Footloose

You’re a dancer! How and when did you start dancing, and what do you love most about it?
Back when I was in secondary school, I saw posters for street dance classes so I decided to take it up on a whim. And it all started from there.

In school, I’ve always had to follow the rules, so when I started dancing, I found it refreshing; I felt like I could do whatever I wanted to. These days, I mainly participate in battles and dance freestyle, so there isn’t really a fixed choreography that I do, but rather it’s more of me expressing myself through dance.

How would you describe yourself as a dancer?
As a person, I’m quite introverted. Even in dance, I think it shows in some ways because the way that you move is a mirror of yourself. Sometimes, with people I’m close with, I can get pretty rowdy which also shows in my dance. When I get comfortable on the floor or when I’m comfortable with my setting, everything just comes loose (laughs).

But I will say, dancing has definitely helped to boost my self-confidence. In school, I would always be like “Ahh shit, I don’t want to get involved in anything”, but after I went started dancing proper, I’ve found the community to be very welcoming.

How do you continue to improve yourself and your skills now as a dance instructor?
Now, I’m learning how to put my life experiences into my dance. For me, it’s always been about the technical aspect of it. Like in hip-hop for example, it’s mostly drills and a lot of foundation. I feel very trapped doing technical movements, so now, I want to put more feelings into my dance.

Ultimately, my goal is for people to feel what I’m feeling through my dance. I’ve always been training technical movements, so I want to try a different approach now.

Would you say it’s difficult to be a professional dancer in Singapore?
I would say our main income always comes from schools–either by teaching in co-curricular activities (CCAs) or in enrichment classes. We don’t have street dance theatres unlike in Europe and other Western countries. They appreciate street dance a lot more there, but here in Singapore, there’s a stronger focus on and appreciation for contemporary dance.

That said, for now, whatever I’m doing is still paying me quite okay. So I think I can continue to do it lah. I don’t have to force myself to go into a corporate job, you know? I still enjoy dancing and coaching!

Do you have a favourite dancer?
I like to watch anyone and everyone, so I don’t have a definitive figure that I really, really like. But if I had to name one, I would say it’s Niako, a French dancer. He’s a really good hip-hop freestyler. To me, he’s just wow, crazy!

Outside of dance, what else do you enjoy doing?
Well, I’m currently learning to DJ, and like everyone else, I like to travel of course. I would say I’m lucky because I get to travel quite a bit for dance as well. I get to meet new people, go for events, and sometimes even judge at events and everything.