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Diversity are a British
street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, Locking (dance), locking, house dance, waacking, voguing, etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created o ...
troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...
formed in 2007 and based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. They are best known for winning the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent'' in 2009, beating
Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent'', singing " I Dreamed a Dream" from '. As of 2021, Boyle has sold 25 ...
in the live final. Diversity consists of friends from London (
Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...
and
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...
) and
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
(
Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...
), including four sets of siblings and eight other members. At the time they appeared on ''Britain's Got Talent'', some were still at
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
or
university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, while others had jobs of their own. The group, ranging in age from –, consists of leader and
choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
Ashley Banjo and the following other members: Jordan Banjo, Sam Craske, Mitchell Craske, Perri Kiely, Warren Russell, Terry Smith, Nathan Ramsay, Theo Mckenzie-Hayton, Adam Mckop, Kelvin Clark, Jordan Samuel, Shante Samuel, Starr Kiely, Georgia Lewis and Curtis Butler. Founding members Ashton Russell, Ian McNaughton, Jamie McNaughton, Matthew McNaughton and Ike Chuks have left Diversity. They are currently managed by Danielle Banjo, Ashley and Jordan's mother, and based at Dancework studio. On 28 July 2017, it was announced that former member Robert Anker had died following a
car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.


History


Before Diversity: Swift Moves

Before Diversity most of the group belonged to Swift Moves or Swift Moves Juniors. As Swift Moves, they beat KI (the crew Marlon Wallen from Flawless was with) in 2005 during KI's second run to seven wins at The Jump Off where Swift Moves battled a total of four times.


2007: Formation and early career

Formed in 2007, although there were a few line-up changes between 2007 and 2009 with Perri Kiely and Ike Chuks joining the group while Robert Anker and Ashton Russell did not take part in '' Britain's Got Talent''. They won the Street Dance Weekend 2007 competition. By the time they performed in the Street Dance Weekend as guests in 2008 the group consisted of friends from east London (Leytonstone and Dagenham) and
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
(
Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...
), included four sets of brothers and three other members. Some were still at
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
or
university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, while others had jobs of their own. The group consisted of leader and
choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...
Ashley Banjo and the following other members: Robert Anker, Jordan Banjo, Sam Craske, Mitchell Craske, Warren Russell, Ashton Russell, Perri Kiely, Ike Chuks, Terry Smith, Ian McNaughton, Jamie McNaughton and Matthew McNaughton. Ashton Russell played the part of Young
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
in the musical Thriller – Live.


2009: ''Britain's Got Talent''

In 2009, Diversity auditioned in London for the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent''. Judge
Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...
said: "Just when I think I've seen it all, you came on." They received three "yes"es from Holden,
Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
and
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
, and eventually progressed to the live semi-finals, where they opened the first show on 24 May. After their performance, they received a standing ovation from the audience and the judges, who all dubbed their performance "fantastic". Later that night, they were in the top three with singers Natalie Okri and
Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of '' Britain's Got Talent'', singing " I Dreamed a Dream" from '. As of 2021, Boyle has sold 25 ...
. Boyle was revealed to have received the most votes and went straight through to the live final, meaning that the judges would choose between Okri and Diversity for the second spot in the final. Morgan and Cowell both voted in favour of Diversity – Morgan believed that Diversity had a better chance of winning the show and Cowell admitted that he had been "a huge fan" of Diversity from their first audition. Following their performance in the final, Holden said she thought Diversity had "blown Flawless out of the water", while Cowell said that "If I had to give marks on that, this would be the only performance tonight I would give a 10 to." However, Morgan thought Flawless "just edged iversity" They finished in the top three again, as did Boyle, along with saxophonist Julian Smith. In a shock result, in front of a record audience of 17.3 million viewers, Diversity were announced as the winners, despite Boyle being the clear favourite to win.


