Fake Frog Productions and Live Vibe UK
Live Vibe was a work in progress for more than a decade. The ensemble dance programme, comprising individual dance routines that combine movement and narrative, was conceived in London by founder and artistic director Hakeem Onibudo. In 2009 he premiered the programme in his hometown, and in 2010 it made its international debut in Hong Kong as a co-production with Fake Frog Productions.
In its earliest incarnations, the concept of the show was for it to be a platform to showcase hip hop dance. But over the years it has become more than a one-genre act.
"We found that if you only attract one genre [of dance], you are limiting yourself as far as knowledge, exchange and dialogue [are concerned]," says Onibudo. Instead, the show has since morphed into a multi-genre platform in Britain, where dancers from various backgrounds are invited to participate in and share discourses in dance.
For Live Vibe's return to town this week, Onibudo went with "identity" as the overarching theme to weave together the 10 acts that include both professional and non-professional dancers. Among them are two-time World Hip Hop Dance Championship winners the Philippine Allstars, as well as dancers from Youth Outreach Hong Kong's School of Hip Hop. Many forms of dance will be represented, including contemporary, classical and, of course, hip hop and its many manifestations.