Japanese dance group’s take of a TikTok dance hit irks Hong Kong

The popular Japanese dance group Avantgardey has ignited the wrath of Hong Kong people with a performance of a popular Chinese dance move.

Avantgardey, a finale performer for the Lunar New Year night parade event organized by the Hong Kong government, had posted photos and videos of the group’s activities across the city, including footage of the group performing the dance kemusan, also known as “subject 3” dance.The post was taken offline an hour after it was uploaded on Wednesday.

The subject 3 dance originated from China’s southwest Guangxi autonomous region, with a signature footwork where the ankle is turned outward to rest weight on the side of the foot, creating a loose-limbed form. The move is repeated throughout the routine with the dancer alternating their feet alongside exaggerated hand gestures. It has gone viral on both TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin.

The video turned many Hong Kong citizens off on the back of rapid sinicization embraced by the local authorities, as well as triggered a spate of criticisms online. Hongkongers in Japan pointed out that Hong Kong people hated China’s “vulgar culture” and the dance was a reflection of that.

The critics also pointed out that Japanese people see Hong Kong as China, which touches Hong Kong people’s raw nerve.

Hong Kong netizens’ responses were underlined with sarcasm, criticizing that “everything popular in mainland China is very cliché,” the subject 3 routine “lowers one’s values,” and in an apparent dig at Avantgardey, “the RMB [Chinese currency] is so fragrant,” tagged with the reminder, “please, this is Hong Kong!”

Cultural conflict

Sam Yip, a former Hong Kong district councilor and now a graduate student at the University of Tokyo, pointed out that Avantgardey had also made remarks that baffled Hong Kong people, such as wanting to cooperate with Jackie Chan. Such comments showed they are out of touch with Hong Kong, and did not consider the China-Hong Kong cultural conflict, which led to this incident.

“Jackie Chan’s popularity in Hong Kong is not great now. It is obvious that the girl group and their manager are out of touch with what kind of culture and idols Hong Kong people accept. They didn’t expect Hong Kong and Taiwanese people to be repulsed by ‘subject 3’.”

A night market in Taipei issued a public apology last month for causing “trouble” after receiving backlash over organizing a competition based on the “subject 3” dance. The event post online drew criticism centered around suspicions that the dance was being used as a propaganda ploy by the Chinese government to brainwash Taiwanese youths. The event went ahead at the end of January.

Yip added that even though there are anti-China sentiments in Japan, the Japanese people who view Hong Kong as China, are generally insensitive to Chinese cultural invasion.

Meanwhile, another Avantgardey New Year greeting video featuring Hong Kong metaphysician Mak Ling Ling with the “subject 3” dance tune in the background was not deleted. In an interview, Mak said as Avantgardey wanted to enter the Chinese market, she suggested using the tune as background music for the greeting video.

To regain lost ground, Avantgardey released on Thursday a video of the group dancing to legendary Hong Kong singer Sam Hui’s song, “Legend of the Sparrow Heroes.”

Avantgardey from Osaka, Japan was formed in 2022 and it is known for its unique dance style, neat dance steps and exaggerated expressions. The average age of the 19 members is 21 years old. They became famous overnight after participating in the “America's Got Talent” show last year, where their performance has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube.

Translated with additional reporting by RFA Staff. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Alice Yam for RFA Cantonese.

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