THANKS to Diversity, street dance has never been so popular. But long before the body poppin’ troupe were wowing Piers Morgan on Britain’s Got Talent, east London-based Boy Blue Entertainment (BBE) were bringing it to the masses through their youth workshops and sell-out shows such as Generation Next, Lost in Translation and A Nite With Boy Blue.

But, the troupe’s most successful show to date, is the Olivier Award-winning Pied Piper: A Hip Hop Dance Revolution – an adrellin-fuelled explosion that sees Robert Browning’s classic poem interpreted through urban music and dance, and his rats represented as ASBO-holding hoodies. Premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2006, the show transfered to the Barbican in March this year, before enjoying a critically-acclaimed UK tour.

To round off this phenomally successful year, which also included a performance on Strictly Come Dancing, the Barbican have not only invited BBE back to perform Pied Piper this Christmas, but also appointed them artisitc associates.

Speaking about the honour, co-founder and music producer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, who grew up in Loughton, tells me: “We didn’t expect it, but it’s nice to know street dance is getting seen at such a high level.”

The appointment will include an east London dance festival, Dark Blue at the Barbican next July and the hip-hop/kung fu fusion piece, Peace Right Now, in 2011.

Founded by Mikey and choreographer, dancer and Nike athlete Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy in 2001, BBE started running dance classes in Newham for young people who would otherwise not have had access to dance training, with the aim of teaching them team-building skills and discipline. Over the years, 500 young people have received BBE training.

Sticking to this original mantra, earlier this year Mikey and Kenrick took their hip-hop tutorial to more than 4,000 school children across London, on a mission to find a new generation of dancers to join them on stage as The Children of Hamelin for their reprisal of the Pied Piper at the Barbican.

“What’s great about going into schools is you get the opportunity to hit them early,” 29-year-old Mikey tells me. “People see Diversity and they think they can just dance, they don’t see how much hard work goes into it, so it’s nice to give them a grass roots experience of training and auditioning.”

A final group of 60 youngsters, aged between ten to 14, were selected, who will be split into four groups of 15 for each week of the month long run, with the last show featuring all 60 newcomers.

“I was really impressed by these kids,” Mikey enthuses, “they have really got something.”

Pied Piper runs at the Barbican, Silk Street, London until Sunday, January 3. Tickets: 020 7638 8891, www.barbican.org.uk (£10-£26)