Musicians and pupils mix hip-hop with Baroque in pioneering partnership

"These impressive teenagers have come to talk about Breaking Bach, a performance setting young street dancers to orchestral music written 300 years ago by the German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. It was a project that came out of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) making the Acland Burghley School in Camden its permanent home in 2020. Jeriah, 15, spotted posters around the school and auditioned to join the professional dancers."

""It was so different," he says. "With street dance we're so focused on hitting the right beats but with classical music, it's more about flowing with the music." Jeriah laughs when I ask if there is Bach on his playlists now, admitting: "Classical music is something I would never listen to back then." Fellow dancer from the school, Emmanuel, 14, has also learned much about Bach's music, saying: "It's very complex.""

"Emmanuel adds: "It's widened my lens a lot more. I don't know what's in store for the future but I know for a fact that Breaking Bach has helped me prepare for it." Behind the scenes, Harvey, 15, was the sound engineer for the London previews of Breaking Bach. He said: "Before I got involved with the orchestra I never would have thought about sound engineering as a career. "We were exploring different pathways in the industry - lighting, sound, cinematography.""

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment made Acland Burghley School in Camden its permanent home in 2020 and launched Breaking Bach to pair young street dancers with Bach's orchestral music. Students auditioned and worked with professional musicians, adapting choreography to classical phrasing and researching historical compositions. Participants reported new appreciation for musical complexity, shifts from beat-focused movement to flowing with musical lines, and widened creative perspectives. The project offered hands-on experience across production roles and prompted some students to consider industry careers such as sound engineering. Students described the experience as preparatory and confidence-building for future opportunities.

Read at www.bbc.com