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Umami Playground Dance Inc. NYC
Play, Explore, Make Mistakes, Share, and Grow
Contemporary | House | Floor Work | Breaking | Popping | Hip Hop
Photo: Sean Chee
Our Works
"XXXXL" WIP Excerpt from Full Length Work - 2025
This piece is excerpt from the current WIP full length work - about different type of clothing. It celebrates oversized clothing, often loved by dancers for its comfort and flow. Using its playful, wiggly texture, the work explores creativity, movement, and the joy of making mistakes, bringing a fun, flowing energy to the stage.
Full Length: TBD (40-90mins)
Full Length: TBD (40-90mins)
Recap of "Elements of Life" Full Length Work - 2024
We premiered *Elements of Life*, a 90-minute theater piece inspired by East Asian elemental symbols associated with the weekdays, rooted in the "Seven Luminaries" (七曜 qī yào). Each day corresponded to a natural element: moon (月), fire (火), water (水), wood (木), metal/gold (金), earth/soil (土), and sun (日). The production, hosted as a donation-based free showcase at Downtown Gibney in November, was sold out with 100 attendees.
This work blended Korean, Filipino, and Afro-Peruvian traditional dances with House, Tutting, Breaking, Contemporary, and Miming. The result was a unique and playful audience experience that inspired cultural appreciation and artistic creativity.
Full Length: 90 mins
This work blended Korean, Filipino, and Afro-Peruvian traditional dances with House, Tutting, Breaking, Contemporary, and Miming. The result was a unique and playful audience experience that inspired cultural appreciation and artistic creativity.
Full Length: 90 mins
Excerpt from "Playground" Full Length Work - 2023
Our 'signature' set "Playground". The piece named "Playground," is a direct reflection of our company mission, which focuses on the value of play. As people grow up, we tend to limit ourselves as we gain more knowledge. Similarly, as artists train and grow more mature, we often move in certain ways, not necessarily because we want to but because we have been trained to. Additionally, with the prevalence of social media, dancers often focus more on how they look and try to produce work that pleases viewers. This piece aims to break free from those limitations and encourages dancers to be free from judgment and just play in the dance playground, like kids. We try to maintain the same mindset as when we first encountered dance, which was the pure joy of moving with music and rhythm and the endless possibility of move in different ways. Hope audience will get inspired by watching this.
Full Length: 40 mins
Full Length: 40 mins
Wednesday (Water) - Excerpt from "Elements of Life" Full Length Work - 2024
2024 Theatre set "Elements of Life". In East Asian culture, each weekday is represented by a natural element. From Monday to Sunday, they are moon, fire, water, wood, gold, soil, and Sun. This piece is inspired by these elements and tells the story of our general experience of each weekday: how it feels, what we do, and how we connect with those elements. It also reflects how life is cycling through the weekdays.
Full Length: 1.5hr
Full Length: 1.5hr
MTA - 2024
A short piece about the NYC MTA experience: Enjoy the story that unfolded at 34th Street–Herald Square station and continued inside the subway.
Length: 6 mins
Length: 6 mins
Monday (Moon) - Excerpt from "Elements of Life" Full Length Work - 2024
2024 Theatre set "Elements of Life". In East Asian culture, each weekday is represented by a natural element. From Monday to Sunday, they are moon, fire, water, wood, gold, soil, and Sun. This piece is inspired by these elements and tells the story of our general experience of each weekday: how it feels, what we do, and how we connect with those elements. It also reflects how life is cycling through the weekdays.
Full Length: 1.5hr
Full Length: 1.5hr
Running - 2023
Drawing inspiration from the diverse expressions of running, the piece explores its various forms – from crawling, chasing to racing and beyond. With dynamic floor work and House dance elements, dancers embody the essence of motion in a simple yet captivating concept.
Length: 3 mins
Length: 3 mins
Mirror - Interactive Work - 2024
The interactive set Mirror, consisting of two parts, was performed at Chashama's annual fundraiser and invited the audience to explore imagination and reflect on their behavior.
Teaching Korean Traditional Dance at Queensboro Dance Festival 2024
Guang from Umami Playground Dance Inc. teaching a free outdoor dance workshop in Athens Square, Queens.
Sunday (Sun) - Excerpt from "Elements of Life" Full Length Work - 2024
2024 Theatre set "Elements of Life". In East Asian culture, each weekday is represented by a natural element. From Monday to Sunday, they are moon, fire, water, wood, gold, soil, and Sun. This piece is inspired by these elements and tells the story of our general experience of each weekday: how it feels, what we do, and how we connect with those elements. It also reflects how life is cycling through the weekdays.
Full Length: 1.5hr
Full Length: 1.5hr
Umami Showcase 2022
Enjoy the full videos of 2022 Anniversary Umami Show.
Length: 40 mins
Length: 40 mins
Shogeki - Music from Attack on Titan - 2022
Shogeki piece is inspired by the animation Attack on Titan. The piece explores the human nature, which is ugly and beautiful at the same time. You will se lots of metaphors to reflect our human history and what's still happening all the time.
Length: 4 mins
Length: 4 mins
Dancers Freestyle / Improv
Enjoy our diverse styles in House, Contemporary, Tutting, HipHop, etc.
Debut Set - 2022
This is Umami debut set in 2022. It comes with 3 course:
- Octopus: Inspired by how octopus moves and lives.
- Too Good: An emotional story-telling course.
- Hip Hop: Hip Hop and Dance!
Length: 5 mins
- Octopus: Inspired by how octopus moves and lives.
- Too Good: An emotional story-telling course.
- Hip Hop: Hip Hop and Dance!
Length: 5 mins
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