“When German break-dancer Vartan Bassil came up with the idea for ‘Red Bull Flying Bach,’ he hoped to bring together those who sneer at pop culture and those who snore at high culture,” writes Kristen Page-Kirby in Thursday’s (1/5) Washington Post. “ ‘At my kid’s school, there was a parents’ night and they asked me, “What is your job?” ‘ [says Bassil]. ’Then I understand that I have to do something with high culture for people who know nothing about break-dancing, to show them how artful break-dancing is.’ What he did—’Red Bull Flying Bach’—combines break-dancing with the music of Johannes Sebastian Bach’s ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ to tell the story of a dance class preparing for an upcoming recital. The nine-person show features members of the Flying Steps, the b-boy crew Bassil co-founded in Berlin in 1993…. With ‘Flying Bach,’ he wants to show the link between classical dancing and more modern forms.” Says Bassil, “We wanted to give young people the opportunity to go to a classic concert so you can learn something about high culture, but also you enjoy the show.… The kids can take the parents and say, ‘Look, Father; look, Mother: This is hip-hop.’ ”
Posted January 6, 2017
