# The Way We Dance
**The Way We Dance** (狂舞派) is a 2013 Hong Kong youth dance film directed by Adam Wong (黄修平), in which a university student from a tofu-shop family joins a campus hip-hop crew, is driven out by a teammate, and rebuilds her style by fusing street dance with tai chi.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) Made on a budget of HK$5.3 million with HK$2.12 million in financing from Hong Kong's Film Development Fund, it ran for twelve weeks in local cinemas and earned more than HK$13 million, and it won three awards at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards.[2](https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201308/19/P201308190344_print.htm) • [3](https://www.hkadc.org.hk/media/files/aboutus/publications/hkada_souvenir_book/HKADA2013_Souvenir%20Book.pdf) • [4](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/inspirationsparkshk/english/personal_adamwong.html?print=true)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 狂舞派 (Kwong Mo Pai) |
| Director / writers | Adam Wong (director, screenwriter, editor); co-writers Saville Chan and Chan Tai-lee[5](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html) |
| Premiere and release | World premiere March 31, 2013 at the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival; Hong Kong release August 8, 2013[6](https://asianwiki.com/The_Way_We_Dance) |
| Runtime | 110 minutes (Golden Horse, AsianWiki listings); 111 minutes in Hong Kong Film Archive listings[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) • [5](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html) |
| Budget and financing | HK$5.3 million production budget; HK$2.12 million from the Film Development Fund[2](https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201308/19/P201308190344_print.htm) |
| Box office | More than HK$13 million over a twelve-week Hong Kong run[3](https://www.hkadc.org.hk/media/files/aboutus/publications/hkada_souvenir_book/HKADA2013_Souvenir%20Book.pdf) |
| Major awards | Best New Director, Best New Performer, and Best Original Film Song at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards, from six nominations[4](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/inspirationsparkshk/english/personal_adamwong.html?print=true) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Fleur (阿花, played by Cherry Ngan, 颜卓灵) grew up in her family's traditional tofu shop, where academic success came first and her talent for hip-hop dance was suppressed. At university she joins the campus dance crew BombA and becomes its rising star, catching the attention of the popular captain Dave (Lokman Yeung, 杨乐文). Although BombA enjoys popularity among students, the crew has time and again been beaten in the Mo Lam Dance Tournament by its rivals, the Rooftoppers.[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-way-we-dance-2013)
A teammate, Rebecca (Janice Fan, 范颖儿), mocks Fleur's dancing and takes her romantic interest in Dave, and Fleur leaves the crew in anger. She then meets Alan (柒良, played by Babyjohn Choi, 蔡瀚亿), an older student devoted to the Tai Chi Club, and his practice inspires her to create a new style of dance.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) When she decides to return to BombA for a decisive battle with the Rooftoppers, an accident leaves her with a serious leg injury and three months in a wheelchair. At her lowest point, Stormy, the Rooftoppers' captain (Tommy "Guns" Ly), appears before her wheelchair and reveals the secret of his crew's dominance, giving her a new understanding of what dance means.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) • [5](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html)
The film's tagline, "so how far are you willing to go for dance?" (为咗跳舞，你可以去到几尽？), entered mainstream Hong Kong discourse after release.[5](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html)
## Production
**Casting and shooting.** Adam Wong and producer Saville Chan began casting in 2009 with a single requirement: the actors had to dance well. More than 500 dancers auditioned, and the main cast was drawn from them.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) • [5](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html) Cherry Ngan auditioned at age 15; when the film finally secured investment four years later, Wong cast the then-18-year-old as Fleur.[8](https://ent.sina.cn/film/chinese/2013-08-22/detail-iawrnsfu1392109.d.html?vt=4&wm=3049_0015) The shoot lasted 23 days, and with funding short, many scenes had to be completed in a single day; some dancers worked without pay.[8](https://ent.sina.cn/film/chinese/2013-08-22/detail-iawrnsfu1392109.d.html?vt=4&wm=3049_0015)
**Creative team.** [Choreography](https://www.edgepedia.org/choreography) was by Mak Yiu-shing (麦秋成, credited as Sing Mak), described by the Golden Horse festival archive as one of the most influential dance teachers of Hong Kong's new generation, and cinematography was by Cheng Siu-keung (郑兆强), a longtime cinematographer for director [Johnnie To](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnnie-to).[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) • [9](https://lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/way_we_dance.html) The film was shot entirely on Hong Kong locations and presented as a wholly local production; it also gathered representative figures from the city's young hip-hop scene in its cast.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) Wong has said the idea grew from noticing that an open space outside a convenience store at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he taught part-time, was a gathering point for local and overseas dance crews.[10](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/inspirationsparkshk/sc_chi/files/pdf/adamwong_interview.pdf)
**Financing.** The Film Development Fund provided HK$2.12 million of the HK$5.3 million budget, making it the fifteenth FDF-financed film to be released in Hong Kong. Wong's producer Winnie Tsang of Golden Scene had suggested casting dance-trained newcomers to hold down costs and avoid a mainland co-production.