~ Talented St. Maartener takes on Japan ~
They say hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard, but when you have the talent and you also work hard, the sky is the limit! The evidence of this is clear when you look at the young dancer Bianca Dijkhoffz. At just 20 years of age, Bianca has been taking dance classes since she was five, and her passion and drive have kept her learning, excelling, and recently meeting the challenges of a career in professional dance.
Bianca is just back on the Friendly Island for a short visit after her amazing opportunity dancing for one of the biggest hip-hop boy bands in Japan. J Soul Brothers (JSB) has been compared to the Back Street Boys and their tour was a sold-out mega-happening across the “Land of the Rising Sun” – huge multi-level stages were erected in the center of sports arenas and each show saw 50,000 fans flocking in to see their pop idols sing and dance. Bianca’s role was more than just that of a back-up dancer. She, along with other selected dancers, were paired off with members of J Soul Brothers as dance partners, interacting and playing off each other to their many hits.
Bianca explained that the concerts are run very differently in Japan. “The only way to get a ticket for the show or even know about a show is to be in the fan club and then you win tickets through a lottery system. And you have to pay to be a fan. And that is why you can’t really find anything about them online, its part of their business plan. So we couldn’t post a lot of pictures or videos of the show, which was kinda hard not to do, because social media is how we promote ourselves as dancers, but we really couldn’t do it. Not until they release the DVD. So they released the concert videos in movie theatres and on TV, eventually they will also sell DVDs. They say with all that we have been seen by at least two million people. I can’t even comprehend what that is, you know?”
The whirlwind tour, called “Unknown Metropoliz,”was full of excitement for Bianca, she arrived in Tokyo in August. She managed the language barrier with the help of another dancer who would translate and soon she had a following among the band’s dedicated fans. “These fans are very obsessive towards the guys, so after the first few shows, when the fans realized we were partnered with the JSB guys, they would message us and if they saw us on the street they would follow us, and we got so many followers and everyone just wanted to know who we were and they would want to take pictures and want to shake our hands, but they were always so respectful. Sometimes they would get so excited, even start to cry, but they were really sweet, I was just like, hey I’m just a dancer, you know, but for them anything associated with these guys is just major. Actually, I really appreciated it, it didn’t really get old for me, because, hey, it’s a human being sharing love with you, so I could never say anything bad about it and they are such kind people. Just in general, the culture is very open and the people are just so genuine and generous.” She told WEEKender, “This has been my dream since I was really really young, to be able to perform with artists and to travel. And then I got to be in two music videos with them [J Soul Brothers] so that was like all my best dreams wrapped up in one.”
Bianca moved to New York City three years ago, after studying at St. Dominic High School. She began online courses to continue her formal education and enrolled in a six-month dance training program with Broadway Dance Center. “Obviously when I arrived I wasn’t at the level I needed to be at; in dance you have to continuously train your body and progress in your knowledge. There are a lot of different styles that we aren’t exposed to here, and I wasn’t really aware how big hip hop really is. There are so many different sections and styles within hip-hop and so many amazing teachers.”
Within a year she was signed to the Bloc Talent Agency, and right away she was sent to auditions for various commercial opportunities. “You sort of have to decide if you want to go the commercial route or if you want to be in theatre,” she shared. For Bianca, with her urban look and international background, the commercial route seemed the best fit, but she holds out the possibility that she might one day pursue a dance career on Broadway.
When her agency sent her to an audition with 40 other dancers last summer, she didn’t know how big this job would be. Later she found out that in Los Angeles more than 200 dancers had also auditioned for the chance to tour Japan with JSB. In the end Bianca and one other girl were chosen from the New York auditions, while five girls were picked from the LA auditions. Some of the other dancers chosen for the tour had previously danced with Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown and Madonna. “I was like, what the heck? I couldn’t believe I was picked for this job! It took me a while to process it.”
The concert tour with J Soul Brothers was huge, in four months they did 38 shows. “We had about 4 to 5 shows in each city. We went to Osaka twice in September and December. Nagoya in October. We pretty much had ten shows back to back in Tokyo for the month of November then ended the tour in Fukuoka in December.” Along the way she was able to see the many famous sights, such as Mount Fuji, the Shinto Shrine, the Bamboo Forest and the botanical gardens of Kyoto.
Bianca was in the middle of this massive tour when she heard about Hurricane Irma wreaking havoc on her home island. “It was crazy, but I was able to contact my family and I heard they were alright, and my mom said she was glad I was away and busy with my dancing in Japan.” Still Bianca sent her thoughts and well-wishes back to the island from across the globe and, thanks to facebook, she was able to check in with all her friends.
Soon she’ll return to the “Big Apple,” and see what the new year brings. “Now I am feeling more inspired to continue working hard; this year I want to book as many jobs as possible. It would be great to travel again, that would be really nice, but even if I don’t just to perform with artists in a music video or a live performance, I’m ready for anything. This year I would really like to perform at an awards show, maybe the VMA awards or the BET Awards.”
Regarding advice for aspiring dancers, Bianca says, “Definitely you can never be comfortable. You always have to really work, you constantly have to prove yourself over and over again. If you really love what you do, you have to believe in the process and you have to work hard. If something happens that wasn’t in the plan it doesn’t mean that you’re not good enough, its just that life sometimes has other plans, and then maybe five years later you might understand why things worked out like they did.”
Follow Bianca Dijkhoffz on her facebook page and let her know you support her ambitions! This young lady represents her family and our island well. With her talent, hard-working attitude and mature perspective on life, she is sure to have more dreams come true.
By Lisa Davis-Burnett
