Rare chance to see boxing and dance

In the past 17 years, Compagnie Käfig has given over 2,200 performances in 61 countries in front of more than one million people. However, they rarely perform in the UK.

In 2014, Compagnie Käfig will be presenting Boxe Boxe, a breath-taking show which fuses the noble art of boxing with dance. With choreography by artistic director Mourad Merzouki, the brutality and elegance of both these contrasting worlds collide in a spine-tingling show which packs a knock-out punch.

As Mourad explains: “Each aspect of boxing has an equivalent in choreography: the ring and the stage, the gong and the curtain going up, the referee and the eagle-eyed critics – for me there are all kinds of similarities.

“So there’s a mix – the excitement of combat and fear of the spectators: the gut fear of getting badly knocked about, of taking a licking, together with that great feeling of abandoning yourself, of achieving absolute fulfilment in that magic moment on stage or in the ring.”

“Eight exceptional dancers blend martial arts, street and contemporary dance to create a spirited and stunning fusion of hip-hop and fisticuffs. Boxe Boxe draws on the rich pageantry and theatricality of boxing where bright red gloves effortlessly morph into puppets and punch balls explode like featherweight balloons.

“The dancers move in perfect unison to live music from the Debussy String Quartet, with beautifully rendered classical music including Schubert, Ravel, Philip Glass and Glenn Miller. The choice and meticulous timing of the music injects a further dash of romanticism and melancholy into scenes.”