HÀ NỘI — Street dance fans will have a chance to see impressive moves by dancers from Asian countries at the Việt Nam Youth Theatre on April 22 and 23.

This year’s Dance, Dance Asia project includes three dance works, include Black Lip Boyz; Hilatas (The Light That Guides You) and Chairs, created by established and emerging dancers Japanese Munetaka Maki, Fillipino Vince Mendoza and Vietnamese Lion T. 

Black Lip Boyz is choreographed by Maki and will be performed by Japanese, Fillipino, Taiwanese and Malaysian dancers. Maki is a dancer, choreographer, musician and leader of the dance group Tokyo Gegegay.

He studied traditional Japanese dance and music from the age of three. At age 19, he beat 30,000 others to win top prize at a singing contest. After coming out, he began to incorporate aspects of gay culture into his work and attract attention from the dance world. 

He formed Tokyo Gegegay in 2013. He has performed as Tokyo Gegegay in the Philippines, Thailand, and Tokyo in 2015 for Dance Dance Asia. That year he also became the first street dance artist to receive the Japan Dance Forum Award.

Mendoza choreographed Hilatas and it will be danced by Japanese, Fillipino, Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian dancers. Based partly on Mendoza’s life, Hilatas conjures up a vision of always looking forward in pursuit of dreams, and never looking back even in the face of adversity. It includes a wide range of dance styles, from street to contemporary and acrobatics.

Mendoza is a dancer, choreographer, and a member of Philippine Allstars. His work includes music videos, commercials and choregographs for Lacoste and Diesel. He participated in Dance Dance Asia in Tokyo in 2015.

"Many stories in the daily life of Hanoians will be told in Chairs. It is very difficult to choreograph a dance performed by dancers from different cultures. It takes about one week for us to understand each other," said choreographer Lion T. Chairs will be performed by Vietnamese, Japanese, Singaporean and Malaysian dancers.

Lion T started dancing hip-hop in 1991 and joined the street dance group Big Toe Crew - Việt Nam’s first hip-hop dance group - the following year.

He is currently the leader Big Toe Crew, which comprises some 80 dancers. He has also produced stage shows in Europe and North America. As a solo performer, he appears on television shows and creates his own dance performances.

The long-term dance project has been sponsored since 2015 by the Japan Foundation Asia Centre to support the exchange and collaboration of Asian regional dancers in street dance, including not only hip-hop but a variety of genres such as jazz, contemporary dance, etc. 

The dancers will perform at 3pm and 8pm on April 22 and 3pm on April 23 at 11 Ngô Thì Nhậm Street, Hà Nội. — VNS