2009: BGT tour and 1st Royal Variety show performance

After winning ''Britain's Got Talent'', Diversity appeared on the US television news programmes ''
The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
'' and ''
Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...
'' to talk about their future plans. They also took part in the Britain's Got Talent – The Live Tour 2009 in June and July. Diversity also became Patrons of Dance Aid organised by the UK Registered Charity, Hope for Children. They performed at the
Wireless Festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...
in
Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a , historic Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Parks of London, Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington P ...
on 5 July, and appeared at T4 on the Beach on 19 July at
Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...
. On 31 August, Diversity performed at Blackpool's Winter Gardens in a
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
tribute alongside George Sampson and
Aidan Davis Aidan Davis (born 23 March 1997) is an English street dancer, rapper, and television host. In 2009, he reached the final of the third series of the ITV talent show '' Britain's Got Talent''. He finished fifth place overall and later that year ...
. This performance was on the same weekend as the World Street Dancing championships. They performed in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to launch the new
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
channel
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...
. They also performed outside
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
in front of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, during which Perri slipped and fell on his head after attempting a back-flip. He did not sustain any serious injury. Diversity also appeared in the Gracious K music video "Migraine Skank" along with dance group Flawless. In January 2010, Ashley Banjo appeared as a judge on the Sky1 reality show '' Got to Dance'', alongside
Adam Garcia Adam Garcia is an Australian actor who is best known for lead roles in musicals such as '' Saturday Night Fever'' and '' Kiss Me, Kate''. He is also a trained tap dancer and singer. Garcia has been nominated twice at the Laurence Olivier Award ...
and Kimberly Wyatt. Diversity switched on
Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...
at Chapelfield shopping centre in Norwich on 5 November, then in Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield on 6 November then in
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
on 12 November. On 11 November, Diversity conducted several hours of signing
autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...
s and posing for
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...
s with thousands of fans at The Galleria Shopping Centre in
Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, 39,201 at the 2011 census, and 41,265 at the 2021 census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House ...
. Afterwards, they hosted a prize-giving ceremony on stage and performed their "Michael Jackson" dance routine. They performed another
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
tribute at the MOBO award ceremony. Diversity "launched" Christmas at Lakeside on 1 November, where they took two members of the audience on-stage for a dance-off. There was a competition held in November, and a hundred people won a
meet and greet Meet may refer to: People with the name * Janek Meet (born 1974), Estonian footballer * Meet Mukhi (born 2005), Indian child actor Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Meet'' (TV series), an Australian television series * '' Meet: Badlegi Duniya ...
with Diversity on 19 November at The Glades in Bromley. On 7 December, Diversity performed on the
Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
, hosted in Blackpool and shown on ITV across the UK on 16 December. On the show '' Got to Dance Warm Up'', they presented their Westfield Shopping Centre FlashMob, sponsored by
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
.


2010: Diversity's tour

Diversity promoted street dancing with Change4Life in January as a means of getting kids and families more active. The first dates for Diversity's spring tour sold out in 24 hours, which led to further dates being announced, the first being at the
Manchester Apollo The O2 Apollo Manchester (known locally as The Apollo and formerly Manchester Apollo and ABC Ardwick) is a concert venue in Ardwick Green, Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building, with a capacity of 3,500 (2,514 standing, 986 seats ...
on 27 March. The tour centres on toys "coming to life". Diversity being the main toy as "Diversitoys", fellow ''Britain's Got Talent'' dance group Suga-Free as "the dolls",
Aidan Davis Aidan Davis (born 23 March 1997) is an English street dancer, rapper, and television host. In 2009, he reached the final of the third series of the ITV talent show '' Britain's Got Talent''. He finished fifth place overall and later that year ...
as "Bionic Boy", and others. Due to phenomenal public demand, Diversity brought back their "Diversitoys" tour in December with a Special Christmas twist "Diversitoys Christmas Special". Part of the tour were later shown on TV in the program Diversity Live: The Diversitoys Tour. The group teamed up with national retailer The Range Home and Leisure for a commercial to be shown in April and May, with the tagline "If you like Diversity, you'll love The Range". They also appeared in adverts for food for "great little ideas". Diversity appeared in the UK film StreetDance 3D, released on 21 May 2010, in which they starred alongside ''Britain's Got Talent'' 2009 finalists Flawless and 2008 winner George Sampson. They brought out their own fitness DVD called Diversity Dance Fitness Fusion in November 2010.


