- Southeastwood is new troupe mostly made up of members of city’s ethnic minorities
- Group of 31 dancers aged between 13 and 27 took to stage to compete at World of Dance Hong Kong
When the Filipino pop song Tala echoes across the stage of the World of Dance Hong Kong competition, performer Jhoshwa Ledesma Gomez gets goosebumps right away.
Dressed in black and white, the 23-year-old Filipino feels the urge to scream while dancing to the song, along with the other 30 members of his dance crew Southeastwood. And they do just that.
"So many teams from famous studios and brands came to the show, and we were just us, a bunch of kids who had been practising outside the MTR station. It was breathtaking," Gomez says.
His teammate, 21-year-old Nishien Lien Valdejuezo, says that when they got off the stage it was "probably the best feeling of my life".
The five-minute performance at the event, held by American television show World of Dance, was not just the team's debut, but also marked the founding of Hong Kong's first ethnic minority hip-hop dance crew.
Of the 31 members of Southeastwood, who are between 13 and 27, most have family roots in Southeast Asia, including in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal. Since the troupe began recruiting last December, four months before its first public performance, members have taken part in four shows and festivals, while exploring other dance genres such as K-pop and jazz funk.
"I started this dance crew because I wanted to feel more included, " says Whampy Jay, 19, founder of Southeastwood.
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"The fact that we get to say and stress that we are ethnic minority is important, as it proves to people that we can be at the same level as Chinese Hongkongers," she says.
Growing up in the Filipino community on Lantau Island, Jay developed an interest in dancing as a child, largely encouraged by the parties and festivals held in her Pui O neighbourhood, and all the singing and swaying at home.
Her parents worked as musicians in a band when they first came to the city " a common career choice for those living in that community.
More than 1,600 Filipinos live on Lantau, and are the largest ethnic minority group accounting for 9 per cent of the island's population, according to a government census in 2011.
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"Our families knew each other before we were born, all through music. For me, music is a family legacy," Gomez says. "One of the reasons I dance is that I want to make my parents proud in a way, to show them that although I can't do music, the rhythm is still in me."
While Gomez enrolled in the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to pursue this passion, it has not been easy for some of his childhood friends. Jay remembers watching YouTube videos and practising at home for years, as she "was too scared to go to hip-hop dance lessons".
At 16, Jay finally summoned up the courage to join a class in Causeway Bay. "I felt so lonely at first," she says. "I couldn't speak Chinese, so it was horrifying to even think about talking to fellow students.
"Eventually other kids got used to my face and started treating me nicely. I was never discriminated, but I seldom felt included because it always took a while to bond with others."
She says being an ethnic minority dancer meant she experienced bullying from some, and unreasonably high expectations from others.
"In Hong Kong, it's really hard to see a brown face dancer with a Chinese local celebrity," she says. "I've tried searching online for open auditions for dance crews, but they were all in Chinese, and I just thought I wouldn't fit in. And that can be heartbreaking."
Southeastwood, according to Jay, is a place for people to feel included in what they are passionate about.
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For Tasha Chew Yi An, who has Malaysian and Indonesian heritage and who moved to Hong Kong at the age of six, becoming part of the crew helps her blend into not only the dancing society, but also other occasions in daily life.
The 15-year-old remembers telling colleagues at a part-time job about her hobby, and Southeastwood.
"They were so shocked because they knew that name from mutual friends and social media," she says. "And it was overwhelming for me, too, that they knew our crew."
Valdejuezo adds: "I was once recognised at a bar in Lan Kwai Fong. My parents always say that if I pursue dancing when I get older, it's not gonna get me up the social ladder. But dance is what I want, and I'm enjoying it."
For Gomez, one of the goals is for the crew to own its own studio. "We want to make Southeastwood a bigger brand. We are hungry for it, so we grab every opportunity we have to perform, with or without pay."
Wolfe Lai, 19, the only Chinese Hongkonger in the crew, says while it may seem weird for him to be a crew member, he finds the team quite accepting.
"In the end, I'm just dancing with people who value my moves," says the University of Hong Kong student, who joined Southeastwood after being invited by a friend.
For Valdejuezo, emphasising their ethnic minority identity only means the crew "will look like we are welcoming anyone".
"It's just another way to say that ethnic minority are locals as well. So let us dance with you," she says.
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