Fik-Shun at World of Dance

August 16, 2016 7:58 PM

World of Dance is a dance competition that's been running for a few years. Fik-Shun is a professional dancer, a regular in the competition and on So You Think You Can Dance. Here are three of his World of Dance performances: Las Vegas 2014, and Bay Area 2015, Hawaii 2016.
posted by curious nu (14 comments total)

Fik-Shun is, at this point, a strong contender for "actual best dancer in the world." The level of detail and complexity and thought he puts into his routines is utterly beyond ridiculous. Watch how little he repeats himself, watch how fine his micro-animations are. It's just stupid how good he is.
posted by mightygodking at 9:16 PM on August 16, 2016 [4 favorites]

I know next to nothing about dancing, but I am delighted by the sense of fun and silliness in his dancing.
posted by congen at 9:38 PM on August 16, 2016

Yeah, I just came across him for the first time today. He looks like he's having the most fun of any person in the world. It's amazing.
posted by curious nu at 10:02 PM on August 16, 2016

1) "Presented by Paul Mitchell"?
2) Les Twins | FRONTROW | World of Dance 2014

so this is pretty much my next hour or so...
posted by boo_radley at 10:02 PM on August 16, 2016 [3 favorites]

Truly beautiful, both in movement and in narrative. Thanks for this post!
posted by asavage at 10:04 PM on August 16, 2016

Fik-Shun is one of my very favorite dance performers - ever. He gives me goosebumps when I watch him. I can't say that for a lot of dancers. It's down the youtube dance vid rabbit hole for me now - in a good way of course. Thanks for posting this!
posted by S'Tella Fabula at 10:54 PM on August 16, 2016

Fik-Shun totally has the style that I look for and hope more people do, but Les Twins are so far beyond anybody.
posted by rhizome at 11:48 PM on August 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

Love how he uses his face to punctuate his dancing. He's in complete control of every inch of his body, yet paradoxically is able to completely relax and just embody the spirit of the music.
posted by mantecol at 3:37 AM on August 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Watching him is something else.

I hope that, as he continues, he eventually starts choreographing more (unless he already is) so that his works have more of an emotional arc to them. He's impressive, but I look forward to more...
posted by amtho at 4:00 AM on August 17, 2016

If you missed the season of So You Think You Can Dance where he won (!) you should go back and watch him. He tackles tons of styles, not always with perfect success, but always with that sense of joy in his dancing. Heres his extended audition and my favorite contemporary routine, to show his amazing range.

This year on the show he's coaching a young version of himself (Kida, who is just 14), which is a real treat to watch too.
posted by Illusory contour at 5:54 AM on August 17, 2016

Oh thanks for that last contemporary link, I was going to go a bit derail-ranty about the stuntyness of the dance competitions. He certainly has incredible control of muscle isolation but the very best thing about dance performances is when the dancer is doing something amazing but more than that essence and joy of just moving is what comes across. There's that sensed effortless that the dance is just happening, and he has that down!
posted by sammyo at 6:20 AM on August 17, 2016

He is everywhere. We noticed him on SYTYCD, and while he wasn't initially the most technically proficient dancer, he worked his ass off and his personality shined through in every performance. He was in Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" video, and recently in some back to school shoe commercial that involved a dance off.

It seems like any TV show or movie with dancers seems to have at least one SYTYCD alum in it.
posted by Badgermann at 6:51 AM on August 17, 2016

Yay! He's one of my favorites - though I also have a thing for Twitch!

His dancing is insane. Like, it doesn't even seem possible.
posted by Crystalinne at 1:13 PM on August 17, 2016

That's great. He really tickles the part of my brain that decides if motion is real human behavior or not, and keeps it flip flopping between decisions.
posted by w0mbat at 2:39 PM on August 17, 2016