2011–2012: Digitized tour

Ashton Russell re-joined Diversity. In July and August Diversity members Mitchell Craske, Perri Kiely and Ashton Russell along with fellow Dancework studio dancer Nathan Ramsey took part in the Born to Shine roadshow. At each show two of the four would perform and take part in a dance masterclass for children. The group did a number of TV performances including Britain's Got Talent, Got to Dance, Born to Shine and Red or Black. They also filmed the first series of " Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew". In September they supported the charity the Railway Children by producing a film for them and also a competition where the winners would meet the group on their next tour. In October the group performed at the Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert. The first series of "Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew" aired. In the show members of Diversity took turns to help Ash teach small groups a street dance. The group also filmed the second series of "Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew" during the course of the year. Starting from March, Diversity did their first UK Arena tour called "Digitized – Trapped in the Game". They sold out the O2 Arena with a standing ovation from the audience. Shortly after the Digitized tour Ian McNaughton, Jamie McNaughton and Matthew McNaughton left the group. Later in the year they brought out their DVD of the tour filmed at the O2 Arena.


2012–2014: Limitless tour

Diversity were among the many torch bearers in London's 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, completing their leg of the journey on 22 July 2012. They performed on the
Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
2012 with Spelbound, Stavros Flatley and Paul Potts. Got to Dance returned for its fourth series. As per previous series Diversity did a number of performance. The fourth series also saw Diversity members Jordan and Perri start hosting in their own right as they took on the role of the backstage presenters. This was followed a few months later by their own show. In spring of 2013 Diversity spent 2 months in Stockton-on-Tees teaching large groups of people to dance for the Sky1 show "Ashley Banjo's Big Town Dance". The second series of "Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew" aired at the start of the year. The group have also been working on a third series of Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew since April. In Summer 2013 Diversity members Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, hosted their own TV show ''Jordan and Perri's Ultimate Block Party'' where they transformed groups of young people (Swim Team, Youth Club etc.) into a dance troupe in only 2 days. In the run up to the limitless tour the group did a number of performances including one at the Danone Nations Cup (a football competition dedicated to children) at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
and another on top of the O2 Arena in London for Nickelodeon's Fruit Shoot Skills Awards. Diversity did their third tour called Limitless from 30 November to 16 December. They performed one of the performances from the tour on '' Got to Dance'' at the start of the year. In February 2014, Perri won the second series of '' Splash!'' A new Diversity show called '' Ashley Banjo's Big Town Dance'' (which has also been called ''The Town That Danced Again'' while in production) aired on
Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
in January and February. Big Town dance followed Ashley and Diversity as they spent 2 months in Stockton-on-Tees trying to bring the town together through dance. It was announced on 17 February that Diversity Members Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely would be the UK hosts for
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in tel ...
. Following the announcement Jordan and Perri spent a week in LA filming a number of adverts and video blogs which Nickelodeon showed on their UK channel and web site in the run up to the Awards. On 1 March, Diversity performed on '' Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' and announced that due to public demand a reboot of their Limitless tour would return in November 2014. Diversity performed with
Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...
during the final of Britain's Got Talent on 7 June. They had previously performed on Britain's Got More Talent on their own on 29 May. Members of Diversity have also done a number of adverts. Perri & Mitchell did ITV – Where The Entertainers Live in March. Ash, Jordan and Perri did a series of videos for Cadbury Marvellous Mix-Ups in May. Jordan and Perri did a number of videos and judging for
British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...
Generation Green Energy Performance in May and June. The pair also did a number of adverts for Transformers toys in June. In October Ike took part in itvplayer's Ready when you are. Diversity appeared at Weston Super-Mare Beach Festival on 28 June. They took part in Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park with
McBusted McBusted were an English pop-punk Supergroup (music), supergroup composed of members from bands McFly (Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd) and Busted (band), Busted (James Bourne and Matt Willis). The only member of the o ...
on 6 July. They also appeared at the Leicester Music Festival on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July. Diversity took part in the closing ceremony of the first
Invictus Games The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' is Latin for 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of th ...
on 14 September. Their set included the Corps of Drums from Her Majestys Band of The Royal Marines and three members of Diversity Juniors. The three Diversity Juniors also took part in Diversity performance on Got to Dance on 25 August.


