At 10pm, when most people are winding down for the day, a dance troupe made up of university students, working adults, and full-time dancers gathers at their studio. Meet Zeppo Youngsterz – a Malaysian dance group who specialises in a fusion of traditional Malay dance and street dance.
And they are a dedicated bunch, practising almost every night for at least two hours, sometimes up to five. It’s this unwavering commitment that led Zeppo Youngsterz to victory at last year’s Super 24, an annual dance competition held in Singapore, last year.
After a quick celebration, co-founder Faris Azim shared that the group went right back to training. “We celebrated on stage, then when we got home to Malaysia, we went out to ‘makan’ together, but that was it!” the 26-year-old recounted. “Our focus was already on the next competition.”
This year, Zeppo Youngsterz aims to retain their crown in the open category of Super 24, which also includes secondary and tertiary school categories for students currently studying in Singapore. The competition uniquely requires participating groups from around Asia to have exactly 24 members, performing for 90 seconds on a four-sided stage with one judge seated on each side.
The open qualifiers will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 17 Aug 2024, with the grand finals for all three categories held there on 18 Aug 2024.
Last year, around 20 Singaporean teams participated in the open qualifiers, with nine of them making it to the grand finals and local contemporary group HRCY clinching third place.
In this year’s Super 24 Awards Secondary Category, 31 Singapore secondary schools in total were feted, with six schools — Dunman Secondary School, Hua Yi Secondary School, North Vista Secondary School. Pasir Res Crest Secondary School, Raffles Girls’ School and Temasek Secondary School — taking home the top Diamond Award.
Despite the pressure of being the returning champions, Faris remains unfazed. “The pressure is always there no matter what, even though everyone is expecting more from us this year. For us, we just want to beat our performance from last year,” said the full-time dancer, who is excited to see the unique routines of troupes from other countries.
Despite his zen approach, Faris, who is also the team’s director and choreographer, relishes the benefits that came with winning last year’s edition. “It opened up so many opportunities. More people are now keen to have us perform at events such as brand or television show launches,” he said. “This has helped us a lot, because some of us make a living out of doing shows.”
Getting everyone in the groove
Winning, however, is not Zeppo Youngsterz’s only goal. “We’re coming back to Super 24 not only because we want to win again, but because we want to keep inspiring people,” said Faris. In fact, more Malaysian teams have been entering Super 24 over the past few years, with some contacting him for advice.
“We’re so happy that we’ve managed to inspire others to join,” he shared. “That’s why we try our best to join every year and our target each time is to inspire someone new.”
Zeppo Youngsterz has also been working to inspire dancers in Malaysia, organising weekly pay-as-you-wish dance workshops to help those who cannot afford lessons in their community. They also run a year-long dance course, complete with a syllabus, weekly evening lessons, and a final exam.
“The Malaysian dance scene is not very big now because the pathway to dance is difficult,” shared Faris, adding that it is a costly hobby that suffers from a shortage of accessible facilities and classes. “But we are trying to make dance more accessible and connect with the community.”
Step by step to a brighter future
While dancing full-time is his passion, it has not always been easy for Faris. He notes that money is one of the biggest hurdles for Southeast Asian troupes, as dance is not as popular in the region compared to Western countries.
“If we want to compete, we need money to pay for accommodation, food, and transport for our whole team, which can be a huge challenge,” he said. Faris also recognises that not participating in as many competitions means less exposure for the group, creating a vicious cycle of fewer gigs and even fewer resources.
However, since winning Super 24 and joining other competitions, it has become easier for the group to secure sponsors and shows. They now have a network of connections in other countries like the Philippines to help them land gigs.
“Southeast Asians are very creative, and competitions allow us to show this to the world,” said Faris. “In the future, I think there will be more of us going onto the big stage internationally to showcase what we can do.”
All images are credited to Super 24 and Zeppo Youngsterz.
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