Twist and Pulse dance workshop at Hip Hop Pop was first Zoom class in the world with BGT Champions
- Jenny Bater-Sinclair - Company Director
- Jun 13, 2020
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 8, 2022
A world-first happened at Hip Hop Pop Dance School when Britain's Got Talent Champions Twist and Pulse taught their first ever online dance classes as a duo today (12th June 2020) to Hip Hop Pop students and guests.
Read on to find out why Ashley Glazebrook (Twist) and Glen Murphy (Pulse) had dancers in stitches of laughter as well as buckets of sweat! Find out what they had to say about Hip Hop Pop students and see highlights from the 2 dance workshops with Twist and Pulse.
"SMASHING IT" - Said Ashely Glazebrook (TWIST), after watching the older group perform the choreography early on in the dance class.
"YOU'RE ALL DOING AMAZING" - Said Glen Murphy (PULSE), after checking out the energy the younger group had to offer in the first dance class
Check out these screen shots of Twist and Pulse's comments mid-class
The two Twist and Pulse dance workshops were held over the virtual platform Zoom, the first at 4.30pm and second at 6pm, both an hour in length, leaving students of all ages sweating and buzzing.
Twist and Pulse taught 2 jam packed session full of great street moves, laughs and interaction. They took the time to speak to the students, some individually too, recognised great energy, and those who shone brightly.
The younger group (age 13 and under) were taught a fun routine to 'Friend Like Me' from the movie remake of Aladdin, and the older class (age 14+) learnt a super fast routine to 'Juicy Fruit' by Misunderstood. You can listen to the tracks on our Spotify Playlist - Twist and Pulse Dance Workshop at Hip Hop Pop
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The Twist and Pulse dance classes went down a storm, with over 100 young dancers taking part at 4.30pm and more than 70 in the 6pm session, smiling and giving the BGT champions their 'thumbs up' in the screen to show they were ready to give the dance steps a go! Participants were 90% members of Hip Hop Pop, we also warmly welcomed the 10% of non-members to the Hip Hop Pop family.
There were so many keen dancers ready to learn from the BGT champions Twist and Pulse, that Glen Murphy (Pulse) said, before the session, that he had to connect a 2nd screen up to his TV to be able to see everyone!
What we, Vic and Jen - Hip Hop Pop Directors, loved about the sessions with Twist and Pulse, was the care and attention the dance duo took in making all the dancers feel like they were in a 1-2-1 dance class with Britain's Got Talent stars Twist and Pulse. They took the time to watch and critique, share their insight, and most importantly, they encouraged! Dancers were of a large array of levels, yet Twist and Pulse made them all feel welcome and congratulated their achievements of all level.
You'd think the worlds BGT champions of champions would have quite the ego after achieving such a crown, but no, certainly not with these two lovely guys - so genuine, down to earth and humble, just as they've always been since we first met them in 2011.
“We love seeing little kids getting into dancing. We just want to teach them everything we know and pass on all our passion! We want to show kids that you can come from nothing and make it with hard work and a dream.” - Twist and Pulse 2010 - Agency Website
This was the 4th visit to Hip Hop Pop by Twist and Pulse, but this was the 1st time ever online in world for any dance group, we are proud to be the first to experience it! Here's a few throwback photos of their visits to Hip Hop Pop in 2014 and 2018. We couldn't find any snaps of the very first time we met them in 2011... Was you there in 2011? Got some pics you want to share? Send them to Director Jen so we can add to this story. There's also a snap here from 2018 when Jen and Vic did a training day with Twist and Pulse, learning all things 'crew', the BGT champions gave their advice and perspective on being a judge at many dance competitions.
What was the students reactions to having BGT winners Twist and Pulse online with them?
"Angel is loving it, what a great experience" - Parent
"She loves Twist & Pulse, thanks so much for putting on an amazing experience" - Parent
"You're my heroes" - young participant
"Thank you guys for your time, really enjoyed it and am sweating like an absolute trooper" - adult participant
"Amazing dancers" - young participant
"Thank you Twist and Pulse, I'm your BIGGEST FAN" - young participant
"Thank you so much, you guys are amazingly talented and so funny" - adult participant
Here's young student Daisy mid-class withe the BGT winners with thumbs up ready to go, and here's her afterwards completely spent but having had the best time!
Check out these snippets for the under 13's Twist and Pulse dance workshop at Hip Hop Pop
Here's some of our favourite moments and quotes from the online Twist and Pulse workshop:
"All of you guys are looking sooo good" - Ashely (Twist)
Glen (Pulse) also had his dog join in for part of the lessons too. All of the jumping about didn't seem to phase the cute doggy, seems it must be used Pulse dancing at home!
