Uchenna Dance effortlessly strut their stuff in this highly entertaining and electrifying dance-theatre piece. Our Mighty Groove is one of the best nights out around, but are we really invited to the party?
Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu, choreographer of Our Mighty Groove and co-founder of Uchenna Dance, describes her work as falling in the intersection of dance, empowerment and transformation. With Uchenna Dance, she and her team have produced three previously acclaimed shows, with this being the fourth, and having recently won best dance production at the Black British Theatre Awards, also the most anticipated. Based on a real-life experience of Igbokwe- Ozoagu’s, Our Mighty Groove promises to transport its audience to a New York club night, with all the electricity, drama and passion that comes with it. For the most part, the performance delivers upon its promise with flying colours.
The piece plays out as a theatrical dance narrative, weaving the story of a club night from start to finish. We open with the club manager, played by Dan Harris-Walters, frantically setting up the space, his interplay between technique and humour running like clockwork, as he anxiously checks his watch, waiting for the night to begin. He’s joined by his stewards, Shannice Bepot and Reo Greenridge, before bouncer Tony (Cache Thake) erupts onto the stage with his breakdancing prowess. From here, the piece really gets moving, and as the club opens for business, and new characters are introduced, the energy turns up to the tenth the degree and never comes down again. It’s interesting to see such a narrative driven dance show be produced over its relatively short run time, but Igbokwe-Ozoagu does well not to muddy or overcomplicate the plot. After all, we’re here to have fun. The dramatic post-mean-girls rivalry between Shula Carter’s Jessie and Kabuki Johnson’s Bougetta is short-lived but highly entertaining, whilst the love story between Tony and Tracee (Jackie Kibuka) is sweet.
The choreographers do well to give each character their own unique physical voice, where their personalities and emotions can shine through the movements. Jessie, the club newcomer, is rigid and mathematical, which makes a pleasing contrast to Bougetta’s more sensual style. We see a lot of cutting back and forth between different scenes on the dancefloor, and the lighting design by Matt Daw, combined with the fabulous musical arrangements by Warren Morgan-Humphreys and Kweku Aacht, make for stella spectating. When the troupe do finally come together and dance as one, something new is created, the show is electrified even more, and the groove gets all the mightier.
However, although the team make an effort to get the audience involved (we have to dance at one point), the liminal space between stage and seat has perhaps never been so vast. The stage at Sadler’s Wells East is a large one, dynamic and adaptable, but when you’ve got a troupe of just 11, there simply aren’t the bodies on stage to suggest a club atmosphere. This show would work so well in a more immersive space, with the audience stood around the performers, able to groove themselves. Staging this piece in a vast auditorium such as this just feels counter-groovy, too staged and too square. Uchenna has all the talent, technique and storytelling to make this show brilliant, just let us dance too!
Our Mighty Groove’s run at Sadler’s Wells East ends tonight, 4th July. Tickets here.