Singaporean Aaron Tan glides his way to Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final

SINGAPORE – A dance performance for a school event that Aaron Tan suggested to his classmates 16 years ago unexpectedly ignited his passion for dance.

Drawing inspiration from K-pop group Super Junior, they staged a street dance routine, marking the start of his foray into the performing art.

From there, he began taking lessons and relying on YouTube videos to improve. All along, he never thought this interest would one day lead to him competing on the global stage.

But, in October, the financial wealth manager will represent the region at the Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final after earning his spot by winning the regional qualifier in Singapore on April 25.

Still in disbelief almost a week later, the 31-year-old said: “I still think back to when I first started dancing and it was not something that common in Singapore where you get flown out to a country far away from home with flight and accommodation covered.

“If you’d asked me many years ago when I first started dancing whether this would be possible, I would not think I would’ve achieved this.”

At *SCAPE The Ground Theatre, Tan, who had won the national qualifier on April 18 alongside fellow Singaporean dancer Jason Chong to earn his place in the regional final, emerged as the top dancer from a field of over 200 dancers across South-east Asia.

In the final round, he defeated Vietnamese dancer Nguyen Tuan Bao, also known by his alias Mikey B, in front of a crowd of 1,000, who voted for their favourite dancers using red and blue light-up bracelets.

The win secured his ticket to the World Final in Zurich.

Tan had also competed in the 2025 Red Bull Dance Your Style Singapore event, where he was eliminated in the last eight.

Reflecting on that experience, he admitted putting too much pressure on himself to win.

This time, he entered with a different approach – to stay true to his style.

“I went into this with the mindset of just doing my own thing because at the end of the day, no one can do my own style better than me,” said Tan, who described his main style as popping, although he also includes elements of hip-hop, locking and b-boy into his routines.

“There are so many dancers for the judges to choose from and so many different styles in the competition, so I just thought I would show my own style and try not to be affected by what other people are thinking or whether I would do well or not and that helped relieve a bit of the pressure.”

His mindset has also evolved over the years. When he first began competing about 12 years ago, he focused on winning to create opportunities for himself.

He has since claimed victories that took him to competitions in Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia, while also funding his own trips to South Korea and Japan to immerse himself in their vibrant dance scenes.

Over time, however, his focus has shifted from winning to becoming the best version of himself, a change that has paid off.

He said: “Last year’s Red Bull, I had the mindset of trying to win, which cost me my round – I put so much pressure on that, which limited how I was able to do my version of dance that I enjoy and want to show.

“I told myself after that if I were to attend Red Bull’s or any other competitions, I shall just do my best and even if I lose, at least I’m doing what I do, instead of doing something forced and uncomfortable.”

Since his win, Tan has received an outpouring of support, including congratulatory messages from friends and even strangers, who have followed him on social media and inquired about taking classes from him.

His passion for dance continues to drive him as he balances his dance career with his job.

The flexibility of his work schedule, which revolves around client appointments, allows him to teach classes three to four times a week, while also setting aside time to practise on his own.

Looking ahead, he hopes to contribute to the growth of Singapore’s dance community.

He said: “It’s more of trying to help out the community – you understand how it works after some time and it’s important to pass down knowledge to the next generation.

“That’s how new dancers and every community in every country improves – you get dancers who are able to figure out ways to rise above the crowd.”