Flawless in orbit

You guys performed at the Fringe last year, yeah? Tell us a bit about it.

Flawless: We had a great time last year, we had rave reviews and it gave us a chance to launch our very first theatre show. There is a cool vibe at the Festival and everyone was really welcoming. We took our show on tour straight after the Festival last year and after 110 performances, we haven’t stopped working, but we aren’t complaining! It’s great to be back and to hang out with other artists and see emerging and established talent all performing alongside one another.

What’s different about this year’s performance?

Flawless: The show is completely new from the one we performed last year. It’s called ‘Intergalactic Dreams’ and gives various members of Flawless the opportunity to shine as individuals and to show off different dance styles and skills. It’s a fun show packed with energy that appeals to everyone from kids and teenagers to parents and grandparents…it’s quite a party that leaves our audience feeling like they want to get up dance!

Like the Jabbawockeez in America, aside from using music mixes, you produce your own music, yes? Does that have any advantages?

Flawless: Yes, we do produce our own music as we need to give it that Flawless feel and that isn’t easy to explain to anyone. However, it is extremely time consuming and because of the heavy workload we now have, we are now talking to some guys we have worked with before from the film industry who know and understand the kind of editing we like. So we will still be supervising the editing, but we will make use of their top of the range facilities, as well as their experience and expertise.

How do you keep moves fresh?

Flawless: We spend hours keeping up to date with the dance scene all over the world watching dance videos, taking classes with different choreographers who are at the top of their game. We are also inspired by dancers and choreography from older movies and often we can take some of these moves and ideas and adapt them to create something new and fresh.

Is it difficult trying to choreograph for 10 people?

Flawless: No, not at all. With ten people it allows us to create dramatic patterns and to deliver a lot of energy and spectacle on stage when all ten dancers are present. The stage looks very exciting with ten dancers all performing at once. It also enables us to have some routines with just one or two people on stage which gives a different dynamic to the show…..AND lets us include a lot of costume changes!

Are there any other sides of Flawless that we haven’t seen?

Flawless: With each new show, our audiences are seeing different sides of Flawless. In the last year our performances have included contemporary dance, jazz, ballet etc. Our management are currently negotiating a very exciting project for next year, which will again reveal new skills from Flawless... so watch this space!

You guys looked pretty smooth as a breaking crew in ‘Streetdance 3D’. Have you guys ever actually taken part in a battle as a crew or have you only done stage shows?

Flawless: Long before Britain’s Got Talent we took part in competitions, which resulted in us winning the UK Street-dance Championships, the International Street-dance Championships and then we were named World Dance Champions and we were the only group ever to have got full marks from every judge! So we have done our apprenticeship to hone our craft, in fact we rehearsed every day for twelve months before we made our first public performance. We wanted to make sure we were the best we could be and that attitude continues today……rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!

What differences did you find between recorded performance (e.g. Streetdance 3D) and live?

Flawless: It was an amazing experience working in both the first 'StreetDance 3D' movie and the sequel that we filmed just before coming to Edinburgh. We were working with some of the greatest choreographers and dancers in the world, so it stretches us both creatively and physically as we do our own choreography. In the film, we are battling against the best so our routines have to be spectacular. However, you can’t beat the buzz you get from live performance. It’s that instant feedback from an audience when you know they are with you completely and enjoying the experience. It is also great to meet the fans face to face after each show and we know many of them by first names now!

Are all your routines intensely choreographed or do you leave space for improvisation (freestyle) as well?

Flawless: Because of the nature of the group and the precision dancing that we are known for, everything is intensely choreographed. Having said that, all of us contribute to the choreography and any solo parts in the show allow for some freedom and freestyle, but when you are performing the show night after night, what began as freestyle often ends as a choreographed piece!

Where would you say hip hop and urban dance in general is headed? It’s supposed to be more mainstream and apparently more popular since the first ‘Step Up’ film came out…

Flawless: It is really experiencing a surge in popularity due to films like 'Step Up' and 'Street Dance' but shows like 'Britain’s Got Talent' also brought it into people’s homes for the first time. Hip-hop and urban dance has been huge in the dance world for a long time but TV takes it to people who had never heard about it or seen it before. Now the whole world is enjoying this genre of dance.