Dancing with Kylie – a graduate’s pride

Kylie Minogue has joined a University of Brighton graduate’s dance studio for a video welcoming Brighton and Hove 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!

“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 (https://youtu.be/fTnAgK8kXyg) 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.”