The Way We Dance Director Adam Wong
By Raymond Mei
On Friday, October 25th, 2013, “The Way We Dance” Q&A press conference was held at the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in New York City. On-site to speak was the director of this film, Mr. Adam Wong, film curator of Asia Society, Ms. La Frances Hui, and executive director of Asian CineVision Mr. John Woo. They were welcomed by Deputy Director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Mr. Paul Cheung and Head of Communications & Public Relations Ms. Claudia Yeung.
“The Way We Dance” is a low-budget (5.3 million HKD) film that became a surprise hit in the Hong Kong box office. Funded support by the Hong Kong Film Development Fund, this is Adam Wong’s third feature length film and as already been awarded the Audience Award at Fukuoka International Film Festival 2013, nominated for Best Leading Actress for the 50th Taipei Golden Horse Award, and nominated for Best Action Choreography for the 50th Taipei Golden Horse Award.
The plot of the movie is about a group of aspiring young dancers in a Hong Kong University striving to become the best hip-hop dance team in local competitions. A member of the group, Fleur (lead actress, Cherry Ngan) figures a way to incorporate the ancient martial art form, Taichi, into hip hop dance. Just before her opportunity to challenge a group on the dance floor, Fleur injures her foot in an accident. What happens from then is the question and you must watch the movie to find out!
Director Adam Wong started his film career making short films at the University of Iowa as an exchange student in 1996. In 1998, he went back to Hong Kong and graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a degree in art . He currently teaches creative media production at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity.
The idea for the movie was inspired by Wong’s curiosity of a local university’s classroom, “Room #71”, where the schools’ dance club practiced. To him it was a very typical dance studio, but he also noticed that people who practiced there were not only students, but also Hong Kong street dancers and other local dance groups who utilized and shared the same space. The back story was that other universities and schools would not lend their space for these street dancers, therefore they were force to use Room #71 where full-length dance mirrors were accessible. Intrigued by the determination and heart of these dancers, Wong thought this would make a great film with an inspiring story. Little did he know that the film would have such a huge impact on hip hop dance culture in Hong Kong.
The film has done very well and has already been commissioned for a sequel. Many actors have expressed a great deal of interests of participating in the “The Way We Dance II” or even “The Way We Dance III” including Aaron Kwok and Chow Yun-fat. Wong does not have a concrete idea on the storyline yet, but has a vague direction of what the sequel is going to be about.
The film is a rare gem in recent Hong Kong cinema. I hope it will be screened in the US very soon. If the cast and the director can come here during the public release, so much the better!