.
That’s very much how I create. I’ve never been interested in putting dance forms into boxes. My choreographic language has always been about asking, “What happens when different movement traditions meet and genuinely listen to one another?”
The result is something layered and deeply human. It reflects how many of us actually live. We are made up of multiple influences, cultures and experiences. The movement language of Our Mighty Groovecelebrates that complexity.
A year after opening Sadler’s Wells East with this production, how does it feel to return with a completely reimagined version rather than simply recreating the original?
It feels exciting and, in many ways, necessary.
Opening Sadler’s Wells East with Our Mighty Groove was historic and unforgettable. The immersive version created something really special. People didn’t just watch Club Groove, they became part of it. Of course, I would still love to tour (or have a residency) with that version.
But the reality is that immersive work can be incredibly expensive to present, and not every venue is able to support it. Rather than seeing that as a limitation, we saw it as a creative challenge.
We wanted to create a version that could tour more widely and reach more audiences, while still holding onto the heart and spirit of the original. That meant asking ourselves: how do we create an end-on production that still feels intimate, electric and alive? How do we make an audience feel as though they’re right on the edge of the dancefloor, even if they’re sitting in a theatre seat?
For me and the team, that’s been the exciting part. We’ve been challenged to think differently about storytelling, character and audience experience. This version may not be immersive in form, but our intention is that it still has you on the edge of your seat and on the balls of your feet, ready to get up and dance.
At its core, Our Mighty Groove remains a story about transformation, connection and finding freedom. This reimagining simply gives us another way of sharing that experience with the world.
Club culture is often dismissed as escapism, but can a dancefloor actually be a place of transformation?
Absolutely. I’m living proof of that.
The dancefloor has taught me about confidence, leadership, community, courage and self-expression. It has introduced me to lifelong friendships and creative collaborators. It has given me spaces to grieve, to celebrate and to rediscover myself.
Escapism can sometimes be framed as a luxury, but I think we all need spaces that allow us to imagine ourselves differently and experience another way of being. Sometimes those spaces become catalysts for real change. A dancefloor can be a rehearsal for life.
You learn to take up space. You learn to be seen. You learn to listen, connect and trust your instincts. You learn that your individuality has value. And sometimes, somewhere between the music and the movement, you remember who you are. That’s transformation. That’s the heart of Our Mighty Groove.