Our Team
Gua (Guang)
Guangmin Shen, Director
GuaGua started dancing in 2009, taught in several dance studios and worked as a professional dancer/choreographer in China. He moved to NYC in 2016 and started training in Street Jazz, Contemporary, Breaking and House. In 2022, he founded the Umami Playground Dance Company, dedicated to creating a safe space for movers to play, experiment, make mistakes, and grow together.
Credit: Choreographer Carnival, IALD Time Square Performance, ON 1 CONDITION, BTS Love Yourself Tour, and The DROP. Choreographer of Neighbors Dance Team. Top 8 House Battle101, 2nd Place Dancers Unlimited House Battle.
Popping | House | Street Jazz | Contemporary | Breaking | Floorwork
ゆりえ(Yurie)
Yurie Ono, Artistic Director
Born and raised in Japan. She started dancing at the age of four with ballet. Her style changed to the street during the SIVA dance team at Obihiro University. Over the years, she continuously learned different styles in street jazz, hip-hop, waacking, house, locking, and breaking.
Credits: Winner of GATSBY Dance Competition in Hokkaido, Center Role of Columbus Day Parade (ABC TV), Japan Parade NYC, Dancer of Chibi Unity, Artistic Director of A Rhythm Dance Company (SAYAW 1st Place 2020), Choreographer of the Neighbors Dance Team
Teaching: PJM, Gramercy, Dreamer NYC, i KADA Dance Center.
Contemporary | Street Jazz | Waacking | House | Floorwork | Locking
Adolfo Andrade
Dancer
Danced in several NYC, NJ community projects and dance team. Performed across multiple cities. He is also a current member of Akompany, directed by Kenichi Kasamatsu. One of the founding members of Umami Playground. He is also an actor.
Credits: Dancer of <ready, set, go.>
Street Jazz | Popping | Hip Hop
Bea
Bea Martin, Choreographer
Bea was born and raised in the Philippines. They are a dancer from Philadelphia and moved to New York city. Bea was trained primarily in hip hop and house but has expanded their repertoire to other street styles such as popping, locking, and waacking. Bea was a co-founder of a student-run dance company called D2D: Dare to Dance during their undergraduate years in Temple University. Presently, they are currently dancing with Umami Playground and continuing train in their styles of dance.
Credits: 650K Viral Instagram Dance Video Creator
House | Hip Hop | Locking
Kevin
Kevin Chen, Dancer
Kevin Chen is a street dancer and instructor primarily focused on popping, tutting, and animation. Based in NYC, he has been active in the street dance community for over 10 years. He is a frequent competitor at battles both locally and internationally, including JOAT Festival, Flava of the Year, Summer Dance Forever, Out of the Shadows, and Battle 101. As an instructor, he has taught classes for tutting and popping at Modega, Peridance, and Broadway Dance Center, and he hosts Chilluminati session, a weekly open practice session at Modega. He has also performed with LayeRhythm, Behind the Groove at Times Square, and Sun Kim Dance Theatre.
Credit: 2nd Place Battle101
Teaching: Modega Tutting Class
Tutting | Popping | House | Breaking
Dana
Da Hyun Kim, Dancer
Dahyun Kim (김다현) (she/they) is a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Seoul, South Korea currently based in NYC. Having received her M.F.A. in Dance at
Tisch School of the Arts & M.A. in Dance Education at Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development NYU, she has been taking bold steps to create meaningful experiences and works. She is a versatile mover that has performed internationally in various different styles and genres, including from established choreographers such as Ronald K. Brown, Jesse Obremski, Kaya Wolsey, Yurie Ono, Deborah Damast, Austin J Eyer, Michele Dunleavy, Esl Kim, Yunjung Jang, Rafael Cañals, David Cartahena Lee, and more. As a creator, most recently she has received a choreography residency at Fall for Fall Dance Festival 2023, where she created ‘Hope for the Flowers’, a premiering piece created on Atlanta’s professional dancers. She is always striving to create a culturally responsive and a research based practice, so that her pieces can offer something new to both those involved in the process and her audiences. Most importantly, she wishes to rekindle the joy of dance in those that she encounters through her dance. Dance is for everyone, and her life is a living proof of this statement.
RoFlow
Roni Flores, Dancer
Roni Flores, also known as Roflow-Art, was born in Lima, Peru. His journey with dance began at the age of 11, when he started dancing with other children from his local area. As a self-taught dancer of "Breakin," also known as Breakdancing, he honed his skills and grew as a performer, drawing inspiration from various 90s dance styles and acrobatics. Roflow was also influenced by watching rap performances on MTV programs throughout the 1990s.
Throughout his career, Roflow has traveled to numerous countries as both a competitor and judge on various dance platforms. He has conducted workshops worldwide and collaborated with organizations focusing on dance as physical therapy for the elderly. Additionally, Roflow has worked with children from vulnerable areas in Peru, using dance as a tool to positively impact society and cultivate future leaders through art.
His performances have graced stages in Peru and have been taken to audiences across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Currently residing in New York City, Roflow dedicates himself to educating others in dance and performance. He sees himself as a researcher of free movement, with "Breakin" serving as his fundamental foundation.
Deb
Deborah Jungin Kim, Dancer
Raised in the 718, Deb Jungin Kim (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist with passions ranging from dance, writing, music, and acting. She is a previous member of The Neighbors, EPIC Motion, and SHINSA, and has previously danced for the likes of NYFW Men’s, BTS, (G)I-DLE, Trey Anastasio, ABC Family, Nickelodeon, and Amazon. You can stream her recent single ‘SUPERNOVA’ on Spotify and Apple Music or find her DJing at local events in Jersey and New York.
Checkout her songs
Bill (Zhanxiang) Zhao
Manager
Bill Zhao - the manager of Umami Playground Dance Company. He is also a dancer, choreographer and actor. Bill has performed at New York Fashion Week and was a signed dancer for the Adidas Originals 2016 World Tour. He is also a dancer at Broadway Dance Center and a member of the "Rock the Industry" team in New York. He also holds the position of choreographer for CCTV-1's "Dance Out My Life" in China. Bill's extensive learning experiences have earned him recognition and acclaim from world-renowned choreographers such as Luam, Bobby Newberry, Brian Friedman, Rapsody, Neil Schwartz, Jared Jenkins, Candace Brown, Derrell Bullock, and others.