Testimonials

I follow the performance of UDG from the last 10 years, Dancers are changing, but the spirit remain the same, this energy, this passion, this perfection to dance and not just for them but for the people who watch them. They are sharing this passion with others. Every time I see them I got inspired and my pride is to have capture some of their show with my camera to make sure nobody can forget how fantastic they are.

Alain Barblan is a native of Switzerland, is living in HCMC with his wife and two kids. He has been working as a Chemical Engineer and has received the opportunity to live in many countries in the past 25 years, such as India, Mexico, China, and Vietnam. He considers living abroad as a gift, which allows people to learn a lot from other’s culture and lifestyle. Alain has a passion for photography, capturing the right moment in sport, dance, nature and people.

I participated twice with UDG and John Huy as part of the Krossing Over Art Festival (KOAF). For the last time’s project, all participants had to create a show based on a chosen text from the book name “The invisible cities”. As an visual artist I was interested by some strong images from the text as “blind black man shouting in the crowd”. From this we had idea of dancers with black masks which represent dehumanization, and with white bodies that act as screens to project images of a modern city.

Almost all the original ideas and choice of music were found together with John like almost telepathy, we were connected. I think this kind of collaboration come from a really good sense of listening, sensibility and intelligence from John. Another think was necessary it was the really good team spirit that I felt in UDG, it was as a real big family.

I can’t wait to feel this experience again with them!

Bao Vuong was born in Vietnam after the war in 1978. He was only one year old when his parents had to hastily flee Vietnam. After an arduous journey, passing through painful experiences in refugee camps in Malaysia, his parents finally arrived in France. This journey definitely marked him and his future artistic vision.

In 2012, turns of events made Bao decide to settle in Vietnam. It then sounded logical to go back to reflect by art certain chapters of his life and questions regarding his identity and heritage while fully enjoying the time, space, resources and collaboration that Vietnam had to offer to.

I had the chance to collaborate with UDG dancers for my dance film ORE in 2017. I was highly impressed by their talent, curiosity and generosity. My dance vocabulary is not dance conventional and focuses more on somatic and sensitive body approach. UDG dancers, led by John Huy Tran, were open-minded towards my dance practice and embraced it in a beautiful manner. Together, we created this 20 minute video which has been presented in Vietnam, Canada and France. I hope we will collaborate again the future!

Kim-Sanh Châu is a Vietnamese-French contemporary dance artist, based in Montreal. Trained in dance at Paris 8 / France and UQAM /Canada, she also holds a Master’s degree in finance (ACU /Australia, Aarhus University /Denmark et Harvard University /USA). Her choreographic work has been presented in Montreal at Tangente, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), Accès Asie and Quartiers Danses festivals; as well as internationally at Europe Meets Asia in Contemporary Dance, Krossing-Over Art Festival /Vietnam, Dancebox, RAW Art Space /Malaysia and SIDance-HOTPOT /Korea. Châu is also a screendance filmmaker. Her work, mostly collaborative, has been screened in Canada, Colombia, Germany, Italy and Vietnam. In 2017, she was awarded Best Direction 2017 by Festival Quartiers Danses for Inner Smoke. Finally, Châu is Artistic and General Co-director at Studio 303 /Canada.

My first impression when meeting UDG is their positive energy. They are always rehearsing with passion, discipline and highest attention.But there is always a spot for their sense of humor and upbeat tune and cooperation, which has left the biggest impression in me.

I had an honor to record their premiers and catch the wonderful moments of them. I heard the applause, saw the flowers as well as the audience’s tears. It is very touching! I think those are the biggest prizes you can have, also the ruler for your success that was built on hard work.

I know almost every UDG artist and have worked with them. I can say that UDG is a friendly environment for dancers to train and develop their skills in a variety of dance styles. UDG artists are young people with passion and devotion to their chosen career. They are talented, professional and they are the generation that will change and set the base for Vietnam’s future dance scene. 

Viet Max was introduced to dance in 1992 with the signature moves from Michael Jackson, Vanilla Ice, Mc Hammer. In 1994, Viet Max joined Big Toe, one of the first Hip-Hop dance groups in Vietnam. In 2006, Viet Max moved to Saigon, created Big South and Hip-Hop Peace United community. Viet Max is one of the Bboys from the first generation in Vietnam who are still active in the current time.

Viet Max has set the foundations for the development of Vietnam Hip-Hop scene by organizing first dance battles in Vietnam, as well as a number of battleground, party, cypher, workshop and more. He was also a judge for many inbound and international dance competitions such as Battle of the Year, R16, Dance Delight, G-Wave, Ring Masterz, Urban Jam, VUG, So You Think You Can Dance. He has been training and contributing to Vietnam Hip-Hop culture since.

« Follow your dreams to the very end. Things will start smiling, somehow, somewhere. When people walk with a fearless heart and an open, dliligent mind, the road is wide and exciting.»

The creative direction, inspiration and love at UDG is overwhelming! Some of my favorite dancers on the planet, endless soul.

Vandana Hart is the creator and host of We Speak Dance, on Netflix worldwide, a documentary series using dance as an international language to connect people across cultures. She was a judge on Kenya’s So you Think You Can Dance and is now a UN global Ambassador. Vandana has presented at forums and events such as SXSW, TEDx and the UN and trained at the world-renowned Alvin Ailey School of dance, studied Global Affairs at NYU and holds a Masters from London School of Economics.

It is my pleasure to meet and work with Huy Tran and his company UDG during the workshop in Malaysia. Huy Tran is an excellent team leader, he has an intuitive understanding and love for the art form, and he tackles artistic challenges with an open and enquiring mind. He is supportive of his team, works collaboratively and sensitively and shows a strong sense of commitment. His most important quality is he always keeps himself updated, every new information that becomes available in things he already knew about it. 

UDG team is full of talented and inspiring dancers. It’s amazing and informative to work with such kind of personality and his talented team UDG.

Born in Taiwan, Yen-Ching Lin studied at the Taipei National University of the Arts and the London Contemporary Dance School where she completed the Postgraduate Diploma program (Edge05- Postgraduate Dance Company) and then obtained MA in Contemporary Dance.

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