Breakdance Meets Classical At The Mind-Blowing Red Bull Flying Bach

By Sponsor in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 15, 2015 5:00AM

This month, The Chicago Theatre hosts one of the coolest interpretations of classical music you're likely to see live.

Red Bull Flying Bach is an exhilarating performance marrying breakdance and classical music, a little high society to go with your urban culture. Conceived of by Varrtan Bassil in 2010 after a visit to the symphony, the show has been performed by his breakdance outfit the Flying Steps to sold out audiences all over the world in the years since.

"I liked the idea of replacing a ballerina doing pirouettes on her toes with a breakdancer doing head spins," Bassil explains, and he's certainly achieved that goal; his dancers embody the music as they use it to convey a story to the audience.

And the music? Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a piece regarded by many as one of the most influential in Western music. Artistic Director Christoph Hagel performs live the preludes and fugues, originally meant as piano exercise; here, the composers Vivan & Ketan Bhatti additionally adapted them to keyboard and electronic beats. Manic breakdance against a backdrop of stunning visuals is not a bad way to experience a nearly 300-year-old composition, at once kept alive and transformed into something new.

See it live this September 25th, 26th and 27th at the Chicago Theatre. Tickets available here.

This post is brought to you by Red Bull Flying Bach.