We loved how even though the Streetomedy duo where in different locations, they were able to keep the atmosphere and the flow of the class, while Zoom's spotlight automation (and a little manual intervention from Jen) were able to keep the visual mix of who's leading on screen to the optimum level so participants felt like they were being taught by both Twist and Pulse equally and jointly.
3 favourite comedy moments from Twist
1. "Push up on your toes, like you're 'lavtaing' said Twist. Pulse responded with laughter asking if Twist meant 'levitate' and mocking lightheartedly replied with the comment "ahhhh man said 'lavitate' ahahaha"
2. "Heel toe heel shaaaa" - Twist said, as he tried to verbalise the move he was teaching - then went on to sing "heel toe heel shaaaa" like a cheesy ad jingle or ringtone - giving participants the giggles
3. Director of Hip Hop Pop - Jenny Bater-Sinclair commented on Pulse's singing saying "Nice Singing", Twist responded saying "What about my singing" and proceeded to demonstrate what we can only describe as a wonderful Britney Spears style performance, again having everyone in stitches
Here's a snip of the older participants online dance workshop with Twist and Pulse, you can also catch some of these comedy moments in the vid!
Who are Twist and Pulse?
A quick catch-up for those who've missed out on watching them on TV over the past decade:
South Londoner duo Twist & Pulse comprise of dancer Ashley Glazebrook and dancer Glen Murphy, who met at ‘Brits School of Performing Arts'. Through a joint love of dance, they have quickly become role models for young people around the UK. They quickly shot to fame on one of the most watched TV shows in the UK. They achieved 2nd place on ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, managing to win over both the public and Simon Cowell with their talent and charm!
Their journey since ‘BGT’ has been a whirlwind! Not content with just winning over the U.K, they have performed worldwide including taking the role of celebrity judges on Chinas biggest streetdance TV show on CCTV5 with a viewership of 400,000,000 people!
Highlights and appearances have included: Olympic torch relay bearers, Ambassadors of the official princes trust charity “The Diana Award”, Presented and opened the children’s BAFTA’s. Achieved a Guinness world record for the most amount of synchronised dance moves in 30 seconds (148 Moves!!!) AND Most recently they have taken the internet by storm by producing their own short films and viral dance videos. Their total YouTube views have hit over 80 million! Their online success has accumulated them a huge following as well as leading them to choreograph and create work for some of the biggest brands in the world including: Samsung - Cadburys - Warner bros - Lionsgate - DC Comics - Mars - Kelloggs - EE - Canon - McDonalds - Lego - Sky One - Red Bull - Sennheiser and more
Twist and Pulse returned for Britain's Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, and, after receiving the Golden Buzzer from Alesha Dixon, won the show outright to be crown BGT Champion of Champions!*
5 Quick Twist & Pulse facts:
1. How old are Twist and Pulse?
Twist was born 28th March 1991, so 29 at time of writing this article
Pulse was born on 22nd October 1990, so 29 at the time of writing this article
2. What are Twist & Pulse real names?
TWIST - Ashley Galzebrook
PULSE - Glen Murphy
2. Where can you see Twist and Pulse perform live?
Ah, you just missed it! Twist and Pulse tickets were like hot cakes at the start of 2020, where the Britain's Got Talent champions performed all over the UK. Keep an eye on the official Twist and Pulse website for future dates. However there's some great performances online, our particular favourite being Twist and Pulse Saturday Night Take Away performance with Ant and Dec:
4. What is Streetomedy?
Twist & Pulse are pioneers of a genre of dance called Streetomedy – which combines street dance and comedy; a style now emulated by many dance acts. If you've ever watched a Twist and Pulse performance you'll know what we're talking about.
5. What does a Twist and Pulse workshop always include?
Laughter, laughter and more laughter, oh and of course fast and amazing choreography. Twist and Pulse's down to earth light heartedness, with no fear of laughing at each other as well as with each other, makes for great class entertainment
Here's all of the Twist and Pulse dance workshop participants! Wow!
P.S. Have you seen Twist and Pulse's 2020 'A Tale to Tell' short film? It's so good, check it out...
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Conclusion
For Twist and Pulse 2020 could now be a year of new online adventures! The world's 1st online dance class as a duo did not disappoint! They left students of all ages inspired and on a high. They gave studnets confidence to turn their cameras on on the most part and simply 'enjoy dancing'. As humble as ever, it was a pleasure to host Twist and Pulse at Hip Hop Pop and we already can't wait for the next workshop. Finally, once again a big thank you to the Jack Petchey Foundation who's Achievement Award scheme helped fund this workshop so that members could attend completely free.
This was an experience that Hip Hop Pop dancers young and old will never forget.
Jenny - Director
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