Winner of Sky 1’s Got to Dance Akai joins cast of smash-hit hip-hop show Into The Hoods, as it returns to Southbank Centre this summer
BY RAJIB RAHMAN | MAY 5, 2010
30 July – 15 August
Tickets: £27.50 £25.00 £22.50 £20 £15
Southbank Centre Ticket Office 0844 875 0073 / www.southbankcentre.co.uk
11 year-old street dance sensation Akai, who won the popular Sky 1 Got to Dance contest in February 2010, will follow in the footsteps of Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson, when he joins the cast of Into the Hoods at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall this summer.
From 30 July – 15 August, Akai will play a lead role as one of the children who get lost in the hoods in ZooNation’s hugely popular hip-hop reinterpretation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods. In his first major role since winning the popular television dance contest, Akai from Orpington in Kent wowed the judges with head spins, body popping and the moonwalk.
Akai said: “I am so happy to be part of Into the Hoods. It's an amazing opportunity and I am going to enjoy every minute of it!”
Into the Hoods, Artistic Director and choreographer Kate Prince said: “ZooNation is thrilled to have Akai joining the cast this summer. He is an exceptionally talented young man, with lots of charisma and is a very accomplished dancer for his age. Into the Hoods has always been about entertaining a family audience and encouraging young people to dance, be it through our Saturday ZooSkool, workshops or the ZooYouth dance company.”
Into the Hoods received universal praise at two Edinburgh Fringes (2006/07) and during its West End run (2008). Both the show and those involved continue to be at the forefront of the street dance phenomenon with Artistic Director and choreographer Kate Prince and cast members Akai and Sacha Chang starring in the first British made 3D film, Street Dance 3D this summer.
Following sell-out shows and rave reviews last Christmas at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, the show has exploded in popularity, gaining cult-status among a whole generation of street dance enthusiasts. Fans will be given another chance to see the show this summer at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, where it has been up-scaled to appear on its largest stage yet.
Featuring music from Stevie Wonder, Dizzee Rascal, Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West and Prince, Into the Hoods tells the story of two runaway kids and their adventures in the ominous Ruff Endz estate. With characters like singer Lil Red, two-timing rapper Prince, Rap- en-Zel and gold trainer-wearing Spinderella, Into the Hoods resonates with contemporary cultural references and bridges the gap between street and stage.
