📚 Emancipation of Expressionism — 6c · Overview
Emancipation of Expressionism
Kenrick 'H2O' Sandy · Boy Blue Entertainment · 2013 · Hip hop · 17 dancers · 11 minutes · Proscenium arch
📚 What this page covers
- All the key facts you need — locked in with a flip-card test
- Context: Kenrick Sandy, Boy Blue Entertainment, and what the title really means
- The six hip hop styles and four Boy Blue signature moves
- Watch the full work with a section guide, active viewing tasks, and a fill-in challenge
- A 10-question knowledge test to finish — screenshot your score for your ePortfolio
1 · Key Facts
Examiner's Eye — most tested facts
Choreographer's full name (Kenrick 'H2O' Sandy) · Company name · All six hip hop sub-styles · The four Boy Blue signature moves (by name) · Which composer wrote the music for which section. Don't just say "hip hop" — be specific about styles.
Say the answer out loud before you flip each card.
Choreographertap to reveal
Kenrick 'H2O' Sandy
Companytap to reveal
Boy Blue Entertainment
First performedtap to reveal
May 2013, Sadler's Wells, London
Dance styletap to reveal
Hip hop — krumping, popping, locking, animation, breaking, waacking
Number of dancerstap to reveal
17 — 8 female, 9 male. Kenrick performs.
Durationtap to reveal
11 minutes
Structuretap to reveal
Episodic — 4 sections linked by a common theme
Stimulustap to reveal
Til Enda by Olafur Arnalds + freedom of expression
Performance environmenttap to reveal
Proscenium arch (Sadler's Wells Theatre)
Lightingtap to reveal
Co-designed by Kenrick Sandy + Sadler's Wells Theatre team
Aural settingtap to reveal
Mikey J Asante (S1 & S2) · Max Richter (S3) · Olafur Arnalds (S4)
Settap to reveal
No set — dark blue backdrop + theatrical fog/smoke
2 · Context
Kenrick 'H2O' Sandy — Choreographer & Performer
Co-founder and Artistic Director of Boy Blue Entertainment. Kenrick doesn't just make the work — he performs in it. His approach is uniquely analytical: he writes out every count of every track he works with, noting the instrument and sound type, so that each movement precisely matches the music's accents and textures.
Choreographic intent: Kenrick wants to take the audience on an emotional journey through hip hop — and to show hip hop as a serious art form deserving of concert venues like Sadler's Wells. His central theme is order and chaos: the tension between the powerful unity of the group (order) and the raw, individual expression that breaks free from it (chaos).
Analogy Anchor — order and chaos
Think of a sports team. They train together, move in formation, follow the same rules (order). But the great players have individual moments of genius that break free from the pattern (chaos). In EoE, the ensemble in unison = order. The solo moments of krumping, popping, breaking = chaos. Kenrick keeps cycling between the two.
Boy Blue Entertainment — founded London, 2002
Co-founded with composer Michael 'Mikey J' Asante. The company name is their signature colour — blue — which appears in the costumes, lighting, and brand identity of every production. They won the Laurence Olivier Award for Pied Piper and are Associate Artists at the Barbican. Boy Blue contributed to the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony.
The title sums up Kenrick's mission. Emancipation = freedom. Expressionism = the urge to express yourself fully. Together: the freedom to express yourself without restriction — the freedom to have a voice through movement. Kenrick compares this to a baby's first cry: not sadness, but pure self-expression — the very first statement of existence.
Did you know?
Kenrick created the final section, Til Enda, first. He spent years developing it before working backwards to add Sections 1, 2 and 3. So the work was built from its ending outwards.
Knowing what each hip hop style looks like helps you identify specific movement in the work and explain how it connects to the choreographic intent. Match each style name to its description.
👆 Click a style name on the left, then click its matching description on the right. When all six are connected, your answers are checked automatically.
🔥 Krumping
⚡ Popping
🔒 Locking
🤖 Animation
🌀 Breaking
💫 Waacking
Circular arm movements and theatrical poses. Highly expressive and visual — originated in 1970s LA clubs.
Freeze mid-movement in a locked position, then keep going — a playful stop-start groove with exaggerated holds.
Aggressive and highly expressive, full-body. Stomps, chest pops, arm swings — driven by intense emotion.
Acrobatic floor work — windmills, headspins, freezes and power moves. The most physically demanding style.
Robotic, mechanical movement imitating stop-motion. Precise, slow and puppetlike — as if controlled externally.
Muscles sharply contracted to create a "pop" or "hit" effect. Can isolate to one body part or ripple through the whole body.
Boy Blue Entertainment has four signature moves — motifs unique to their company style. You'll see all of them in the work. Each description below is missing its name. Can you work it out?
Feet moving very quickly on the spot — a rapid, high-speed running action that barely leaves the floor. Creates an energetic, almost hovering effect.
Tap to reveal the name
Ninja Walk
Sliding smoothly from side to side across the stage — a lateral travelling movement with the body low and fluid.
