The hip-hop craze is back in Vinh City.
(Baonghean.vn) – "Hip-hop is not pointless or nonsense, but an art form and a cultural trend. Hip-hop is fun, healthy, and full of personality."
Street dance
Between 4 and 6 PM each day, in public places like Ho Chi Minh Square, the Labor Culture House, Nguyen Tat Thanh Park, etc., it's easy to spot hip-hop dance groups practicing energetically. Their training equipment is simple: just a pair of Bluetooth speakers connected to a phone playing upbeat tunes – that's enough for a practice session and performance that lasts until nightfall.
Because hip-hop music is performed and rehearsed in a large outdoor space, it doesn't seem to cause too much noise or disturbance to the general public's lives. In fact, the dance groups' practice areas attract quite a few curious onlookers, including many older people.
Mr. Dinh Van Tuan (68 years old, Truong Thi ward, Vinh City) happily shared:
"Before, when I heard about hip-hop, I thought it was something silly, something 'from the streets,' but now, after watching these kids practice for a while, I realize it's quite interesting. It's fun and good for your health."
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| Energetic street dances. |
Observing hip hop training sessions reveals that this is a discipline that demands physical fitness, endurance, flexibility, and true patience. The swaying, twisting, head-turning, and handstand movements... to the rhythm of the music are incredibly captivating, making it impossible for viewers to look away, but mastering them is not easy at all.
“Hip-hop isn't for the faint-hearted, for those who just want to try it out or follow a trend. Anyone who loves hip hop has probably watched mesmerizing videos on YouTube and MTV and tried to learn the dance moves, but that's just the beginning. Only those with patience and passion will persevere, and mastery of the choreography can only be achieved through diligent practice,” affirmed Le Thang, a member of a hip-hop dance group.
Emerging in the 1970s in the Bronx, New York, hip hop is not just a musical genre but also a cultural movement. Hip hop originated and developed in ghettos (often areas inhabited by the poor, people of color, and with high rates of social problems and gang activity). The dance styles include breakdance (the most popular hip hop style with footwork and combined hand and foot movements on the floor) and other street dance styles such as popping (rapidly relaxing muscles, creating jerks or waves in the body), locking (precise, robotic movements combined with free and wild movements), krumping (expressing intense, fierce emotions while dancing and often with face painting), newstyle (combining movements of popping, locking, krumping, jazz, etc.), and some other elements such as beatboxing (playing music with the mouth)... |
Hip-hop knows no age or gender boundaries. Duong Thi Be Hang (1997) – a prominent female member of the Virus Dance group – shared:
“Initially, when I started hip-hop, my family strongly opposed it. My parents worried that my obsession with hip-hop would negatively impact my studies, and they also feared the dangers of me doing handstands and headstands like in those music videos on TV… But gradually, they saw that my hip-hop training was healthy, improving my health, boosting my spirits, and doing well in school. Now, they are my biggest supporters. Even the neighbors trust me enough to send their children and grandchildren to train with me to become healthier and more confident.”
According to our research, there are currently many hip-hop dance groups of varying sizes in Nghe An province, operating in districts and towns such as Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Thai Hoa town, and in high schools, colleges, and universities in Vinh City. Generally, these groups are spontaneous and operate out of a shared passion for the dance. Their music and choreography are learned from the internet and further developed spontaneously.
When hip hop takes to the dance floor.
About a decade ago, the idea of hip-hop appearing on the stages of large and small shows in Nghe An was something far-fetched, but now it has become a reality.
“In Vinh City, hip-hop was once ‘neglected’ due to strong social prejudices against this genre of music and dance, which didn’t recognize it as an art form. Gradually, that view has changed for the better. Many large-scale programs at the city and provincial levels, as well as events organized by individuals and businesses, have ‘fallen in love’ with hip-hop, and we’re receiving more and more invitations to perform,” shared Tran Quoc Hung (1990), leader of the Virus Dance group.
Tran Quoc Hung is considered one of the pioneers of the hip-hop movement in Vinh City in particular and Nghe An province in general. Currently, Hung's group operates quite professionally, systematically, and has a good reputation. The group currently has over 100 members, with successive generations continuing the tradition. The youngest member is just 4 years old, and there are many young dancers aged 5-10 years old.
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| The Virus Dance group performed at Vinh University. |
Hung said that hip-hop performances at shows and events are usually arranged to open or intersperse the main program to create a lively and cheerful break for the audience. Virus Dance has made its mark on many programs with its strong and free-spirited hip-hop vibe, but without being excessive or ridiculous, thanks to the members' meticulously chosen costumes. "Hip-hop is a street music genre, but when performed on stage, it needs to be harmonized to ensure it fits the program's criteria and the audience's taste," one dancer expressed.
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| Energetic choreography and vibrant music are what make hip hop so appealing to young people. |
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| A young dancer confidently performs a dance routine. |
Besides Tran Quoc Hung's group, the professionalization of the hip hop movement is gradually taking shape in other dance groups. In 2015, more than 20 street dance competitions were jointly organized by groups, along with free dance classes, creating a strong ripple effect for the hip hop movement in Vinh City in particular and Nghe An province in general.
Watch the video clip of Virus Dance's performance:
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Phuong Chi
