After performances across Europe, Asia, Canada and more, Red Bull Flying Bach descended upon Australia in 2014
Red Bull Flying Bach fuses the explosive style of the innovative breakdance crew, the Flying Steps, with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The result is a live performance that shatters barriers and merges artistic realms
We caught up with the Flying Steps for a few questions
How did you originally get involved with dancing and Flying Steps?
I started dancing when I was 12 years old after I saw cool dancers in the background of music videos and I wanted dance like this. It was break dance, so I gave it a try myself, but it was really hard to learn. One day a friend came to me and said we can go for an break dance workshop in a youth club… and I said sure, let´s go. I learnt the first break dance basics in 6 weeks and after this I was sure this is what I wanted to do. Then I came in contact with a lot of other breakers at this time, and two of them were Vartan and Amigo, who created the crew FLYING STEPS in 1993. I was always practising with the guys and 1994 when Amigo is came to me and offered me a spot in the crew; I was shocked but straight away said YES!!! At this time Vartan and Amigo had a big name in Germany for this dancing.
What has your performing experience like? How long have you been performing?
So I’ve danced now for 23 years, and my performed my first show 20 years ago with FLYING STEPS. We won a lot of battles, and started to create some dance theatre shows so people could see that break dancing is more then just a Street dance… it has become an art form!
How have the Australian audiences reacted to the show? What has been the general feedback?
Different Cities, different audiences, but the general feedback is always good. They love this show because it is one not only for the young generation but for the older generation too; we bring both together and show them with our attitude, our love and creativity how artful break dancing can be. We can also show the young generation how nice the classic music is. So we enjoy the World tour, and it is nice to see what’s happening in other countries.
Have you found it challenging adapting your style of dance to the Bach style of music?
It was a challenge. When Christoph Hagel played Bach to us for the first time, it was great, we had so many ideas and started dancing around the piano straight away. However, there are other parts of the music where we feel, and thought, ok now we are in trouble ;-). But once we understood how Johann Sebastian Bach composes the music, it became a lot clearer how to dance to it.
What part of the show gets you pumped up the most and why?
There are so many parts, but one part that I like very much is the duet between Anna and Nono. It is a really lovey duet because you can see the different dance styles from Contemporary to Break Dance, but also the feeling of dance changes in a strong way and in the end…. sorry I can’t say it, you will have to go and see it. The other part I like is the really nice toccata from Bach, it’s at the end of the show and is very powerful with a lot of energy.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
With Flying steps I do more then just dancing. I also look after the artist management in our Flying Steps Entertainment Company, I arrange the world tour of Red Bull Flying Bach together with our office and the Production Manager, and quite a few dance Workshops on tour and in our Flying Steps Academy in Berlin. In 10 years I think I won’t be on stage anymore, so think I’ll still be working with the crew, just more in the background.
What has been the most embarrassing dance moment on the Red Bull Flying Bach?
Ha ha ha good question, it was not embarrassing but funny on stage. It was 2 years ago – during the show each dancer has a moment backstage to change outfit before we go back on stage One of the dancers started to change his outfit at the wrong moment and he couldn’t finish before going out again. He thought it was quite funny, but the dancer on stage didn´t understand what was happening and why we were laughing so much – until the music started and we had to just start dancing. The dancers on stage soon realised he had forgotten his shoes and was dancing in socks! We basically spent the whole rest of the performance dancing and laughing, so much so that we had the audience laughing too 😉 that was fun!
What has the team at Red Bull Flying Bach been like to work with? Do you get up to a lot of mischief on the road?
Working with the team is really nice, there is so much inspiration, creative input and ideas. It was a really special moment when we started working together. Working on the show was stressful at times and hard work. However, on tour the whole team enjoy the time, and we are always joking around always. If somebody a little bit cheeky we always get them back … most of the time when they are sleeping … ha ha ha ;-).
Photographer Credit  Incite Images / Red Bull Content Pool