Diversity on Britains Got Talent

Black History Month

Diversity


Diversity, formed in 2007, is a British street Dance group who rose to fame following their win on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. The group included a range of talented dancers including those who were still at school or university whilst others had jobs of their own. Diversity’s dances are choreographed by Ashley Banjo who also dances within the group. 



More recently, Diversity performed on Britain’s Got Talent following the murder of George Floyd and the protests on the injustices in the system. Their dance on the Black Lives Matter movement was an emotive and clearly topic issue that every country is facing. It saw them pausing during the routine to take a knee, a marker that signifies support for Black Lives Matter. 




Alongside the powerful dance was the moving words that could be heard in the song. It began with a voice over of a conversation between a father and son where the state of the world was being explained. It then zooms in to the current state of racism within our society explaining “Another disease deep-rooted in our system: fear, hate and ignorance but racism was the symptom” whilst the momentous death of George Floyd was being reenacted. 


Music is a powerful piece of art. It can sum up thousands of words, thoughts, emotions, beliefs and expressions in three minutes. Diversity took this power one step further through the dance that depicted the events in 2020 and racism that was seeping all through our world. The soundtrack also repeated the words “I can’t breathe” (the final words of George Floyd). The opening of the soundtrack was set to the words of Tom Foolery’s ‘The Great Realisation’, providing the perfect backdrop for both the dance, the music and the thoughts that should be racing around people’s heads. 


However the soundtrack and the dance resulted in a range of responses, both positive and negative. Since its airing only a couple of weeks ago, it has become the second most complained about TV moment of the decade with over 24,500 Ofcom complaints.


If you've not yet watched this incredible dance routine and listened - really listened - to the soundtrack, then I urge you to take a look. This is something that I believe everyone has to see at least once in their life and use it to re-evaluate their own thoughts and beliefs, to re-evaluate the way our society is structured, to re-evaluate the justice system and to re-evaluate the way that we look at the World in order to create a more peaceful and harmonious community that everyone can live in without worry or fear or feeling threatened that your life could end without warning.








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