Ivan Michael Blackstock: Traplord

London-based choreographer, dancer, and interdisciplinary artist Ivan Michael Blackstock’s career mirrors the impact of TRAPLORD, a visually powerful and atmospheric dance piece, combining urban dance, theater, spoken word, opera, and film elements. With credits including works with Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, and choreographing Beyoncé’s Grammy winning music video »Brown Skin Girl«, big names line up in his biography. TRAPLORD, inspired by personal experiences while growing up in South London as well as by collective narratives, meditates on projections of Black masculinity, and earned the artist an Olivier Award in 2023, UK’s most prestigious award for theater and musicals. Blending video game and music video aesthetics, and drawing from genres like drill and grime, powerful creative forms that emerged out of Black pain and anger, the performance blurs the lines between projection and reality. Together with seven performers, Blackstock stages the journey of an outsider to self-actualisation, and creates an imposing ode to community, self-love, and the transformative power of creative expression.

»It feels incredibly honest; it’s also extraordinarily powerful«