Part of the soundtrack to Alexandrina Hemsley and Jamila Johnson-Small’s dance performance O is a piece of text written and read by Hemsley’s father based on incidents and abuse both women have experienced.

“People think it’s a piece of text we’ve found in the BBC archives,” says Hemsley.

“We have to tell them these aren’t incidents that have happened in the 19th or 20th century – these things were said to me.”

O focuses on issues of gender and race, taking in everything from media portrayals of black women to twerking.

“Mostly it is specifically from mine and Jamila’s own experiences,” says Hemsley. “For me, I used to have a massive afro which got me so much attention. People would be shouting ‘Afro thunder!’ down the street at me and I started to question whether that was OK.

“The piece incorporates what we come across every day. We are still in a society that objectifies women no matter what colour they are.

“It’s never helpful to talk about ‘us against them’; it’s more useful to say we all have a part to play in this. We are all complicit in it. We aren’t blaming anyone – we’re asking what can be done about it.”

The multimedia project O began with Hemsley and Johnson-Small’s first love, dance, before expanding into a book.

“Certain issues were better addressed in other mediums,” says Hemsley. “People weren’t detecting the issues of race in the piece.”

Much of the objectification comes across in the media.

“When I look at music videos all I see is black bums,” laughs Hemsley. “There’s a status thing that a singer will have as many beautiful black women around them as they can.

“Even Serena Williams, the world’s number one tennis player, has been reduced to just her body and bum.”

Twerking plays a part in the dance performance, which has been developed by Hemsley and Johnson-Small ever since they first met in 2011 at the London Contemporary Dance School.

“We do a lot of booty shaking – and it’s so uncomfortable,” says Hemsley. “We thought it was important to show how often the media exploits it.

“It’s no longer just magazines that have images of women, it’s Facebook and Twitter, all over the internet. It seems it’s OK for women to be seen in a certain way and it’s easier to access these objectifying images.”

Lily Allen recently countered Robin Thicke’s infamous Blurred Lines video – which saw him surrounded by semi-naked women – with her own contrasting take, although Hemsley admits she and her dance partner argue over its deficiencies in addressing the issue of race.

Hemsley believes dance is a perfect medium for dealing with issues of body politics.

“Much of the piece is improvised,” says Hemsley. “We have a set score and structure, with various different music tracks, but it is very free and made-up in the moment.”

As the pair perform to tracks by the likes of Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel – according to Hemsley, “one of the most explicit pieces of music I’ve ever heard” – and even Grace Jones, they also bring the audience into the experience.

“We bring a couple of lads to a bar on stage and make them feel at home – and then make them feel uncomfortable,” laughs Hemsley. “We do a lot of throwing things away – books and wigs are abandoned. We have gone through various stages of nudity too.

“Most dancers and performers try to make themselves comfortable on stage. Nudity is still quite radical.

“For me, it feels quite necessary to expose yourself, feel vulnerable and be empowered enough to dance like no one is watching, like you’re in your bedroom.”