2015: The Exclusive Tour – Up Close and Personal

Diversity Live broadcast on 4 January during which the group talked about how various dances that have inspired them and the major influences who have helped them along the way. On 13 March 2015, Warren Russell was a judge at the first ever Balfour Beatty London Youth Games dance competition. In early 2015 it was announced that Diversity members Jordan and Perri would be reprising their roles as UK hosts for the
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
Kids' Choice Awards 2015. They again spent time in the USA filming short clips for Nickelodeon in the run up to the awards. Before returning to the UK where Diversity filmed a special routine for the pre-show. During the filming of this Diversity members Ashley, Mitchell, Sam, Ike, Warren and Terry were all slimed, a form of honour from Nickelodeon. Jordan and Perri also got slimed when they hosted and performed with Diversity at the UK's first ever Nickelodeon Slimefest 2016. On 9 May 2015 they gave the opening performance at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in
Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large Military parade, parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at British national grid reference system, grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the K ...
, London.


2015–present: Butlins Tour – Butlins Up Close and Personal

During 2015 members of Diversity performed shows and took dance class at a number of
Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...
resorts during the school holidays. So far they been joined on stage by fellow Dancework studio dancer Nathan Ramsey and members of Diversity Juniors along with drummer Kieran Gaffney. Although it was not officially announced, Ike Chuks left the group in early 2016 to pursue his music career. In 2016, Ashley Banjo (alongside Zoe Ball) hosted the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
show '' Can't Touch This''. On 3 February 2016, Diversity, along with some young people and staff from Dancework Studios performed for '' Tonight at the London Palladium'', hosted by Bradley Walsh. Diversity also returned to ITV, where they starred in two episodes of the Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway segment "Who Shot Simon Cowell?" as well as a special performance (created by Ashley Banjo) to celebrate 10 years of Britain's Got Talent. They returned once again in the New Year to promote their new ITV special Diversity Presents Steal The Show. Ashley Banjo was also a judge on the Strictly Come Dancing rival Dance Dance Dance. On 8 November 2016, Jordan Banjo was announced as being part of the line-up for series 16 of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' Diversity returned to Butlins for 2016. It was announced in August 2016 that Diversity will be back at Butlins for October 2016 It was announced that Diversity was returning to Butlins for their fourth year in 2018 along with the dance academy.


2017: Genesis Tour and pantomime debut

Diversity showcased their 7th UK arena tour, Genesis. The tour is the final element to the Diversity Superhero saga, and a future tour is yet to be announced. From 9 December 2017 to 14 January 2018, Diversity made their
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
debut in ''Dick Whittington'' at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
, alongside
Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...
,
Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...
, Paul Zerdin, Gary Wilmot, Nigel Havers and Charlie Stemp. On 28 July 2017, member Robert Anker died in a car accident in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. On 6 November 2017, Ashley Banjo was confirmed to be one of the four judges on the revived ITV show ''
Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...
''. Diversity performed for a one-off Christmas special – named A Night of Emergency Services. Ashley Banjo returned for his second series of
Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...
, in 2019.


Tours

* Britain's Got Talent Tour (2009) * Diversitoys (2010) ** Diversitoys Christmas Special (2010) * Digitized – Trapped in the Game (2012) * Limitless (2013) * Salute Tour With
Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...
** Limitless The Reboot (2014) * The Exclusive Tour – Up Close and Personal (2015) *
Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...
– Up Close and Personal (2015–Present) * Genesis (2017) * Dick Whittington at the London Palladium (2017–2018) * Aladdin at the Cliffs Pavilion Southend (2018–2019) * Robin Hood and His Merry Men at the Cliffs Pavilion Southend (2019–2020) * Ignite (2018) * Born Ready (2019) *Connected (2022) *
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
** at the Cliffs Pavilion Southend (2022) ** at the Mayflower Theatre Southampton (2023)


DVDs

* Diversity: Dance.Fitness.Fusion (2010) * Diversity Digitized: The Live Tour 2012 (2012)


References


External links


Diversity Official
Archived
Team Diversity
Archived fro
the original

Diversity Street Dance
unofficial site
diversity tweet page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diversity Performing groups established in 2007 2007 establishments in England 2007 in London British dance groups British hip-hop dance groups Britain's Got Talent winners Cultural organisations based in London