Why Do Dancers Practice in Public?
A TikTok video posted by TikTok user Belinda (@bellaella7777) has caused an uproar in the local dance community.
When I clicked into the TikTok video’s comment section, I was immediately infuriated by the keyboard warriors throwing insults at the dancers and making sarcastic remarks such as: “I'd purposely stop in the middle of their 'practice' and act like I should join them. Yay free K-Pop dance class.”, “Why is this allowed?” and “I would purposely walk straight (in front) of them, dude putting the chair right in the middle like they (own) the place”.
As a K-Pop cover dancer myself, I couldn’t help but feel that the comments were directed at me too. The more I scrolled through the comment section, the more invigorated I felt.
Source: Bayfront Dance Studio Rehearsals & Kpop Wannabes | Lively and Occupied Corridor | TikTok
@bellaella7777
Can’t they just rent a studio?
I know from first-hand experience that renting a studio in Singapore is not cheap. Hourly rates can go up to $35 for a basic studio space. For dancers who are still in school, we simply cannot afford to fork out over $100 every week for a three-hour practice.
Source: Dance Movement Inc.
Studios in Singapore are also usually located at inconvenient locations like in industrial buildings which are just too inaccessible.
Why dance in public? Are we just attention seeking?
“Stupid dancers, y'all (are not) even getting paid.”
Among the hundreds of comments under the video, the lack of empathy in this remark angered me the most. I wondered if the user who posted the comment had any hobbies at all. Must we be paid in order to do something we enjoy?
In the past, most dancers would gather at SCAPE. But with SCAPE’s ongoing renovations, dancers like myself are forced to look for other spaces to dance at.
The sad truth to this is that there are no other public spaces built for dancers in Singapore. As such, dancers try their best to look for places with sufficient space and low footfall to dance at.
Popular dance spots include Changi Airport’s Terminal 3, along the linkway from Singapore Management University (SMU) to Bras Basah MRT station and Esplanade MRT station.
We are not practising in public because we seek attention, but because there is nowhere else we can dance.
Ironically, the Marina Bay Sands Fountain is an extremely popular filming location for K-Pop In Public dance covers yet I have never heard such complaints about the numerous groups who film there every weekend.
In fact, many people regularly crowd the area, waiting for the performances by cover groups such as GRID and Z-Axis, who are frequently praised for their public covers.
At the end of the day, I feel that the video only fuelled unnecessary hate towards K-Pop dancers. Most dancers are considerate towards other users of the space, and we view dance as one of our only escapes from the mundanity of our daily lives.
However, I am grateful for the spotlight this discourse has shone upon K-Pop dancers, as we seem to be getting much more opportunities in Singapore recently, with more performance opportunities and competitions for the community.
