The Red Bulletin June 2019

B U L L E V A R D
Kyoka Yamamoto confounds gravity in the Turned Over Chamber
formulated to deceive you
into seeing things that are
not really there.
A couple of years ago, while
walking around Tricklandia,
an idea struck Valko: “What if
I use this dream-like location
to create a dance video?” He
flew three of the world’s best
freestyle street dancers – Dassy
Lee, Angyil McNeal and Kyoka
Yamamoto – across the world
to perform their outstanding
choreographies amid its optical
illusions and misleading
scenarios. In the performance,
nothing is how it first appears
– it’s all in your head.
The Red Bulletin spoke to
director Valko and dancer Lee
about the process of creating
this magical spectacle and
introducing freestyle street
dance to a wider audience.
the red bulletin: What
inspired you to use
Tricklandia as a location?
valko: I first discovered
the experience with my kids.
There are just so many visual
“ONE ROOM
WAS ALL
MIRRORS. THE
CREW WERE
FALLING OVER”
elements there. My filming
style is to always be as weird
as possible, and I thought,
“There are not many places
in the world like this. I have
to do something with it.”
How was the experience
of shooting in such a unique
and surreal location?
lee: It was awesome. There
are so many rooms that move
around you and look crazy.
It was difficult to dance
through, though; everything
is mirrored, so I was hitting
walls because I couldn’t see
where to go. We got pretty
nauseous dancing in there.
v: The illusions make you
feel dizzy when walking
through them. It feels like
they’re pulling you down,
and they disorientate you.
We used one room that’s
upside down, and one that’s
made entirely of mirrors –
even the crew were falling
about in there. There’s also a
‘never-ending room’; we knew
freestyle popping would look
really good in there, but it was
still hard to show on camera
just how crazy it actually was.
What’s freestyle popping?
l: It’s a street style of dance.
You use all of the muscles in
your body to contract with the
rhythm of the music. It can
look very robotic sometimes.
v: Most people don’t know
the difference between
popping and hip-hop dance.
It’s hard for a mainstream
audience to understand what
Valko’s film makes full use of Tricklandia’s illusionary installations
they are. In my opinion,
popping is way more difficult
than breaking, because it’s a
dance based on contractions.
You can practise popping like
crazy for a whole month and
not really see any progress.
With breakdance, you learn
a basic six-step and at the end
of a month you’ll know it,
even if it’s a bit sloppy. With
popping, you practise and
practise and still see nothing.
How important is the music
to your creative process?
v: It’s always the most
important point. Once I’ve
figured out the music, I can
start with everyone else. It
inspires me for what I’m going
to shoot. With this video, it
was different: I already had
my vision, which came from
the crazy location, so I just
needed to find the right
music to fit it.
l: It’s important to have
timing throughout the track
that is always changing – and
to have a strong beat. It’s all
about being able to use our
bodies to play with sound in
an authentic way.
How important was it to
feature three female dancers
in the video?
v: These girls are the best
poppers we have. They killed
it. They’re better than most
of the male dancers.
l: A lot of street dancing is
dominated by men. There
aren’t that many female
dancers. It was awesome to
see different styles of strong
women dancing in one dope
video. If we can show this
more, maybe we can inspire
more women to come and
give it a go. It will show
people there are lots of
different types of dancer
you can be as a woman.
Watch the full Tricklandia
performance at redbull.com
VLADIMIR LORINC/RED BULL CONTENT POOL LOU BOYD
12 THE RED BULLETIN