International Dance Day: Blowing Up Social Media With All The Right Moves
Ahead of International Dance Day - celebrated every 29 April to highlight the value and importance of dance as an art form, and also to commemorate the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet - we headed to a place where dance rules: TikTok.
And, boy, is it a hotbed of movers and shakers (literally).
There's no doubt that Singapore's got artistic talent, but we can't deny that music and the visual arts have had the spotlight for a long time. So it's very cool to see those who are light of foot and supple of body taking centre stage these days too.
@kevintristan99 same @ my friend busy taking pics for the gram dc: @jm_yrreverre
♬ One Minute Man Showmusik Remix - Showmusik Sounds
One such talent: Kevin Tristan (@kevintristan99). The 21-year-old Filipino-Singaporean TikTok star has racked up a whopping 237.9k followers (and counting) since he boogied his way onto the platform in 2019.
It's not surprising. After all, the graduate of School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) passed an audition to attend the Summer Intensive programme of the world-renowned Nederlands Dans Theater, which has its headquarters at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague.
According to the New York Times: “If the world’s dance companies occupied the shelves of a bar, Nederlands Dans Theater would sit comfortably on the top like a fine liquor—smooth, complex, potent.”
That's how talented this talent is.
So, there's no better way to do something fun to commemorate International Dance Day than to ask Kevin which Singapore dancers we should be checking out right now on TikTok and Instagram for the slickest, sickest moves. Here are his picks:
@kuinston \ud83e\udd0d @nianaguerrero
♬ Booty Wurk - Niana Guerrero
Kevin says: "He is super 'good vibes'. I think he's such a fun dancer. You can tell he's always having fun in his TikToks - and it's always with friends. I think that's super fun, like, having a sense of community. And also, I dunno, something about his dancing is super refreshing. Just overall good vibes, dude.
Kevin says: "She's one of the instructors at Danz People, which is a very current, very hip, very now dance studio that everyone loves going to. She teaches hip hop and is super down to earth, and, like, the definition of swag. She's Filipino, and I think I also take inspiration from her because I've always felt like I don't have the swag of a Filipino. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I feel like every Filipino I've watched dance has a certain coolness and swag!"
Kevin says: "He is insane, his choreography is so good. He holds, like, three classes a week his classes have 32 slots, and they get booked in one minute! He's a rising star; I think there's so much he can offer to the dance world here in Singapore. He's going places for sure. His dance style is super fun and unique, and very similar to what you would see in LA - it's very current. You can tell that he's super open to learning as well. He's still growing and he wants to collaborate with everyone, and learn from everyone. I think that's extremely special."
@grrafite HAHAHAHHA
♬ グッバイ宣言 - Chinozo
Kevin says: "This girl is good. She's so aware of her body. She makes all the dances her own. And you can tell she's just a super down to earth humble person. There's no theatrics, no fun camera angles. She just puts her camera down, and she dances - and it's as simple as that. I think that's something very special - being able to attract people just purely based off your talent. I think it's super special, and super hard to do to get a following just based off that - it's insane!"
Kevin says: "Ryan is a dancer instructor. He was a dancer first and then he started teaching at One Dance Asia. He is someone that inspires me a lot. When I first met him, he was already a great mover and a storyteller. And he's grown exponentially in the past few years. If you guys are thinking about joining a class, his is definitely a class to join."
@booeuwhore Shimmy shimmy ✨yUH✨ DC: @_zamreyy \ud83d\udd25
♬ Swalla - Jason Derulo
Kevin says: "He's a great dancer. You can tell he's very hungry and very passionate, and that he wants to keep learning and growing. It's energetic and fun - another feel good TikTok! And if you want to find other good dancers in Singapore, you can just go to his account because he always dances with so many other good dancers."
@allyteozc @yung.raja1 ##YRMami DC: ME \ud83e\udd73 try this dance and tag me!! i would love to see you guys try this \ud83e\udd70❤️
♬ Mami - Yung Raja
Kevin says: "Ally is a model. She's so pretty! Her face is so symmetrical and she's gorgeous. I love watching her videos because she just exudes positivity and good vibes. If you're ever having a bad day, just go to Ally Teo's TikTok page and you'll be so happy!"
Kevin says: "He's very inspiring - a lot of people love his style, it's very current. I think he's one of the people who specialises in this style, so if you're looking for someone to learn from, he has courses and foundation courses, and everything - definitely an instructor that you want to learn from."
@youronlydoll dc: @syamirzakaria cmon viral choreo
♬ original sound - syamzack
Kevin says: "He does dance in LaSalle and he's super unapologetic about how he is - very sassy. If you're like, 'argh, Singapore, I have to fit into societal norms', go to his page, and you'll be, like, 'maybe I don't have to' because this guy is living and he's unapologetic and not afraid to be. Just knowing that there are people like this roaming around in Singapore, I think it's very inspiring."
Kevin says: "She was my schoolmate from SOTA, and she was Miss Earth Singapore 2020. She's super confident, so if you need a confidence boost, she will make you feel like nothing can stop you. That is the essence of her personality. She's been getting into pole dancing and she's super sexy! And she's not only good at pole, she's good at dancing - a force to be reckoned with. Not a lot of people have noticed her yet, but she's definitely someone who is on the scene who I think needs to be seen some more."
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