Cover Avantgardey in Hong Kong (Photo: courtesy of Avantgardey)
Avantgardey in Hong Kong (Photo: courtesy of Avantgardey)
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Avantgardey, the Japanese, school-uniform-clad dance group from ‘America’s Got Talent’, talk ‘strange’ faces and friendship.
Japanese dance group Avantgardey has been taking the stage by storm with its freaky, doll-like image since its debut in 2022. The group, which comprises 17 (originally 21) dancers, is known for sporting the same bob hair wigs with fringes and wearing the same school uniform costumes. When they dance, they move in quick, sharp movements in unison and put on eccentric facial expressions—making them reminiscent of puppets with broken strings.
Avantgardey first gained international attention when it collaborated with American DJ Steven Hiroyuki in January 2023, and in the same year auditioned for the American TV talent show America’s Got Talent, where Sofia Vergara, one of the judges, described the troupe as “something weird that we’ve never seen”. Earlier this year, they had their Hong Kong debut at the Chinese New Year parade in February.
Six of the members—Seira, Nona, Sono, Pani, Nagano and Kohan—returned to Hong Kong this month to launch the group’s first merchandise pop-up store outside of Japan, which will run at Festival Walk from June 6 to 23. The whole team will come back on July 10 for their one-night-only Shall We Dance Live in Hong Kong show.
Tatler headed to the Avantgardey pop-up store and caught up with the girl group on what they love about Hong Kong, their training and challenges.
Above Avantgardey in action at ‘America’s Got Talent’
On their impression of Hong Kong
The food is delicious. We had Peking duck and hotpot yesterday and loved them.
On the dance style that makes them uniquely Avantgardey
It’s our own style. Our producer and choreographer Akane came up with the concept and unique moves for our dance, and we have realised her vision.
On working as a group of 17 people
As a group, we set out to be like mascots that people love. As individuals, we have different personalities and things we like. Some of us have a louder voice, some like eating, others like martial arts. These are sometimes shown in the different roles and dance movements that we perform in a show.
Above Avantgardey at the Hong Kong pop-up store (Photo: courtesy of Avantgardey)
Avantgardey at the Hong Kong pop-up store (Photo: courtesy of Avantgardey)
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On their training routine
Facial expressions are our group’s iconic feature. So we spend a lot of time exercising our facial muscles and practising different facial expressions. It’s one of our greatest challenges so far; sometimes we have to try putting on a face many times until our producer says yes to every single one of us. We train in dancing and making facial expressions for at least 10 hours every day.
On their biggest challenge
There was one time when one of our members had a leg injury on the day of the performance. But the show must go on. So after seeing the doctor and taking painkillers, she endured the pain and performed in the show. We take our shows seriously and our well-being is our greatest concern.
Above The full team of Avantgardey (Photo: courtesy of Avantgardey)
The full team of Avantgardey (Photo: courtesy of Avantgardey)
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On handling disagreements within the group
There are 17 members in our group and we spend a lot of time together. We’re like family. Arguments do happen, but that’s also what makes us a tight-knit group. We get to understand one another better when we voice our disagreements.
On what they do to relax
Head to the sauna or sleep for the whole day.
On their dream city to perform in
Las Vegas.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
