EXCLUSIVE! IvyMunro recently had the pleasure of talking to UKWELI ROACH from the No.1 box office smash ‘Street Dance 3D’. Fresh off the BLAZE tour in Holland; this recent RADA graduate is also an Artistic Director of dance company ‘BirdGang.
Born to a Guyanese father & English mother, the name Ukweli means ‘The Truth’ (Swahili translation) Simply known as ‘Quails’ to his friends (or ‘MisterChoongTing’ to some of his fans...tee hee) Ukweli (23) is blessed with obvious good looks but, don’t make the mistake of writing him off as just another pretty-faced-man-who-knows-it. On the contrary he’s quite unassuming and there’s much more to him than meets the eye...
So you’re an Acting, Tap Dancing, Street Dancing, Shakespearean Thespian…is there anything you can’t do? (Thinks for a sec)… I don’t sing, although I can sing and I like to sing, I won’t be making a career out of it. (so no then lol)
It was brilliant, and the reason why I came out of my early retirement [from dance] so to speak. I’d never had the opportunity to do a full scale, touring, hip-hop dance show. The amount I learned was immense.
What made you decide to go into early retirement in the first instance, and does that include Birdgang? BirdGang are my family I enjoy rehearsing, choreographing & performing with them and I will always do that in whatever capacity I can. But in terms of commercial dance work, I don’t really find it to be very challenging or fulfilling. A lot of what happens on the underground scene is a lot more innovative and cutting edge.
I saw one of your auditions for Blaze on YouTube
It was very physically intense which was nice because the audition itself was kind of like a master class. Most auditions can be quite watered-down were they’re just looking for tricksters as opposed to people who can dance. I really enjoyed it.
I don’t even know, it was very surreal at the time but they were really nice guys. I was very surprised by how humble they were, especially Mike Song he is ‘thee’ most humble choreographer I’ve ever met.
So congrats on your big screen debut, ‘StreetDance 3D’
Thanks, it’s my first feature film and again it was very surreal to get that job so soon after graduating.
How did you feel the first time you had to watch yourself in the film?
Ah, well the first time I found it horrendous. It was really horrible because you hear the sound of your own voice, and you don’t realise you sound like that. In my head I sound really…(deep voiced) cooool (laughs) and also seeing the back of your own head...it’s just very strange.
What was it like playing Jay in StreetDance?…He was a total slime-ball if I do say so myself
Yeah (laughs) completely. I was pretty aware that I’d be hated by all women…
…but that’s the thing, they all seem to love you...him...
Well this is what I’ve found out. The capacity some people have to overlook what this guy did…just because he’s got a nice line-up is a bit strange (laughs). I thought women would be throwing bottles at me in the street but it’s been quite a positive reception, which is nice because I didn’t want to be assaulted.
What’s changed since StreetDance, are you still able to walk the streets of London without being mobbed by a barrage of females?
I was a bit nervous as to what the reaction would be, but it’s been alright in general. I kind of have to avoid teenage girls but that’s alright. I mostly just wear a hat everywhere now (laughs)
At the time of interview StreetDance 3D was No.2 in the box office, and after a brief Facebook search it would seem that Mr Roach doesn’t have an official Facebook Fan Page. Instead his devoted fans choose to leave messages of affection on his personal wall (some of them quite hilarious) So I ask him...
Isn’t it high time you got yourself a fan page? (Sounding like he’s in pain) The thought of starting my own Fan Page is just too cringey, I can’t quite handle it. I recently had to delete everyone I didn’t know from my personal page, which didn’t go down well with some people. I think it was complete naivety to just accept every friend request - as it started to really get out of hand. I think I might ask one of the fans to start one for me. I dunno (laughs)
So back to movies...what’s your ideal role? I can never quite make my mind up. An action-type character like Matt Damon in ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ also weird characters like Psychopaths, Nerds and also a Nice Guy once in a while. I tend to get put up for characters that aren’t so nice
While we’re on the subject of ‘Looks’ are you single?… attached?…
Yes currently I’m single.
I have a few things lined up. I’d like to do some more theatre but it all depends on what’s being made and whether there’s a part that’s right for me.
Any plans to try and break America?
It’s early days, I wouldn’t mind working out there but I wouldn’t want to live there. I love London. Anytime I come back from teaching [dance] abroad I always just remember that London is a great city. Sometimes we can forget that when we live here.
