Why only spin on your head to electronic beats? Why not try and move your flexible body to the rhythms of the piano and the harpsichord? These are precisely the questions that artistic director of Flying Steps, Vartan Bassil and conductor and pianist Christoph Hagel have asked themselves at the very beginning of the Red Bull Flying Bach project. They got a strong positive response when they managed to fully sell-out two world tours which were viewed by more than 400,000 spectators across 31 countries.
It’s hard to tell exactly how many listeners have savored the tones since 1723, when J. S. Bach completed his Well-Tempered Clavier with its impressive total of 24 preludes and fugues. When B-boys established the roots of the breakdance style in 1970s New York, they probably did not foresee that B-boying and Bach could ever have anything in common. However, the 21st century brought an unexpected surprise to both music cultures. Breakdance has since expanded into Bach’s birthplace and 300 years later, Flying Steps who belong to the best B-boy crews in the world, have chosen his masterpiece to connect these two different worlds and visualize the music of J.S. Bach.
