THE BACKGROUND DANCER

The platform sheds light on critical aspects underpinning the dance and performing arts industry through topics ranging from management, entrepreneurship, education, technology, fashion, choreography, politics, interdisciplinarity, media and wellness. Host Jason Yap details fascinating and useful information to help deepen your knowledge of all things offstage, while exploring and preparing together for a post-performance career. Listen in for a bi-weekly conversation with dance lovers from across Asia, Europe and the US, sharing experiences and practices that are both intimate and insightful.

Jason is a dance artist, multidisciplinary producer and psychology graduate himself. Despite not pursuing it vocationally, he has still adopted many of psychology's approaches throughout his professional life - the concept of multiplicity and the performing arts as a 'whole that is bigger than the sum of its parts' ecosystem.

Ready to talk all things dance? Join us as we begin to foreground Dance in the Background!

Recent Episodes

Oct. 6, 2024

Pioneering Dance as Technique | Anouk van Dijk

A great joy to have spoken to one of the most innovative and transformative minds in contemporary dance today!
Sept. 22, 2024

Grooving to Choreorobotics | Kate Sicchio

One of the most fascinating thinkers and innovators I've spoken to, evidenced by her love for robots and how that marries with dance.
Sept. 8, 2024

Into the Jackrabbit Hole | Mark Mahoney

SaaS , also known as software as a a service or web-based software, operates on a subscription basis, providing users with centrally hosted solutions accessible anytime, anywhere. This model has transformed countless industr…
July 21, 2024

Creativity in Screendance | Mike Tyus

Long before the formulation of the world’s first MA in Screendance by the LCDS, the genre had already dated as far back to the early days of cinema. Gene Kelly emerged as a prominent figure during the 1940s and 50s after he …
July 7, 2024

Puppetry in Dance Theatre | Duda Paiva

While most of us aspiring contemporary dancers will decide to undergo formal training under the foundations of Graham, Cunningham, Limon and various others, a small subset has diverted into the wondrous world of puppet theat…
June 16, 2024

Dance of Costume Design | Rike Zöllner

Costumes, costumes, costumes... they are everywhere, aren't they? From festive occasions to theatrical performances and even on the silver screen in movies. Whilst studying dance, I was always captivated by the costume desig…

Recent Blog Posts

Pioneering Dance as Technique

A personal story told many times over on this podcast is my journey into dance which commenced gradually through the popular reality TV series, "So You Think You Can Dance." While the show's drama took center stage for many, what captivated me was t…

Grooving to Choreorobotics

When Boston Dynamics, an engineering and robotics design company went viral for successfully creating the now famous Atlas dancing robots video, it caught more than a few people in the world of dance by storm. Would our jobs be threatened by robots …

Into the Jackrabbit Hole of Technology

In our dynamic world of dance, where creativity and innovation reign supreme, the fusion of artistry and technology has become a driving force shaping the industry's future. From arcade games to virtual reality, technology has seamlessly integrated …

About the Hosts

Cindy Ng Profile Photo

Cindy Ng

Creative Content Editor

Cindy was born and raised in Malaysia and began her classical Ballet training (Royal Academy of Dance) at the age of 9, under the tutelage of Datin Jane at Dance Space Academy.

Since moving to Hong Kong, Cindy has worked with choreographers from Hong Kong, China, Europe and London and performed in CCDC Dancer’s Homework, Perplexed Harmony, Beyond Restraint, Cat Derive, Random Position and Three Fingers at Arm’s Length. She has received the Academy Funds Development Scholarship and have an opportunity to participate b12 Dance Festival 2017 in Berlin and Contact Meets Contemporary Dance Festival 2017 in Gottingen.

Despite her body figure, Cindy has a huge appetite for many things besides food. After graduating from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), majoring in Contemporary Dance in 2019, she immediately joined the postgraduate company BODHI PROJECT Dance Company in the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD), Austria. She collaborated with choreographers from all over the globe such as Christine Gouzelis (Greece), Kuik Swee Boon (Singapore), JS Wong (Malaysia), Adrienn Hód (Hungary) and Leila McMillan (UK). As a choreographer, she made Amidst the F.O.G., Parasite and Pages whilst studying in Hong Kong and gained recognition for her skills.

Silver Yee Profile Photo

Silver Yee

Educational Content & Outreach Manager

Silver Yee completed her Master Degree in Cultural Studies and Criticism (MA) from Graduate Institute of Dance, Taipei National University of the Arts.

During her MA study in Taiwan, she has performed dance works for local and international artists, including “Remember not to say goodbye” by Lucas
 Viallefond, “But You Didn’t” by Jack Kek, “Thought and Voice of the Body” by Kathyn Tan, Mary Wigman’s “Dance of Death II” reconstructed by Henrietta Horn, “Unspeakable” by Su Shu etc.

In 2017, she made her choreography and production debut, “Kill Your Darlings”, with Jason Yap in klpac. In 2020, she collaborated with Kyson Teo and Lim Thou Chun to create a full length site-specific performance piece “Where Souls Meet” in Kluang.

As a dancer and arts administrator, she has toured internationally including Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Scotland.

Currently she is pursuing her PhD in Dance at Taipei National University of the Arts.

Jason Yap Profile Photo

Jason Yap

Dancer / Podcaster / Producer

Jason Yap began his dance education after high school and trained in various genres including Latin, Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary and Ballet. In 2014, he completed a Bachelors of Psychological Science at HELP/Flinders University and was accepted into the Bachelors of Fine Arts (Honours) programme majoring in Contemporary dance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) a year later.

Jason has performed works for both local artists including Jack Kek and Kuik Swee Boon, as well as international artists such as Milan Tomašik and Mehdi Farajpour. In 2017, Jason co-produced his choreographic debut titled Kill Your Darlings. He was also selected to represent the HKAPA at international events such as the Paris Summer Academy and ISPaR (2017), CAMPING and Ponderosa (2018). In 2018, he initiated the interdisciplinary art collective, STAGE, and later received the Director’s Award for his overall contribution to the Academy. He most recently established his independent educational podcast, The Background Dancer (2021) and joined the cultural startup Artunio as co-founder (2023).

Outside of dance, Jason has developed a penchant towards interdisciplinary practices and aspires to become an entrepreneur and curator in the performing arts. He is currently an ensemble member of Divadlo Študio Tanca in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.