Do Your Best And Have Fun

The founder of the biggest street dance festival in the Asia-Pacific offers his two cents’ worth to younger generations of dancers.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

“Young people have the luxury of information and seem to know so much. They are picky about what they think is right or wrong, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but they should also keep themselves open to broader perspectives,” says Felix Huang, founder of *SCAPE Radikal Forze Jam, the biggest annual street dance festival in the Asia-Pacific.

As the founder and managing director of Recognize! Studios – which he started in 2010 – Huang has introduced many international names to the Singapore dance scene and given young dancers here a space to hone their craft. Through this, he has also had the chance to closely observe the evolution of the breakdancing scene since 1998 in Singapore and the region, when he first started dancing and went by the moniker, ThinkTwice.

At the time, “we were the only b-boys in Singapore”, says Huang, who, together with his crew, mastered breakdancing by watching VCR tapes from the US.

He cites passion as a driving factor in his pursuit of dance as a career, especially since the arts industry is not an easy business to, well, break into. That as well as identifying the correct opportunities as they come along.

Huang recognises that, with all the resources and opportunities over the years, it can be easy to chase recognition rather than to follow the love for the craft. He urges younger generations to strive to do their best but to “never forget the fun”.
 

Photography Tan Wei Te. Art direction Ashruddin San

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