So We Think We Can Dance

Vietnamese people can sing. Vietnamese people can act. And not surprisingly, Vietnamese people can dance.

The past few years have seen a high increase in dance televisions shows and competitions. America’s Best Dance Crew, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, and the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers are just a few dance shows that showcase the talents of all types of dancers from all types of backgrounds with all types of skin colors.

Unlike other fields of entertainment such as acting and singing, the art of dancing has enabled Vietnamese-Americans to truly showcase their talents on big networks during primetime. While acting and singing observe race under a microscope and create a difficult situation for actors and singers of color to enter the industry, the dance world is seemingly colorblind.

Take America’s Best Dance Crew for instance. Jabbabockeez, We Are Heros, and Super Cr3w included Asian team members; Poreotix and Quest Crew were all-Asian; 21 out of 29 dancers were Asian; and 4 of those 29 dancers were Vietnamese-American. And these are just the headcounts for winning teams. Many other teams, such as Kaba Modern, included more Asian and Vietnamese members.

I love the fact that the dance community in person or on television is so welcoming to any and every persons. But what I love more is that this universal language of dance is spreading.

At the end of this year, Vietnam is coming out with its first hip-hop movie based in Ho Chi Minh City called “Saigon Electric.” It’s amazing to see the spread of the hip-hop culture back home because it means our international youth has another point of connection. The distance and language barrier between Vietnamese and Vietnamese Hyphen youth mean greater separation and disassociation. The universality of body movement will allow us to break this detachment and hopefully truly create One Vietnam.

Check out the “Saigon Electric” trailer.