Dance
The social media platform is ushering in a new generation of dancers -- and bringing talented dance creators a wider audience.
In most of her TikTok videos, Hannah Balanay rests her phone on the ground. With little more than a blue sky and a suburban street behind her, the 21-year-old busts out moves to hits from Dua Lipa or mash-ups of classic Frank Ocean and Estelle tracks. Her videos are typically less than ten seconds long, but the view counts are huge: many have cracked a million, some soar as high as 22 million or even 53 million.
Balanay is part of the new generation of dancers making their name on TikTok. Dance had always been part of the Philippines-born, Perth-based star’s life – joining TikTok in 2019 just allowed her to share it with an audience. Now, with 18 million followers to her name, Balanay is a standout success story. But she’s also emblematic of TikTok’s potential to break the next big names in dance – and the way it’s bringing new devotees into the world of dance.
“TikTok has made a huge impact on the dance scene,” Koh, an Australian dancer and former Red Bull Dance Your Style winner, told Red Bull last year. “I think it's great that the platform has introduced many people into dance and allowed them to enjoy dance in a way that doesn't make them feel like dancing is something that only 'dancers' can do.”
Tiana Canterbury, a longtime choreographer from Sydney, says she has seen TikTok bring more kids into dance classes. She thinks the wave of new interest in dance TikTok has stoked is helping make the scene bigger than ever before in 2022.
“I get a lot of parents go, 'Oh my gosh, they're so great at TikTok, I want to put them in dance classes',” Canterbury says.
By sending dance routines viral and allowing viewers to master them in the privacy of their own bedroom, TikTok has introduced the joy of movement to a new audience. But as well as showing off how fun dance can be, the platform has also served as a democratiser. TikTok bypasses traditional gatekeeping and allows anyone with a smartphone, an internet connection and the talent to make a name for themselves.
For Canterbury, the innovation and enthusiasm that happens on TikTok is inspiring.
“The creativity, that's what blows me away. That someone made such a simple [routine] look so cool even with the most basic moves – that, to me, is the part with TikTok that blows my mind,” she says.
“It's awesome to see. Because even sometimes as a dancer, you overthink a song. But then when you watch some of these TikTok videos you’re like, oh, that’s really cool!”
The creativity, that's what blows me away.
Of course, mastering a routine on TikTok is a different kettle of fish to being in a group setting in the classroom, or freestyling moves on the go at a competition like Red Bull Dance Your Style, where contestants have to be ready to improvise to whatever song the DJ drops. But it still makes for a great entry point into the community.
And beyond just bringing a younger generation in, TikTok has the potential to shine a light on the incredible work done by diverse dance creators.
“I think the main thing about TikTok is visibility,” says Tony Oxybel, the Australian winner of Red Bull Dance Your Style 2021. “Dance styles that were really niche or really underground are getting a lot of exposure because these creators are really talented, and they get to showcase a dance style that was very unknown to the larger audience. Then people get curious, and then people start replicating those challenges and start really delving into those styles.”
Oxybel says that these days, you’ll see a lot of Afro, dancehall and voguing steps pop up in TikTok challenges. There have been issues around TikTokers borrowing these moves without understanding their origin, correctly showcasing a style or crediting creators – an ongoing debate in the dance community. But the flip side is that TikTok can introduce people to styles they might never otherwise have encountered and allow them to dig deeper into its history from there.
Oxybel is happy that conversations about honouring the origins of street styles are happening. But he also thinks that “being able to reach people all around the world that come from different cultures, and being able to bond through dance, is great".
Oxybel ultimately thinks TikTok is a positive force – and a great advertisement – for dance.
"Now everyone knows now that there are really good dancers on TikTok," he says. "So [viewers] want to be a part of this culture as well as learn to dance… it's just made it way easier to be exposed to dance in general.”
It's just made it way easier to be exposed to dance
And while the routines newcomers try out at home might be a world away from what goes on in elite studios, the two ends of the dance spectrum can happily coexist.
“I wouldn't say TikTok is changing dance,” Canterbury says. “It's not changing the foundations. It's not doing that – definitely not in the freestyle world, and definitely not in the more professional dance world with more advanced choreography.”
Rather, it’s just bringing more people in – and helping talented creators like Balanay find the audience they deserve.
“I feel like TikTok has broken down some walls,” Canterbury says. “It's shown that dance is fun. And I think it’s shown people that dance is something they can do.”
The Australian finals of Red Bull Dance Your Style will be held on Saturday September 10 in Sydney. Head here for more info.