Wondertwins
Billy McClain: He // Him // His
Bobby McClain: He // Him // His
[ID: A portrait of two seemingly identical men in an elevator interior. Both men are Black with short hair and matching attire. They both wear large reflective glasses, blue tux jackets trimmed in black, black bow ties, white dress shirts, and blue jeans. The man on the left rests his extended right arm on the elevator wall and his left hand at his navel. The man on the right, holds his right bicep. Both men regard the viewer with cool sartorial looks.]
Boston, MA
2022 USA Fellow
This award was generously supported by the Barr Foundation.
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Wondertwins, identical twins Billy and Bobby McClain, started dancing at age eight in Boston inner cities imitating the moves they saw on the TV dance program Soul Train. By nine years old, they were doing their “WonderTwins Show” at family cookouts and barbecues. At age ten, they won their first dance competition, judged by the legendary hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow. Later that year, they were recruited to join Boston’s first professional street dance crew, the Funk Affects, which inspired and influenced pop stars New Edition and New Kids on the Block.
Today, Wondertwins are an award-winning street dance duo headlining some of the biggest venues and festivals in the country, including “Unreal Hip-Hop” and “Inside/Out” at Jacob’s Pillow dance Festival, the Brooklyn dance Festival, danceNOW Boston and NYC, Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, and the Lincoln Center, to name just a few. They are six-time winners of Showtime at the Apollo, making a record sixteen appearances on the Apollo stage.
Many of the Wondertwins’ accomplishments are centered around their community work, earning them awards and recognition including designation by OrigiNation as Boston pioneers of dance in 2012 and by Berklee College of music as Artists for Social Change in 2019.
Wondertwins aim to have a lifelong effect on the children, students, and communities who enjoy their work as artists. As well as paying respect to the men and women they grew up admiring, they aim to bring about awareness of current issues and concerns of racial injustice through entertainment.
Portrait photo by Sophie Browne.
Wondertwins in performance.[ID: A Black man stands under a spotlight, staring directly at the viewer. His gleaming torso is bare and his lower body is wrapped in an American flag. Behind him is a blank wall with a single strand of police tape running along the length of the wall.]
Wondertwins in performance.[ID: A black-and-white image of two figures standing stiffly in a dark interior. Both figures have curly mid-length hair and are dressed identically in dark pants, shiny jackets, and dark glasses. The figures look in different directions but are in mid-motion as if startled.]
Wondertwins in performance.[ID: A black-and-white image of two figures on a stage. Both figures are dressed smartly in white pants and sequined jackets. Both are turned to the right, faces only seen in profile.]