Avantgardey, Mysterious School Uniformed Dance Group from Japan, Finds Worldwide Fame After Being on America’s Got Talent

By Hideki Sukenari / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

12:15 JST, November 22, 2024

Mysterious school-uniformed and bobbed-haired group Avantgardey comprises 17 female dancers who look eerie but cute as they perform tightly synchronized dances.

They turn popular songs from the Showa era (1926-1989) and more recent J-pop hits into visual experiences through dances in which their formations change one after another.

The group dances in a superhumanly sharp and speedy way, mixing moves to make the audience laugh. Praise about Avantgardey’s ability to synchronize on a surprising level unlike anything else has been spreading abroad.

The Yomiuri Shimbun recently interviewed akane, the choreographer who produces the group, and two of the dancers, Sono and Kohana.

In June last year, one of the judges on America’s Got Talent, a popular U.S. TV audition show, called the group “genius,” after Avantgardey finished a performance to “Cinderella Honeymoon,” a J-pop song by Hiromi Iwasaki.

Before the performance, Sono declared, “We have an original dance piece filled with Japanese soul,” and the members showed a series of complicated and comical dancing moves, to which the audience reacted enthusiastically.

At one point, one of the members, lifted by the others, rotated her legs like clock hands. All the members crossed their arms in front of their chests and cutely shook their heads. They quickly spread both their arms in various directions like sparkling lights, made odd facial expressions and rotated their bodies around like professional wrestlers.

“Stylish, cute, beautiful and artistic. While there are many kinds of dances in the world, I want to create one which is seen to be the only one in this world,” akane said. “It’s not just interesting from a quick glance. The members have trained and pursued the capability to dance in unison and use precisely tuned angles and attained a very high level. So, I think their performance was able to impress the audience.”

‘Bubbly dance’ and uniforms

While studying dance at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, choreographer akane began coaching the Osaka Prefectural Tomioka High School’s dance club, of which she is an alumna.

In 2017, the high school club won the Dance Club Championship with a “bubbly dance” performance, in which the members displayed highly sharp moves while clad in the young women’s fashion of the bubble economy period (the latter half of the 1980s to 1991), which attracted major attention to the club.

“I like the music and fashion of the 1980s. Also, I considered how to create dance styles which could be performed even by students who had just begun learning dance after joining the club and would be eye-catching,” akane said.

Her spiritedness appealed to Sono, who said, “[I thought,] ‘What are these moves? They are so synchronized.’ I joined the club because I was interested in Ms. akane’s dance. I was ready to be yelled at, which I was.

“Because she openly expresses joy, anger, sorrow and fun, it’s fun to be with her,” she said.

In 2022, Avantgardey was launched. After stagnant periods during the COVID-19 pandemic, akane selected members from among those belonging to the dance troupe to compete in The Dance Day, an event to select the No. 1 dance team of the year.

The school uniform look with jumper-style skirts and sleek bobs originated from akane’s first choreography with the group for “Kamome ga Tonda Hi (The day when a seagull flew),” a J-pop song by Machiko Watanabe.

“When the dancers spread their arms horizontally in white blouse sleeves, they looked like seagulls. Though it was haphazard, the costume was praised. So, I thought the style could work,” akane said.

However, it was difficult for the dancers to freely move around. Kohana said, “It was because the clothes are not made for dancing. When we performed wearing indoor shoes [which students wear inside school buildings], it was difficult as the shoes are hard and painful. But I think there can be appeal precisely because we wear school uniform-like clothing not suitable for dancing.”

Therefore, the group practices to control the movements of the skirts and their hair, sometimes for 10 hours straight.

No efforts spared

After Avantgardey posted video clips on social media of its dances in the school uniform costumes and black bobs, they gained popularity and caught the attention of an America’s Got Talent producer.

The group reached the final round of the show, which rapidly increased the group’s profile. Receiving many offers to perform in Japan and abroad, the group has become famous worldwide.

This year, Avantgardey has performed in Milan, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Changzhou, China.

Sono said, “I hope the audience could feel the atmosphere and strange things that they can’t experience from social media videos.”

About the current status of the group, akane said, “I’m really happy as I have been able to meet various people.”

She continued, “Also from now on, we will not spare any efforts to work together in order to create better performances. All the effort will show up in Avantgardey’s performances. I hope our feelings will be strongly felt by the audience.” Their practices and dances filled with soul continue.

Together with audience in Seoul

On Sept. 22, Avantgardey performed at the Korea-Japan Festival 2024 in Seoul. The group appeared with idol groups and traditional performing artists from Japan and South Korea during the event.

The group danced to songs by T-ARA, a South Korean girl group.

At the end of the show, Avantgardey members taught the audience how to dance to “Kamome ga Tonda Hi,” and danced with them.

Kohana said, “I think the event became an opportunity for them to know us. I want to work hard so that we will dance in South Korea again.”