Copyright Rock: Review of Jeremy Nedd’s ‘from rock to rock… aka how magnolia was taken for granite’ at the Southbank Centre

★★★★ | I didn’t expect a copyright dispute to land me at the Southbank Centre on a sunny July evening. Choreographer Jeremy Nedd’s London debut from rock to rock… aka how magnolia was taken for granite explores the relationship between copyright, dance, swagger and showmanship.

Back in 2014, Brooklyn rapper 2 Milly debuted the Milly Rock. An overnight sensation, the simple two-step movement with a left-right arm swing was to become the focal point of a copyright lawsuit. In 2018, the dance appeared as an ‘emote’ for avatars in the video game Fortnite. 2 Milly, with other creatives such as Alfonso Ribeiro, sued Fortnite for the unauthorised use of their dance moves. The case was dismissed, but it sparked a shift in the conversation surrounding copyright in dance and the appropriation of hip-hop moves in digital media.

In from rock to rock, Nedd places the Milly Rock at the centre of the performance and uses the move to interrogate larger questions about ownership and creativity.

The cast of Jeremy Nedd's from rock to rock. Photo Credit: Philip Frowein

My initial reaction was dubious. The audience is first presented with dancers piled atop one another, forming a nameless, faceless blob of blue, grey and navy bodies, inching slowly across the stage. Soon, however, the dancers slink apart, transforming into five individual characters with distinctive expressions—some sly, others sassy and confident. Nedd seems to be showing how creative ownership is born: through subtle choices and personal inflexions. These changes turn shared choreography into personal statements, each dancer reshaping the Milly Rock into their own. As with the copyright dispute, the fight for ownership was ever-present.

A standout moment came during a scene with two performers on a silent stage, executing a series of intricate 'daps'—handshakes, for the uninitiated. Nedd choreographs the sequence with such precision it feels improvised. The section is full of playfulness and ends with the pair embracing. Catharsis. After a build-up of slaps and claps, the silence that follows feels like a well-earned exhale. I loved this section because it was playful and creative. It brought a sense of familiarity and reminded me that dance can simply be fun.

The cast of Jeremy Nedd's from rock to rock. Photo Credit: Philip Frowein

The set is sparse: an icy white backdrop and two rocks—one suspended upstage left, the other positioned downstage right. The stage remains unchanged throughout, with progression shaped by lighting, movement and music, effectively keeping the focus on the dancers. The two rocks become anchors, quietly framing the performance.

The sound design by Fabrizio Di Salvo, Rej Deproc and Xzavier Stone is superb. Silence is used with precision. The score ranges from instrumental pieces to Motown-inspired ballads, merging genres and periods to create a timeless atmosphere. The differing genres give the piece a sense of momentum, each musical shift propelling the movement into its next phase.

The piece ends in a kind of euphoric chaos: singing, shouting and thick bass. Familiar figures reappear: the Stig-esque man on a self-balancing scooter, the casual Milly Rocker, and the ‘rock monster’—a hulking groover—all return to the stage. In a distorted Motown voice, the central figure sings, 'Rock steady, baby', evoking a dystopian Ed Sullivan Show. The Milly Rock, it seems, belongs to no one and to everyone. The copyright questions remain unresolved, and the performance circles back to the essential rocking question: who owns what?

This performance was the first of Nedd’s I have seen, and it certainly won’t be the last. In just seventy-five minutes, the audience shared a collective, playful, and thought-provoking evening of copyright, dance, and milly rockin’.

★★★★

Jeremy Nedd’s from rock to rock… aka how magnolia was taken for granite opened the Southbank Centre’s summer festival, Dance Your Way Home, on until August 29th.