Dancing with Kylie – a graduate’s pride

The superstar, who is headlining the main stage on Saturday for the weekend celebration (2-4 August), linked up with Brighton-based 201 Dance Company for a cameo appearance in a dance video to Kylie’s latest single New York City.

Included were 80 dancers from Streetfunk – a hip-hop dance school run by Annelies White and JP Omari, the multi-award-winning hip-hop dancer and choreographer who graduated from the University of Brighton with a BA(Hons) in International Business with French in 2003. The school is based at Brighton’s Marina Studios.

JP Omari said: “It was fantastic - I run Brighton’s most successful streetdance school and it was a brilliant opportunity for my dancers.”

Choreographer Andrea Walker said: “When Kylie heard about the project she loved the idea so much that she decided to join us in the video for a cameo – what a legend!

Kylie dances with Andrea Walker

Kylie with Pride dancers

We filmed with her a couple of weeks ago on a green screen and incorporated the footage in what is a celebration of Pride, LGBTQ+ young people in Brighton.”

The video has had more than 100,000 views around the world. Last year, 201 Dance Company’s dance video welcoming Britney Spears to Brighton Pride attracted 150,000 views.

Andrea said: “Kylie has been a massively influential artist in my life and my career. She shaped my adolescence, and has always been outspoken about her support for the LGBT+ community. Growing up in Italy as a gay teen wasn't easy, and Kylie's support never went unnoticed to me, as I’m sure it didn’t to thousands of other LGBT+ individuals around the world.

“We love you Kylie.”