Flying The Coop

Some people tell me that I barely have an American accent when I speak, especially when I am at work in the production arena or training people in choreography and dance.

Perhaps it is because I’d spent the past 17 years of my life in Asia, living in Thailand, Japan and Singapore and I may have unknowingly assimilated into the beautiful Asian landscape. One very positive value which I’d noticed in this part of the world is that it is customary for Asian children to care for their parents in their golden years. My Asian friends tell me that this really is very “Confucius”, a value which I find admirable. In the US, children see their parents once a year, mainly to celebrate the festivities. See the disparity?

Many of my adult Asian friends still live with their parents, again something which is rare in the West… and I personally believe that all children should leave their nests at some point to rough it out on their own.

In the States, we use a phrase called “Flying the Coop”, which literally refers to the time when the young leaves their nests, take flight and spread their wings to stand on their own two feet.

Enough of rhetorics…

The point that I am attempting to drive home is that after spending so many years in Asia, having seen the dance industry evolve and grow, I believe that the time has come for Asian dancers to “fly the coop”.

As seen in the recent Channel 5’s dance reality programme, The Dance Floor and the South West District Dance Journey, young budding Asian dancers are embracing, emulating, imitating and executing with perfection, western dance styles. It’s incredible how quickly local dancers, in particular Singaporeans, have adopted dance forms that are not indigenous to their culture and perform it with flare, panache and professionalism rivaling those dancers in the USA…I kid you not.

I was chatting with my friend Lionel Araya, of LA Dance Connection the other day and we came to the conclusion that Asians are better suited to perform and execute modern Hip Hop, Locking and Popping dance styles, partly due to their stature and the way that their bodies are structured.

We concurred that it is now time for Asian dancers to graduate and stop replicating the moves from the West. Eastern style dancing is beautiful in its own form and it’s time for Asian dancers, be it Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Balinese, to create their own hybrid of modern popular dance and take it to the next level.

TV viewership numbers and positive feedback for the Asian Dance segment overwhelmed all other weekly dance segments during MediaCorp’s The Dance Floor.

When I sitting on the judging panel of the recent South West District Dance Journey, I was very impressed by the creative ingenuity of the young dancers in Singapore and the intelligent choreographic fusion of East and West. It was remarkable, something we rarely see in the West.

Perhaps, the time has come, to leave the nest…fly the coop…class is over.

Show the world what you’re made of. Make the world sit up and see you DANCE.