By Sean Coombs
Expo Reporter
OSAKA, Japan — Breakdancing and hip hop took over stages across the Osaka Expo as part of a new and diverse lineup of Canadian performances organized by Ottawa’s National Arts Centre (NAC).
The NAC collaborated with the Montreal-based street dancing nonprofit 100Lux to bring to Expo well-known and upcoming Canadian breakdancing artists.
There were freestyle showcase dances of eight Canadian breakdancers accompanied by live DJ music as well as collaborative creative boost battles that saw Canadian and Japanese breakdance artists compare their moves in flashmob-like battles.
One of these freestyle showcase dances included live on-stage traditional Japanese taiko drumming in collaboration with local drummers and the Canadian-Japanese pop-rock band Monkey Majik, who dropped by the pavilion before their own performance at the Expo.
All of this culminated in a grand finale on July 26, when a competitive final boost battle was held at the Expo’s central Festival Station venue. Canadian and Japanese breakdance artists teamed up to compete in pairs in front of breakdance judges and a large auditorium audience.
Break dancers perform at the Canada Pavilion stage.
Similar scenes played out at all the week’s performances, where Expo visitors and staff from other pavilions who were crammed into the tight Canada Pavilion venue clapped and cheered on the dancers while being encouraged by Canadian emcee Vladimir Laurore, better known by his performing name 7 Starr.
While translation barriers and a tight schedule proved to be a challenge for the Quebec-based artist, it didn’t stop him from getting audiences enthusiastic and creating an exciting atmosphere on stage.
“As soon as we started, everyone was so involved and everyone was so eager to participate,” Laurore said following his first day of hosting. “The crowd has been amazing, and also the Japanese artists that are partaking in the battles are super open to participate.”
Canadian emcee Vladimir Laurore, better known by his performing name 7 Starr, poses during a break from the stage.
Like many of the Canadians sent to the Expo for breakdancing, this is Laurore’s first time visiting Japan.
Although Japan’s vast selection of street food appealed to Laurore’s appetite, he said his imagination has been captivated by the cultural exchange his crew has had with Japanese dancers and audiences.
“Despite the differences, we have so much in common,” he said. “We’ve been watching the Japanese dancers and their moves from afar for a while before we came.”
Members of the dance crew like Humuzza Bazira agree that cultural exchange has been at the heart of the performances, especially due to teaming up with local dancers.
“Music binds people together across languages and borders,” Bazira said. “We’ve communicated with our dancing partners and audiences through our moves and music, and I think breakdancing is a beautiful thing to unite all of us.”
With so many well-known and up-and-coming members of the Canadian breakdancing community being featured at the pavilion, Bazira hopes that Japanese audiences see a more diverse perspective of Canadian culture and come to associate breakdancing more with Canada.
“A lot of the forms of dancing we use come from the United States due to the cultural and educational learning that’s happened across the border,” he said. “Because of that, we know how to spread our knowledge to other people and I hope our performances will leave a lasting impact here in Japan.”
Japanese audience members Yuko and Miho Suzuki certainly seemed to fulfil the intentions of the artists, as they said they learned much about Canada from both the performances and the pavilion’s exhibits.
Audience members Yuko and Miho Suzuki pose inside the pavilion next to Anne of Green Gables
“I know a lot about Canada that I didn’t know before I visited,” Miho said. “I really want to visit Canada now to see it all locally.”
Describing themselves as Expo geeks, they said the Canada Pavilion was one of the highlights of their visit.
“I think we’ll be back again. We loved it,” Yuko said. “We love the Expo.”
AloJapan.com