Choreographer Windy Tsoi shares her best creative tips on how to capture a viral dance video
As part of our partnership with Huawei and its global smartphone photography competition Next-Image awards 2020, we went on a mission to share the Positive Power of Creativity. Enter London-based dancer and choreographer Windy Tsoi who captures her dance using a Huawei P40 Pro for the ‘Live Moments’ category in a way that’ll have you breaking a move in no time.
“My job allows me to do what I love—sharing my joy and passion for dance with other people. Simultaneously, it gives me a lot of creative freedom,” shared the dancer who works across music videos, live performances, dancing herself, choreographing behind the scenes and teaching.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to create the perfect dance video? Tsoi has perfected the art of capturing the live moments in her life through intricate choreographies and video. Tsoi looks back at her own creative process and her participation in the competition as she shares with us the exact steps you (quite literally) need to take to get your own dance videos out there.
Live Moments: Capturing the moments that make life special
For her participation in the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020 Tsoi, of course, owned the ‘Live Moments’ category. Using a Huawei smartphone she documented the little moments and the big ones that make up her creative process and resonate her positive power of creativity. “The Huawei P40 Pro helped me capture the live moments of my life; my choreographies, my routines. It allowed me to play with lights and effects. Slow Motion and Time Lapse are always great to use when it comes to dance moves. I can create anything I want based on my mood and the message that I want to share with my audience.”
By experimenting with the smartphone’s different features such as the multi-window, which allows her to both rewatch videos of her choreography and take notes from them on the smartphone’s screen, or using the camera’s Super Slow Motion feature in order to slow down her rhythm and see precisely if her steps are aligned, Tsoi documented her everyday, giving us a glimpse into her preparation for the classes she teaches and even some of her own practice time in the studio.
From choreography for music videos to being part of the dance crew on the X Factor and The Great Escape festival, Tsoi’s seen it all. On top of her impressive dance career, she regularly hosts open dance classes in different studios across London. Tsoi has mastered the ultimate teaching skills to share with fellow dancers and choreographers.
“So many factors influence and change my mood and, from that, my mood decides the song and what dance style I’m feeling,” she explains. Creating emotions is the goal, says Tsoi: “When it comes to me, I definitely live in the moment and I feel there should be no other way, as I believe dance is the perfect form of expression.”
Live in the moment so you can create in the moment
For Tsoi, the most important thing you need to capture that perfect live moment is your creativity and the right device to capture it with. “I’m quite simple when it comes to using equipment and getting used to what I have. Really all I’m looking for is equipment with a good camera and speakers with great sound quality.”
All in all, dance is about living the present moment by transcribing emotions and sharing them through movement. In true form to her contagiously positive energy, Tsoi took the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020 as an opportunity to showcase her creativity and share the Live Moments that make her happy.
For her submission, Tsoi says that “The video ideas came to mind naturally because creativity is an integral part of my job. I enjoyed the whole process of this campaign as it reminded me why I love dancing and how I started at the beginning, which now makes me feel even more motivated to create more new things.”