[2](https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201308/19/P201308190344_print.htm) • [11](https://www.fdc.gov.hk/sc/archive_detail.php?id=2022070709204255617) • [12](https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/amp/20240126insight005)
## Reception and awards
The film premiered at the 37th Hong Kong International Film Festival in March 2013 and opened commercially in August.[6](https://asianwiki.com/The_Way_We_Dance) Despite a cast of unknowns and limited promotion, it stayed in cinemas for twelve weeks and grossed over HK$13 million.[3](https://www.hkadc.org.hk/media/files/aboutus/publications/hkada_souvenir_book/HKADA2013_Souvenir%20Book.pdf) At the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2014 it received six nominations and won Best New Director for Wong, Best New Performer for Cherry Ngan, and Best Original Film Song.[4](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/inspirationsparkshk/english/personal_adamwong.html?print=true) Ngan was also nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Horse Film Awards, and the film was nominated for Action Design there.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833) It won the Audience Award at the 2013 Focus on Asia-Fukuoka International Film Festival.[6](https://asianwiki.com/The_Way_We_Dance)
Critics highlighted the fusion of street dance, parkour, and tai chi as what made the film distinctly Hong Kong, along with its use of authentic local locations.[9](https://lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/way_we_dance.html) Reviewers also credited the film with changing the public image of street dancers, portraying young people who persisted in their interest despite the stereotype of street dancers as delinquents.[13](https://www.filmcriticschina.org/?cat=1&cifr=1&fp=9cZVxqLgCN8I%2BmqlA%2FtQbFO2mppvB2BNqtEZU4S0d9qarBP3jYsVgAJPmFvYiQ4zElLdFiS2k97vOEx24Pw2hA%3D%3D&paged=125&poru=TLBP%2BzYzoymbRzsb1kJK8Ivu6f4wc2DaT6XbtC0KXNF7Fh6nCLl4wK3neSDTvkFLkuMaELjm83UVMm5BhHdiicpdOT%2FP4Bpafuqo%2BWReWI4%3D&prvtof=HFoEKl6c19Kbz%2FTtG%2F5B8sseT6V0HVEdbKLYgn%2BFKyY%3D)
## Legacy
The film brought its largely non-professional cast into the spotlight, including Lokman Yeung, who later joined the Hong Kong boy group [Mirror](https://www.edgepedia.org/mirror-group).[5](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html) It established Adam Wong as a director of youth films: he followed it with *[She Remembers, He Forgets](https://www.edgepedia.org/she-remembers-he-forgets)* (2015) and *The Way We Keep Dancing* (狂舞派3, 2021), the latter nominated for six Golden Horse Awards, and *The Way We Talk* (2024).[14](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/the-way-we-talk/) Rather than a direct sequel, *The Way We Keep Dancing* imagines the original stars facing commercialization and gentrification as adults.[15](https://sdaff.org/spring2021/movies/way-we-keep-dancing/) A 2013 release also credited the film with bringing Hong Kong's street dance story to audiences beyond the dance community itself.[16](https://en.danceresearch.com.hk/_files/ugd/20243f_6e53106514ff4622a26b9293b5fa3fce.pdf)
## References
1. [狂舞派 The Way We Dance, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival archive](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/about/archive/detail/833)
2. [Synchronised screening of "The Way We Dance" in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, Hong Kong SAR Government Information Centre (2013)](https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201308/19/P201308190344_print.htm)
3. [Hong Kong Arts Development Award 2013 Souvenir Book, Hong Kong Arts Development Council](https://www.hkadc.org.hk/media/files/aboutus/publications/hkada_souvenir_book/HKADA2013_Souvenir%20Book.pdf)
4. [Adam Wong profile, Inspiration Sparks HK / Create Hong Kong](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/inspirationsparkshk/english/personal_adamwong.html?print=true)
5. [The Way We Dance, Hong Kong Film Archive programme note (2023)](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/en/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-cs-fs-film14.html)
6. [The Way We Dance, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/The_Way_We_Dance)
7. [The Way We Dance (2013) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-way-we-dance-2013)
8. [专访《狂舞派》主角 港片需要新血液, Sina Entertainment (2013)](https://ent.sina.cn/film/chinese/2013-08-22/detail-iawrnsfu1392109.d.html?vt=4&wm=3049_0015)
9. [The Way We Dance (狂舞派) review, LoveHKFilm.com](https://lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/way_we_dance.html)
10. [黃修平訪問, Inspiration Sparks HK (Chinese)](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/inspirationsparkshk/sc_chi/files/pdf/adamwong_interview.pdf)
11. [电影发展基金支持香港新进导演, Hong Kong Film Development Council archive (2013)](https://www.fdc.gov.hk/sc/archive_detail.php?id=2022070709204255617)
12. [港片新銳推手3：影人出走港片陷低谷，她慧眼投資歌舞片捧紅顏卓靈, Mirror Media (2024)](https://www.mirrormedia.mg/story/amp/20240126insight005)
13. [影評快訊第199期：《狂舞派》, Film Critics China](https://www.filmcriticschina.org/?cat=1&cifr=1&fp=9cZVxqLgCN8I%2BmqlA%2FtQbFO2mppvB2BNqtEZU4S0d9qarBP3jYsVgAJPmFvYiQ4zElLdFiS2k97vOEx24Pw2hA%3D%3D&paged=125&poru=TLBP%2BzYzoymbRzsb1kJK8Ivu6f4wc2DaT6XbtC0KXNF7Fh6nCLl4wK3neSDTvkFLkuMaELjm83UVMm5BhHdiicpdOT%2FP4Bpafuqo%2BWReWI4%3D&prvtof=HFoEKl6c19Kbz%2FTtG%2F5B8sseT6V0HVEdbKLYgn%2BFKyY%3D)
14. [The Way We Talk, M+ Museum](https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/the-way-we-talk/)
15. [The Way We Keep Dancing, San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase 2021](https://sdaff.org/spring2021/movies/way-we-keep-dancing/)
16. [Hong Kong street dance research document, Dance Research Hong Kong](https://en.danceresearch.com.hk/_files/ugd/20243f_6e53106514ff4622a26b9293b5fa3fce.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Musical and music films (individual works) › Musical films of the 2010s and 2020s › Released 2010 to 2020*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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