Tap to reveal the name
Ninja Glide
Arms moving with intricate detail while the legs remain completely still — isolated upper-body movement only. The contrast between stillness and motion is the whole point.
Tap to reveal the name
Ninja Static
Arms crossing, opening, rising — a groove-like motif with a bounce and swagger to it. The team couldn't agree on whether it's a move or a groove… but it's unmistakably Boy Blue.
Tap to reveal the name
Chariots of Fire
Examiner's Eye — use the motif names
In Section C answers, naming the signature moves specifically earns credit. Instead of "the dancers run on the spot" write "the Ninja Walk is performed by the full ensemble" — it shows precise knowledge of this work.
3 · Watch the Work
Before you watch
Watch the full 11 minutes at least once without interruption. Then use the section guide and tasks below to focus your second watch — one section at a time.
Use this section guide on your second watch — pause at each timestamp and look for what's listed.
Section 1
Genesis
0:00 – 2:12
🎵 Urban electronic — Mikey J Asante
Dancers on their backs, arms and legs in the air, as if an electrical current is running through them. One solo dancer moves between them. Watch for the Ninja Walk when the group first moves together — and notice the spotlights used to isolate individual dancers.
Section 2
Growth & Struggle
2:12 – 3:21
🎵 Urban electronic — Mikey J Asante. Two white lights from stage right.
One dancer pushes expressively towards the light as others stream past. The movement looks aggressive — it's intense passion. Watch for the ending: the ensemble gather behind him in a rugby scrum-inspired formation, finally accepting and supporting his expression.
Section 3
Flow & Connection
3:21 – 6:30
🎵 November — Max Richter (classical violin)
Opens with a duet — Kenrick and a female dancer passing energy between them. The most lyrical section. Look for animation-style robotic gestures that mirror the staccato violin. The whole stage turns blue. Notice how hip hop vocabulary begins to blend with contemporary-style movement.
Section 4
Empowerment
6:30 – 10:39
🎵 Til Enda — Olafur Arnalds (builds to full orchestra + drum)
The climax. Solo moments of raw individual expression (chaos) contrast with the power of group unison motifs — Ninja Walk, Ninja Glide, Chariots of Fire (order). Watch how the music and lighting build together. The work ends with all 17 dancers huddling in unity before a final blackout.
1
Track the theme of order and chaos
Every time you see the full ensemble in unison = order. Every time a dancer breaks away for a solo = chaos. Tally them up. Which do you see more of, and does that shift across sections?
2
Find the signature moves
Pause and rewind the moment you spot Ninja Walk, Ninja Glide, Ninja Static or Chariots of Fire. In which section does each appear? Does any move appear in more than one section?
3
Watch the lighting change with the music
Each section has a different lighting mood. How does the blue wash change across the four sections? When does the lighting feel calm? When does it feel dramatic? How does it work with the costume?
4
Spot the hip hop styles in action
Can you identify moments of popping, locking, animation, breaking or krumping? Section 4 is the richest for this — watch the individual solos carefully. Which solo dancer do you find most striking, and why?
🎬 Fill in the blanks — based on what you watched
1. The costume in EoE uses a blue t-shirt — this colour directly links to the company name.
2. Section 3 uses a piece of music called by Max Richter, which is a modern classical composition.
3. At the end of Section 2, the other dancers gather behind the soloist in a formation inspired by a scrum.
4. The final section closes with all 17 dancers coming together in a before the blackout.
⭐ Revisit This — 6 things to know cold
ChoreographerKenrick 'H2O' Sandy, co-founder of Boy Blue Entertainment. He performs in the work.
IntentAn emotional journey through hip hop. Central theme: order (group unison) vs chaos (individual expression).
StructureEpisodic — 4 sections: Genesis → Growth & Struggle → Flow & Connection → Empowerment.
Signature movesNinja Walk · Ninja Glide · Ninja Static · Chariots of Fire — all unique to Boy Blue.
Aural settingMikey J Asante (S1 & S2, urban) · Max Richter (S3, classical) · Olafur Arnalds (S4, fusion). Til Enda was the original stimulus.
CostumePastel blue tees, denim jeans, grey trainers. Blue = company identity. Non-gender-specific. Some dancers wear own jewellery (individuality).
🧠 Knowledge Test
10 questions · select one answer per question · submit when all done
1. Who choreographed Emancipation of Expressionism?
2. Which company performs the work?
3. How many dancers perform in the work, and what is the male/female split?
4. What type of structure does Emancipation of Expressionism use?
5. What was the initial stimulus for the work?
6. What is the fourth Boy Blue signature move alongside Ninja Walk, Ninja Glide and Ninja Static?
7. Which composer wrote the aural setting for Section 3 (Flow and Connection)?
8. What inspired the formation that closes Section 2?
9. The lighting was co-designed by Kenrick Sandy alongside which organisation's team?
10. Which of these best describes the central theme of Emancipation of Expressionism?
Take a screenshot of your score and paste it into your ePortfolio so your teacher can see your progress.