After checking out the website for Venus & The Sun, I’d thought I stumbled across the wrong site because of the naked lady on home page.
Err...THEE Will Smith?
I got very excited when they said Will Smith (laughs) but no it wasn’t him, it was a hilarious comedian who also worked on ‘The Thick Of It’. We got to adlib a lot and we had a great time.
But I have a problem - if I find someone funny I can’t keep a straight face, but he [Will Smith] can, regardless of the situation. He'd said these funny things and I’d just wet myself. The camera crew were getting pretty annoyed.
I was obsessed with it, something about the way they performed and sang really captured me.
So I asked my mum if she could find me some tap classes but there weren’t any for boys and I was nowhere near brave enough to attend my sister’s class, but after a while it became the only option.
I enjoyed learning the tap, but I hated it because being the only boy amongst a bunch of 7-14 year old girls…I’d get laughed at and teased. It just wasn’t an enjoyable experience. So I really begged my Mum to stop (laughs) but she wouldn’t let me, she said one day I’d appreciate it. And I’m so glad it’s true.
I guess my forte is street dance, hip hop and the various styles within.
I’ve really grown on House recently and I enjoy Popping. When I was about 15 or 16 I started getting into b-boying but I could only afford to do 1 or 2 classes on Saturdays so I kinda stopped. But I like to do everything especially House right now...and I’m getting back into b-boying.
Ukweli is an Artistic Director of dance company ‘BirdGang’. (He’s a core member along with Simeon Qsyea, Ivan Blackstock, Kendra Horsburgh, Kenji Matsunaga, Minica Beason and Joe Drum) Together the group coined the expression ‘Aahehop’ an umbrella term used to describe their style of dance.
How did BirdGang come about?
Well myself, Simeon and Ivan were all in Dance2XS…
(The UK arm of Dance2XS has now disbanded...they were AMAZING! and I got a little excited at this point, because Kimberly Taylor of Dance2XS happens to be one of my favourite dancers [alongside Teneisha Bonner]…again Google them…I digress)
Yeah myself and Simeon were both Dance Captains for a while too, we danced with Sisco Gomez (of So You Think You Can Dance) and it was brilliant training, but we wanted to branch out and do our own thing. So in 2005 we started a group. Ivan and Simeon were training at Urdang dance academy at the time and we just started training together. Then Jonzi D asked us to do ‘Breakin' Convention’ We [only] had about 2 ½ weeks [before the show] but we decided to bite the bullet and just do it. We've stayed together ever since and we’re in a really good place.
BirdGang: Fly or Die
Yeah a little, when dancers are younger they’re still trying to find their place so they’ll dance with everyone, do everything and switch from group to group because they don’t quite know their style yet. As they get older they settle with one Dance Company. We’ve all kind of done the rounds and we’ve all found our places, that’s the cycle.
Also if a particular choreographer is putting on a specific piece, they might ask you to do it - and out of respect for that choreographer you’ll do it. I’ve danced with Nathan (Flo’Ogrphy) and John Graham (Dance2XS) so ya’know everyone kind of does each other favours.
‘Dance’ has taken you pretty much all over the world. What’s been your favourite destination thus far?
Monaco. It was the second time I’d danced with Mariah Carey at ‘Fashion Rocks’ and just to be able to see somewhere like Monaco was really weird. It was an amazing experience, but you don’t usually get to see the city you're working in. But ya’know you can see parts of it…from the bus (laughs)
As you probably already know, Ukweli attended the world-renowned drama school RADA Alumni include: Jack Nicholson, Joan Collins & David Harewood…just to name a few. Before graduating Ukweli was actually working professionally at Shakespeare’s Globe where he played the role of Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet.
Click to watch! Ukweli as Tybalt at the Globe
So I hear quite a few people faint at the Globe…
…Oh how did you know about that?
(The cheek lol...I relate to him a brief anecdote involving a friend, low blood-sugar and a very hard fall)
(laughs) Yeah generally it’s in the summer period, the majority of people who faint are the ones who are standing up; the Groundlings.
(laughs) No not at all, working there was an amazing experience, just working in a professional environment makes you realise just how much you have to learn. I don’t think the Learning in any art form should ever stop, I would hate to reach a point where I felt I knew everything because I’d be really...really bored.
