Back in 2018, I travelled to Singapore for work and decided to stay the weekend for Radikal Forze Jam. It was a huge event with hundreds of dancers from around the world, but with the majority from across Asia and Australia. It was so good, I decided to make it an annual thing. 2019 was also great. I had my travel planned for March 2020, but then COVID cancelled the event only 7 days out.
Fast forward to 2023, Felix brought the event back, but moved it to Da Nang (Vietnam). However, my wings were clipped and my annual Singapore trip wasn’t happening anymore. When I decided to take a sabbatical, I knew we’d visit Asia and I 100% planned to make it back to this jam in 2024. We made Da Nang a “mid-trip break” and spent 7 days there, including three at the event.
The event was really special for me because I reconnected with so many people that I met in 2018 and 2019. A lot of them helped me with the #IAmProject (http://IAmProject.KBevPhoto.com) so we “knew” each other, but hadn’t really connected in person for 5 years. I usually fly home on Sunday, but for the first time, I got to stay for the Sunday Beach Party. I literally reconnected with people I met there from Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, China, and even some folks I see back home in Chicago. I even reconnected with some Japanese and Korean dancers I met at another annual battle I used to do in France.
When I snap photos at most hip-hop events, I do it to support the community. The photos are free for the dancers and hopefully help them advance their careers as artists. I’m glad that I’ve been able to document it for over a decade. [Note: my origin story as a hip-hop dance photographer is in the Cambodia interview]. Radikal Forze Jam is a big deal for me because of the love and community we experience each time – especially this time with my travel partner!
There’s no short way to see the 2,000 photos I took. However, I put my favorites in 3 galleries – one for each day, if you just skim it, you’ll see what made it great. Some of my other favorites are below too…
Day 2 – 3v3 Open Styles Battles
Day 3 – Beach battle and portraits
One response to “Radikal Forze Jam (Da Nang)”
[…] took almost a full week in Da Nang because I wanted to spend 3 days at Radikal Forze Jam (that post is here). We had some time before and after the jam to explore the area too. Da Nang was very laid back […]