Avantgardey Singapore concert blends TikTok trends, cosplay, and crowd dance lessons
During their audition on America’s Got Talent in 2023, Japanese dance troupe Avantgardey was asked what makes them different.
In response, they described their act as “an original dance piece filled with the Japanese soul”.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
Watching them live in Singapore, we felt like that description barely scratches the surface.
After all, if you told someone that 17 women in pinafores and blunt-banged bob wigs dancing in perfect synchronisation would be peak entertainment, they might raise an eyebrow. But Avantgardey somehow makes it work.
Avantgardey breaks stereotype of a ‘dance concert’
On 11 and 12 March, Avantgardey brought their LET’S GROOVE!! tour to The Theatre at Mediacorp.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
At first glance, the show seemed like it would follow a familiar formula: dancers, choreography, and a rotating playlist of songs.
Instead, it turned out to be something far stranger — and far more entertaining.
Avantgardey are known for their identical bob hairstyles, school-uniform outfits, and razor-sharp synchronisation that makes the dancers look almost like robot dolls moving in unison.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
But what stood out during the Singapore show was how they turned that precision into personality.
As a result, the concert felt less like a traditional dance recital and more like a theatrical playground.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
Precision choreography meets playful chaos
When the music first thundered through the theatre, the dancers marched onto the stage in perfect formation.
Every step landed at the exact same moment. Every head tilt happened simultaneously.
Watching them felt almost hypnotic. The group’s synchronisation, the quality that first made them viral online, looked even sharper under the stage lights.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
But just as the audience settled into admiring their precision, the show swerved somewhere unexpected.
One moment, the choreography looked almost mechanical. The next, the dancers were pulling exaggerated facial expressions or breaking into playful gestures.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
The contrast was oddly charming. Instead of feeling overly polished, the performance felt alive.
A dance concert that constantly surprises
Rather than sticking to a single style, Avantgardey’s show hopped across genres and moods.
Some routines felt theatrical, almost like musical theatre choreography. Others leaned into hip-hop rhythms and bass-heavy beats.
Then came moments clearly designed to catch the audience off guard.
At one point, the theatre turned into a nostalgic sing-along when I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys began playing. Hundreds of voices, unable to resist, echoed through the hall.
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Soon after, one of the dancers appeared dressed as Whitney Houston, dramatically lip-syncing to I Will Always Love You as the crowd laughed and cheered.
It was a reminder that Avantgardey do not take themselves too seriously. In fact, that might be their greatest strength.
Breaking the rules of what a dance show should be
Dance concerts can sometimes feel repetitive. Without lyrics or storytelling, routines risk blending together.
Avantgardey avoids that trap by constantly shifting the tone.
One segment might feel like a polished dance performance. The next might resemble a TikTok trend. Moments later, the show suddenly veers into comedy.
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At one point, they performed a tribute to Michael Jackson, complete with dramatic moonwalks and exaggerated stage gestures. The lead dancer even paused to eat laksa, because, well, they were in Singapore.
Moments after these playful bits, the group would snap back into tightly synchronised choreography again.
The shifts occasionally felt chaotic, but they also kept the audience curious. You never quite knew what was coming next.
Audience participation turns concert into a shared experience
One of the night’s most memorable moments came when the dancers invited the crowd to join them.
They demonstrated simple choreography and encouraged everyone to try it. Soon, hundreds of people in the audience were copying the moves.
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Some laughed as they struggled to keep up. Others enthusiastically waved their arms in time with the music.
For a brief moment, the performance stopped being something the audience simply watched. It became something they were part of.
A reminder that dance can be playful
By the end of the show, Avantgardey had achieved something surprisingly difficult. They had turned what could have been a straightforward dance concert into something theatrical, unpredictable, and deeply entertaining.
And we think we may have figured out the secret. Throughout the delightful chaos of the concert, one thing remained constant: the dancers looked like they were having the time of their lives.
They exchanged smiles between routines and reacted to the audience’s cheers with visible excitement. That joy was contagious.
Image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore
Even when the choreography grew intense, the performance never felt rigid. Instead, the stage felt full of personality. It was not just about perfect synchronisation, but humour, character, and connection.
Although Avantgardey described their style as having “Japanese soul”, watching them perform in Singapore made it feel like something even more universal.
Because for those couple of hours inside the theatre, language, culture, and geography seemed to fade away, leaving nothing but the simple, shared joy of movement.
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Featured image courtesy of Live Nation Singapore.