It was strenuous. The audition process lasted about 6 months. But strangely I didn’t find it strenuous back then whereas I would have done so now. But back then I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. I thought, yeah acting’s easy, but I didn’t really know anything about acting so I just thought…what’s everybody getting so scared about?
So you did the BA: Acting Degree at RADA - did it open you up to experiences you wouldn’t necessarily have been opportuned with, had you not attended?
Oh completely. The amount I leant, not only about acting but about myself, life in general and just humankind was immense. I learnt so much through the research I had to do. Whether it be about Ancient Greece, Sword Fighting, Common Practice, different civilizations & lifestyles i.e. working class Yorkshire...it was just immense. You have to be a blank canvass - able to learn about, and become anything.
On the face of things Ukweli seems to have had quite a gainful upbringing. He attended Haberdashers and RADA, speaks fluent Spanish, plays the Trumpet, then there’s the Choreographing & Acting etc so I ask him…
(He also comes from quite a big family)…I have one older sister & four younger brothers. My Dad has nine siblings and my Mother has four - and we’ve got cousins, so I’ve got a lot of family around the world which is really nice.
If anything they kind of advised me against it, but they were very much into extra-curricular activities like the Trumpet (which he plays at Grade 6) the Orchestra & Sports. They were very into me becoming a well-rounded person. To get involved in creative things is good for the body and it develops both sides of the brain - like doing Music can help you with Maths, it’s all inter-linked. I really think it’s important to cover all bases as a child because you never know where a persons talent might lie. I’ll use the same approach with my children when I have them someday.
I was pretty much good, around the teenage years there’re always some little hiccups along the way but I think that’s just part of growing up. There was never anything serious and I’ve got a really strong family foundation. My parents were very motivating, encouraging and very supportive, but at the same time very firm and serious about the importance of education and hard work. Not everybody is lucky enough to have that and I do see it as a very fortunate thing to have that supportive family background.
I haven’t really thought about that. One day I hope I can be a role model especially for young black & mixed-race boys. I think regardless of where you grow up it’s the mindset that keeps you back nothing else. Racism exists and it’s a very real thing but that just means you have to work all the harder and prove them wrong, so there’s no excuse. If you wanna be a road sweeper then be the best road sweeper…in the village (laughs).
The first job I ever had was working at Gap in Oxford Street when I was 18.
What's your worst habit?
Erm...probably being too tunnel visioned, I can be a bit too focused sometimes and can forget to enjoy life.
People who brag.
And also (laughs)…this sounds really silly and maybe quite insulting. But when girls wear heels that they can’t walk in and they’re walking along like a Tarantula...it’s the most unattractive thing.
(at this point I’m in stitches)
It kind of defeats the object because the shoes might be really nice but she’s kind of creeping along in them. There’s this really odd walk you see some girls doing when they wear shoes they just can’t walk in. I like nothing better than a girl in high heels but I mean, that just ruins it for me. So yeah I think that’s one of my pet peeves.
Currently nothing…
…tut tut Mr Roach
(okay so he just got through some HARDCORE reading - I eat my words)
Indian food.
No not really, I admire my parents.
That first time with 1600 people crowded into this space...it’s really high up like 3 stories of audience so it seemed like there were faces on top of you. It was incredible I couldn’t really feel my body.
And lastly, when all said & done how do you want to be remembered?
As someone who worked hard and proved that regardless of where you come from its your mindset that can take you the distance, it just depends on how hard you’re willing to work. Always think positively don’t be a defeatist. It is possible to make it…it’s difficult but it is possible.
And There You Have It
Seemingly unaffected by the madness that is the world of entertainment, Ukweli has his head screwed on pretty tight. There were no airs & graces, even down to securing this interview (no agents, no attitude, no fuss) I don’t quite know what’s more appealing? His crazy talent? Ferocious thirst for knowledge? Or just his unassuming nature? But one thing’s for sure…he’s gonna have to beat em’ off with a stick! Ukweli seems to have in abundance what many people in this business lack…plain old humility. As bright lights & superstardom beacons, I only hope he remains the same grounded guy I spoke to on that sunny evening in June.
You Can Catch Ukweli Roach Performing At...
The Royal Court Theatre’s annual season entitled ‘Rough Cuts'
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