World-Class Competitor, Choreographer and Performer
Mundsan is the founder and creative director of Chief Academy. He fell in love with dance at a young age and quickly discovered his passion for movement and how it can influence others. At the age of 16, he formed a dance crew that went on to place 1st at FISAF (Federation of International Sport Aerobics and Fitness) Regionals and 2nd at FISAF Nationals in New Zealand. He’s been involved in the hip hop dance scene for over 10 years and has represented New Zealand with ‘The Company NZ’ at Hip Hop International in Las Vegas and placed 2nd in the world with his previous crew ‘U.F.O’ at FISAF WORLDS in 2011. Since then he has worked on his craft, honing and sharing his skills as he continues to evolve his hip hop and urban choreography.
“I specialise in what is commonly known as hip hop dance styles. Setting my foundation with b-boying (breaking) and grooves. What people call hip hop today is an evolved form of dance derived from two distinct sounds of music; hip hop and funk. There are countless different backgrounds of dance from both these genres such as locking, popping, waacking or b-boying, house and what I like to call “party dances” (moves that become viral from time to time). Knowing the history of certain dance styles is crucial to understanding the culture around the movement, which then sets the identity of the style and in turn influences your own identity as a dancer.
Through this knowledge and experience I’m able to teach and lead people into a pathway where they can create their own identity through movement as we explore different styles and learn how to move to music. Music is the most important external factor to dance that I use to enhance expression. Urban choreography, depending on the aim, heavily relies on what the dancer/choreographer is trying to express while listening to a particular sound track.”
