Black Magic with Storyboard P

Against the backdrop of a dilapidated industrial warehouse, dressed in a black sequined fringe top and striped gold and black pants, Storyboard P glides, floats, kicks up the dust, and once again works his magic.  With his “fro” comb in hair or in hand, emoting a gritty elegance, he stoops to pick up a cigarette butt with the grace of a strange, lanky bird. The joy of his dance is at once palpable and human, and yet so completely other — and we watch in awe as he transforms himself from one persona to another right in front of our eyes.

 

Storyboard P works his magic
Storyboard P works his magic

In this short entitled “Black Magic”, created in collaboration with HYCIDE Magazine, with  video by Cinque Northern to the track “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore,”  Storyboard P pulls out his liquid moves. What I love about him is that he seems to so fearlessly (and joyously) both own and reference the streets, ghettos, and alleyways he dances in, yet at the same time he transcends them. In this short dappled with beautiful sun flares (and a sprinkle of magic dust), the camera expertly cuts from wide shot to close up, giving us both the full force of his movement and intimate glimpses into the zone he so clearly occupies while dancing.

What impresses me is that with Storyboard P, rather than simply putting out “entertainment,” we see a deeply personal and private artistic search done in a public forum. To my eyes Storyboard P emerges once again as both master dancer and a lone peacock in an urban wasteland.

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