The curtains to the world's first professional dance league D.LEAGUE, launched in Japan in August 2020, finally rose on January 10th, 2021. Avex also participated in this epoch-making tournament as a team owner under the name "avex ROYAL BRATS." The team is comprised of the globally renown dancer and choreographer who has received numerous offers from world-famous artists such as TWICE, BTS, and Chris Brown, with over 444,000 followers on Instagram (as of January 2021), the charisma of the dance world, RIEHATA, and the team she produces, "RIEHATA TOKYO (RHT)".
We invited RIEHATA and three RHT members, KAITA, Rena, and SHOTA AKO, as well as Hiroshi Kamata, General Manager of the Artist Academy at Avex Management Co., Ltd., to find out their feelings about D.LEAGUE and the Japanese dance scene. Join us as we explore the thoughts, strategies and chemical reactions behind it all.
“Branding” and
“Sense of Mission.”
The significance of
Avex participating
in D.LEAGUE
The world's first professional dance league "D.LEAGUE" based in Japan, opened on Sunday, January 10, 2021 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. As can be expected, both ROUND 1 (as well as ROUND 2) were held without spectators in an irregular opening that only now seems understandable. However ironically, due to the live distribution on six platforms as well as satellite TV, D.LEAGUE effectively attracted even more attention than it would have as an event with a live audience. We can imagine that many of the viewers who saw the heated excitement of the opening round remotely, would have wanted to visit the venue in person.
D.LEAGUE consists of a regular season in which a total of nine teams compete in all twelve rounds to be one of the four teams to make it to the championship to claim the first belt ever at the end of June. The ranking will be decided by the total score of the judges, four globally active performers, as well as the audience members who have subscribed to the app.
Amongst the nine participating team owners are Avex, KADOKAWA, Kose, CyberAgent, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS, Septeni Holdings, Fullcast Holdings, Benefit One, and USEN-NEXT HOLDINGS. In addition, famous dancers have been appointed as directors of each team and will compete representing their dance style for half a year.
First of all, when we asked Kamata about the significance of Avex's participation in D.LEAGUE he said that there were two main aspects: "branding" and a "sense of mission."
Kamata "The first thing is corporate branding. Dance has become a compulsory subject in schools since 2012, and it's been attracting a lot of attention at school, making young dancers with fashion sense stand out as fashion leaders. Plus, the number of high school dance clubs has increased in a blink of an eye, and now we're in an era where dance is surpassing baseball and soccer clubs. In response to the flow of the times, we've incorporated D.LEAGUE into Avex's new branding arsenal, and will be establishing it as a business too. We hope to instill dreams and hope into the dancers and students in the Avex family. Secondly, and this may sound kind of extreme, but honestly, there was a "sense of mission" that it would be strange if Avex did not participate in D.LEAGUE. Just the fact that LDH plays such a big a role in the dance world and D.LEAGUE, there is really no other entertainment-related production or label that is as familiar with dance as we are. We've been trying to enliven and unify the dance industry here for so long, there was no way we could ignore something like this."
And it was RIE HATA, a world-famous dancer and choreographer, that Avex teamed up to fight with in D.LEAGUE. After graduating from junior high school, she went to LA by herself to study dance in 2004 and from there she established her own style while overturning the various prejudices and stereotypes she encountered in the city of professional dancers. After some time, she started collaborating with several famous artists and built an overwhelming career and dance style, gaining her the title of "QUEEN OF SWAG."
Kamata "The main reason I made the offer was that I wanted to see what kind of chemical reaction would occur when RIEHATA and Avex teamed up. Having built quite the reputation as a top dancer across many genres in the industry, she is in a class of her own. In order to enter the world's first professional dance league, we decided to partner with RIEHATA because we wanted to do something we've never done before."
The team that would embody this chemical reaction sparked between her and Avex, the team that would compete in D.LEAGUE, was none other than her own team, RHT, which has been through high and hell together. RIEHATA recalls when she first heard about D.LEAGUE and explains why she decided to participate with her own team.
RIEHATA "I first heard about D.LEAGUE at the end of 2019, and I was directly contacted by Charisma Kantaro, who was planning this project. When I heard him say that he was going to take on this once-in-a-lifetime challenge, I could sense the scale of it all and that the hurdles would be high. I thought that if I were to participate in D.LEAGUE it would only be with RHT, so I didn't make the decision myself. It wasn't like "I wanna enter, what'ya think?" I exchanged ideas with each member individually.”
