Portrait
Age: 32 years old
Origins: Nagoya, Japan
Profession: International fair organizer
In Montreal for: A one-year working holiday trip
Passion: the dance more particularly the Waack
Fav jeans ever: a pair of Diesel she owned for 10 years
It is this last Puces Pop that I met Kanako. Impress by my famous Kinsu mittens and warm with the idea of stopping having cold hands, she spoiled herself with a pair. With all of her Asian charm, she asked me to take a picture with her and her new purchase. A few weeks later, we randomly saw each other on the bus, I recognize her because she was wearing my Kinsu mitts. I look at her and poof, I realize it's Kanako. We talk, we talk and she told me that she dances the Waack, a style of dance that was completely unknown to me.
I learned that Waacking is a dance that originated in the early 70s in gay clubs in Los Angeles. Originally, the idea was to caricature certain Hollywood movie and martial arts characters by posing in an exaggerated way or doing lipsing. Waack is a very personal form of expression guided by the authenticity of each of the dancers. The name has a particularly interesting history and I couldn't explain it better than Kumari Suraj. I invite you to watch his very interesting YouTube video which traces back in image the history of this dance since the 70s.
Curious I asked Kanako how the Waack scene look like in Montreal, but she mention it seams it is still very underground here. She mention a duo called Forêt Noire working to promote this type of danse. Axelle Ebony Munezero founded 100lux,a non-profit that aims to support and promote urban dance artists in Montreal. 100lux also produce the festival 100lux Check it out!
Kanako is impressed by the quality of artists and artisans in Montreal, Montreal's creativity is a pleasant discovery that she would like to promote when she returns to Japan. It is therefore to be continued. For now, it is with our Kinsu mitts on our hands that we met last week at Lafontaine Park for an improvised Waack session. Here is the result:)
[wpvideo x4ucz1zO]