Dancer Tran Quoc Hung: Spreading inspiration, igniting passion.

Modern dance, also known as street art, is both an entertainment and a form of physical liberation, as well as an art form that requires performers to possess technical skills in music theory and precise movements. In the 2010s, when modern dance was introduced to the youth of Vinh City, it was still a rare commodity.

At that time, Quoc Hung was one of the most celebrated figures on many music stages, because young people his age couldn't understand where he learned to dance so professionally.

The dance group belongs to Virus Dancer Studio, owned by Hung. (Hung is the second person from the back right in the photo). Photo: Provided by the artist.

An unpeaceful childhood

Hung recounted: "I don't understand why I could dance back then when there were hardly any internet tools like there are now. Every time I saw dance performances by dance groups on television, I just wanted to dance along and find DVDs to learn from. So, that poor student skipped breakfast to buy DVDs for only 10,000 dong, and at home, I would open the DVDs to learn each move: 'After each technique the dancers on the DVD performed, I would pause the video to learn it, and then gradually put it together into a combination of movements.'"

Learning from CDs and television, Hung gradually mastered many difficult freestyle moves; whenever he performed on stage, his friends were amazed. Despite only having learned a few times, Hung could perform many of the difficult techniques of top dancers. At that time, Hung emerged as a professionally trained dancer, appearing on stages big and small in Vinh City, becoming the star of every show. Whenever Hung's name was called for a modern dance performance, and the lively music started playing, the entire audience would immediately stand up, clap, and sway along with his every movement.

Dancer Tran Quoc Hung, born in 1990, is currently a well-known dance teacher in Vinh City. Photo: Internet

In my opinion, it's not just talent, but also destiny. Hung came to dancing and spread the spirit of modern dance to all his peers, igniting new passions in his friends; creating healthy recreational spaces for his friends.

Before spreading that spirit, Hung had already equipped himself with a new way of thinking about life. Before that, he was always insecure and felt sad whenever someone told happy stories about family reunions, about the loving guidance of his father. “My father went away to work and started a new family, leaving my mother with mountains of debt; she had to sell the old house to pay off my father's debts, and the three of us had to find the cheapest, most dilapidated rooms to rent. Those difficult times made my brother and I withdrawn and afraid to play with our friends. My younger sister even has autism; she hardly interacts or talks to anyone.”

Tran Quoc Hung has conquered many major competitions such as You Can Think You So, The Challenge with Dance Steps, etc., and has won many prestigious awards in modern dance. Photo: Provided by the artist.

Adding to the difficulties, there were the days when my mother had to shoulder the burden of raising my brother and me without any support from my grandmother. During the most crucial period of my intellectual and emotional development, I constantly suffered humiliation inflicted by my own father. “While our peers enjoyed a fulfilling life both materially and spiritually, my brother and I only had our mother as our emotional support, and we looked to her, and because of her, we strived,” Hung recounted.

However, at the very moment that dancing freed her from negative thoughts, giving her a brighter, more humane perspective on life, her younger sister's autism worsened. "All day long I just thought about how to bring Thuong Hoai back to a normal life, and dancing was the remedy, when I discovered that my sister was very talented and would be a talented dancer in the future if she followed the right path."

With that in mind, Hung diligently searched for dance routines, from simple to highly difficult moves requiring skillful technique, to teach his younger sister. And as dancing became ingrained in her blood and senses, Hung's sister gradually overcame her social anxiety disorder and recovered without any therapy. And the talented girl Thuong Hoai, a top 6 finalist in the "Dancing with the Stars" competition, was Hung's first student.

It was this motivation that attracted many of Hung's friends to join his dance classes. From classes with only 3-4 students, an old cassette player, and a small courtyard in front of the apartment building, Hung's classes gradually grew to dozens of people. Initially, we chose any spacious, quiet place like a park or square for our class, and gradually I started renting empty rooms as the number of students increased. The growing number of students made Hung think about the mission of building a movement and training talented dancers or developing performing arts talents to serve as a source for school performing arts groups.

And the dream of spreading the love of modern dance.

Having proven his professional maturity through competitions like Vietnam's Got Talent and reaching the semi-finals of the 2015 Dancing with the Stars, Hung received numerous offers for collaboration from event companies, entertainment organizations in major cities, and dance groups led by talented dancer Johny Huy Tran. “I could have become a professional dancer in big cities and had a better life, providing my mother with a more comfortable existence. But I chose to return, to find a path that wasn't glamorous or dazzling, but peaceful, and most importantly, one where I could be with my mother and take care of her when she was unwell,” Hung confided.

Another reason Hung chose to return home after becoming a talented student of a famous Vietnamese-American dancer in Saigon was that "the further I go, the more I see the gap in popularity, the number of talents, and the dance movement in big cities. It's huge because all the talented and dedicated dancers tend to seek out 'environments to showcase their skills,' so the provinces are increasingly lacking talented dancers who are wholeheartedly devoted to their craft."

Quoc Hung and two young talents, Thach Tung and Bao Nguyen, his students for many years. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

And now, with his determination to build a movement, Hung has amassed considerable "reputation," making everyone look up to him. He has established the Virus Dance Studio with 150 students and four talented teachers who were once his students; he has built a team of students who are leaders in building dance movements in all the high schools in the city and surrounding districts. More importantly, Hung's students are talented and well-behaved dancers. "Before teaching dance, Mr. Hung teaches how to behave, how to think positively about life and friends. He always reminds us to excel in academics before excelling in dancing, so many of my classmates, who were once unruly and poor students, have completely changed," said Thuy Linh, a long-time student of dancer Quoc Hung.

Hung's dream of spreading the movement and nurturing talents has come true, as his students, Thach Tung and Bao Nguyen, have become two young talents from Nghe An province who are in their prime. Most importantly, young people in Vinh City who want to learn to dance out of passion, and students who want to be trained in their talents, all seek out Mr. Hung.

When talking about modern dance in Vinh City, people immediately think of dancer Tran Quoc Hung.