Rena"I was genuinely surprised when I heard that there would be a professional dance league, in the same way as baseball or soccer. I thought 'wow, dance has finally made it to that stage.'"
KAITA"We had no idea of how it would turn out, so when I first heard about it, I was more surprised than anything. It was just exciting. It was the moment I imagined what my future might be like, and dreams started growing in my head."
SHOTA AKO"I never thought I would be able to participate in a tournament as a professional dancer, and I was under pressure because I was last to join the team, about three years ago. But I was looking forward to growing through this kind of big tournament and had a strong desire to take on the challenge."
A viewpoint that changed
180 degrees due
to Corona.
Avex ROYAL BRATS aims for
overwhelming creation
However, the decision to participate in D.LEAGUE with RHT didn't happen smoothly. RIEHATA was conflicted about what to do about the branding of her team and the future of its members.
RIEHATA "I never really planned on making Japan RHT's home base. I originally included the word 'TOKYO' in the crew name because I wanted to bring everyone to world championships while they were still young so that they could challenge themselves and represent Japan. Since RHT had been active globally, I didn't have the goal or desire to compete in a Japanese competition. "
It was the new coronavirus that triggered a change in the way RIEHATA approached the whole idea.
RIEHATA"The pandemic changed my mindset 180 degrees. Some people have had to quit dancing because of the coronavirus, and some have lost their jobs as teachers and back dancers. Realistically thinking, knowing those people are out there, and knowing the situation the world is in, I started thinking more about how to give hope to Japanese dancers and what we can do as RHT to enliven the industry. I shared these feelings with all the members of RHT, and finally we came to the conclusion that even if we plan to work all over the world, we’ll be representing Japan as a team. We should enter so that we can also prove we're top-class here in Japan."
RIEHATA went on to explain that it was actually her idea to form the tag-team with Avex. And to explain the emotions behind the decision, RIEHATA used a unique choice of words: She didn’t “want to go back to being” a dancer.
RIEHATA "At first, I didn't want to go back to 'being dancers', as a team, by participating in D.LEAGUE. RHT's activities didn't include things like dancing and fighting in competitions up until now. But if we were to join hands with Avex, I thought we'd be able to walk down the road side by side, play the long game that is D.LEAGUE, all the while making an opportunity for everyone's artistry, presence in the scene, recognition and special skills to bloom."
The team name they chose to go with is "avex ROYAL BRATS." Sharing the first letter of their crew name RHT, "ROYAL" gives an air excellence—as if they are a team with a KING or QUEEN—while "BRATS" symbolizes RHT's weapon of swagger and young misbehavior. The "BRATS" part was a proposal from the Avex Entertainment design team. Avex ROYALBRATS —"bad kids with a pedigree." In other words, they represent "a new generation with mad skills." With a name finally set, they took their first step towards hitting the big stage at D.LEAGUE.
In addition, RIEHATA demonstrated overwhelming creation before the curtain rose. This later proved to be the best way to launching avex ROYAL BRATS and it only accelerated as D.LEAGUE approached.
RIEHATA " D.LEAGUE for us started long before the opening, and as a part of our strategy, we first made music videos where I danced with each other member of the crew. In D.LEAGUE there are 12 games in the regular season. This makes it harder for the dancers to come up with new things as the season progresses, and I wanted to show each person's individuality more. I thought that the audience would get tired of watching too. Another reason I wanted to make the music videos was to make the members’ dreams come true. Since they were kids, they've said "I want to dance with RIE" and "I want to make a piece where I'm the main dancer." I was hoping to be able to do something like that someday, so I was like, 'that day is now.' I think the video making process was hard on everyone at Avex, but I think that they were able to understand my style and everyone was able to become closer before the opening."
Kamata“It was the first time I experienced something like that. While RIEHATA was thinking of the performance choreo for D.LEAGUE she was also coming up with 11 different music videos at the same time, all within three months' time. The commitment, the sense of speed, and the way she can organize it all in her head. It was mind-blowing. I realized I was being shown what it means to work at top world level. The best we could do was to support her in bringing her ideas to life, but by making those music videos, avex ROYAL BRATS was able to take a step or two ahead of everyone else in preparation for the opening."
On the production side of the project, in relation to the music videos, Kamata is trying to take advantage of something new through D.LEAGUE that, if done correctly, could rock the dance industry. That something had to do with the songs. D.LEAGUE decided to compose each song originally from scratch and stream release it the day after the performance it was used in. In addition, they also made the attempt at taking the profits from the songs and distribute it amongst the dancers.
Kamata"As the original songs spread out into the world through different medias after the performances are over, they’ll catch on, not as songs that this or that artist sings, but as songs that these dancers used. Just like TikTok, D.LEAGUE is trying to create a setup where songs can gain popularity on their own without people really knowing who made it, and if this mechanism becomes widespread, it will be like one more piece fitting into the puzzle of getting dancers to become a main part of entertainment.
Fruitful thoughts
and strategies.
Empathy and support
from the audience
The opening round came on January 10th. Many of the dance fans who were paying attention to D.LEAGUE would have felt déjà vu after seeing the costumes and dance that avex ROYAL BRATS displayed on stage. which they rightfully should have. This performance was a continuation of the story in the music video "# 1 [BOYS WILL BE BOYS] SHOTA feat. RIEHATA" produced by the crew member SHOTA AKO.
RIEHATA "ROUND.1 was centered around SHOTA AKO, and we performed Litefeet, a genre with a kinda boyish feel to it, so to speak. I wasn't conscious of it at the time, but apparently people felt an invisible bond, or a feeling of connection deep down in their hearts, and a lot of people reached out to tell me they were moved. After the show, when everyone returned to the dressing room, they were all like, 'I'm really glad we made the music video!' The sense of accomplishment that we felt at that moment, like all our effort had been rewarded, was unlike anything before. The other directors, and even Charisma Kantaro were also surprised that we had made the videos before the opening. Seeing their reaction totally erased all of the fatigue left from all our hard work."
SHOTA AKO"I pulled off the hat-trick technique in rehearsal, but I buckled under the pressure from the live take and messed up. I was almost in tears after getting off the stage. But when I heard from the other members and all the fans, I realized that that wasn't everything, and that they got what we were trying to get across."
Although the members' fulfillment came across on the TV and smartphone screens, the avex ROYAL BRATS were at the bottom of the judges' list. However, they would ultimately prove their support from the audience and how much their votes counted, and that their pre-game strategy had paid off. In the end, avex ROYAL BRATS finished the opening round in 4th place.
Kamata"I had never seen a tournament in which the votes of the audience were reflected to such an extent. That's what I remember most. That's the main reason I felt this tournament would be one where fans could embrace and support their favorite teams as if they were a part of it themselves. It has also become perfectly clear that creating a fan base as a regular practice is just as important as creating the performance for game day. In that sense, RIEHATATOKYO has been together for nearly 10 years, and its fans are expecting to make even larger leaps during their collaboration with Avex. However, we still have a lot to do as a company to raise the profile and reputation of the members of avex ROYALBRATS and accelerate their careers. I think it comes down to whether we can cross-implement the many factors involved here to give ourselves an even more overwhelming presence in the future."
RIEHATA was after one more thing, besides good results in the ranking. Her words deserve to be heard, as they may just prove to be an important suggestion for the future of dancers in Japan.
RIEHATA"I simply wanted to show the world more of each dancer on the team. To show that you can have an amazing team even with such diverse individuality. Curriculums and methods exist in dance, but I don't want to force my dance on anyone. Ultimately people only have their own dance to show. I want to show the world through avex ROYALBRATS that you can still make a cool team while paying this much respect to personal differences. Each team member has their own dream they're after, and my biggest goal is to help make that come true. On top of that, through D.LEAGUE, I hope to become a go-betweeen, a mediator between Japanese dancers and the rest of the world, to show them that we have some amazing dancers, and that we have a really badass dance competition going on here too."
Finally, in closing, between the time of this interview and today, Round 2 and 3 of D.LEAGUE were held and results are in. The avex ROYALBRATS hit the stage of Round 2 with their theme from the music video "#2[A LITTLE KID'S DREAM] Ako feat. RIEHATA." The judges put the team in third place, a significant increase from Round 1, and the audience put them in first just as the previous time—with a perfect score at that—giving the team a comeback win. Greeting Round 3 with momentum, the team gave a performance based on their music video "#3 [REFLECTION] ReiNa feat. RIEHATA)) and captured a complete victory, placing first by both the judges and the audience votes. As a result, they climbed to 1st place in the overall ranking.
The chemical reaction between RIEHATA and Avex has already shown its fruition. This, however, is nothing more than the prologue. Even considering their build-up of momentum up until Round 3, it is difficult to predict the final outcome at this time. One thing can be said for certain, however. When the season is all over at the end of June, avex ROYALBRATS will be moving on to the next phase with more empathy from others and support at its back than any other team.
(From the left)
Rena,KAITA,RIEHATA,SHOTA AKO