Movement Without Borders: United Activ at Dancenter

This year, Dancenter welcomed United Activ for an international artist residency bringing together emerging artists from the United States, Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, and beyond.

Led by Lauren Smith, Founder and Executive Director of United Activ, the residency explored choreography, cross-cultural exchange, and the ways movement can create meaningful connections between artists and communities. We spoke with Lauren about her artistic journey, the vision behind United Activ, her experience working with Vietnamese dancers, and what she hopes this residency will inspire.

1. From Singapore to United Activ: Lauren’s Artistic Journey

Lauren Smith is the Founder and CEO of Lauren Blair Smith Productions. As part of her creative ecosystem, she serves as Artistic Director of Lauren Blair Smith Dance Company, as well as Founder and Executive Director of United Activ, a social innovation venture dedicated to empowering emerging artists through choreographic research and outreach opportunities.

Growing up in Singapore in a rich, multicultural environment shaped how Lauren sees the world and creates. Dance became her primary language early on, from pursuing her BFA at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts to performing across North America with the Broadway National Tour of Fiddler on the Roof and continuing her graduate studies at the University of Michigan.

“Over time, my passion naturally evolved toward choreography, arts leadership, and entrepreneurship. I realized I didn't just want to create work for traditional concert stages; I wanted to build human-centered experiences that connect people across real geographic and cultural opportunities.”

Lauren founded United Activ to explore a model of radical reciprocity in international arts exchange, creating a platform where emerging artists from different parts of the world can come together as partners to collaborate, learn, support local creative economies, and use movement as a tool for connection.

2. Finding an Artistic Home at Dancenter

For a multi-week international residency, having a welcoming and supportive environment can make a significant difference to the creative process. For Lauren and the United Activ team, Dancenter became both a working space and an artistic home in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Dancenter has been an absolute joy for us throughout this pilot residency! Launching a multi-week international program with an ensemble gathered from across the globe comes with immense logistical and creative demands, but the moment we stepped into Dancenter, we felt fully connected. The team welcomed us with such warmth, professional care, and generosity.”

“Having access to Dancenter’s beautiful, spacious, and light-filled studios allowed us to jump straight into intense creative work without missing a beat. It gave us the physical space to build complex contemporary fusion choreography, experiment with partnering, and run full company classes every day.”

“But beyond the physical facilities, being immersed in Dancenter’s strong community gave our international dancers an immediate artistic home in Ho Chi Minh City. Collaborating with a team that truly understands and champions the transformative power of dance made all the difference in successfully launching United Activ.”

3. Creating Together: The Exchange with Vietnamese Dancers

One of the central ideas behind the residency was to create an exchange rather than a one-way teaching experience. Local Vietnamese dancers were invited to actively contribute to the creative process alongside the international artists.

“From day one, we made a conscious choice to dismantle the traditional, top-down dynamic of visiting artists coming in to teach. Instead, we highlighted local Vietnamese dancers as cohort members who co-lead classes, share their knowledge, and shape the creative narrative alongside us.”

The depth of exchange in the studio was a highlight of the residency. One of Lauren’s favorite studio memories was an open movement exchange where the dancers brought together contemporary floorwork, martial arts disciplines, traditional Vietnamese and Malay movement forms, tutting, partnering, and more.

The experience also highlighted how movement could help bridge differences in language and culture, creating a space where dancers could connect as equal collaborators.

4. What International Collaboration Can Teach Us

The exchange between different movement traditions also reflects a broader belief at the heart of United Activ: that artistic growth can come from stepping outside familiar ways of working.

“International collaboration forces you to listen deeply and step entirely outside your comfort zone. When you assemble artists raised in completely different pedagogical systems, cultures, and life realities, you immediately break down rigid ideas about how movement ‘should’ be created or taught.”

“What makes artistic collaboration so valuable to me is the shift in perspective it demands. It reminds us that technique is only one part of the equation; true artistic growth happens when you learn how other people navigate space, storytelling, and community.”

Lauren also sees cross-cultural collaboration as a way to build empathy, adaptability, and emotional intelligence, while creating a global network of artists who see movement as a bridge for human dignity and connection.

5. Creating Reciprocal Opportunities for Artists

For Lauren, the exchange is intended to be reciprocal: international artists learn to listen to and understand the local context, while Vietnamese dancers gain greater visibility, support, and opportunities to connect with the wider international dance community.

“For our international artist-mentors, I hope they leave Vietnam with a deep sense of humility, broad global perspective, and a lasting appreciation for the richness of Vietnamese culture, art, and people. I want them to carry forward the understanding that true leadership is never about imposing your knowledge onto a space, but about listening, honoring local contexts, and building non-extractive, reciprocal relationships wherever their careers take them.”

“For our local Vietnamese dancers, I hope they feel deeply valued, empowered, and recognized as the world-class creatives they are. I want United Activ to be a launchpad that offers them artistic support, professional development, and lasting global networks. I hope they walk away knowing that their voices, heritage, and movement traditions are essential to the global dance conversation.”

“I also look forward to working together more in the future, and deeply value this initial cohort as an important and ongoing part of the United Activ community.”

6. Taking Movement Beyond the Studio: The Mekong Delta

The residency extended beyond the Dancenter studio, with United Activ bringing its work and adapted movement workshops to communities across the Mekong Delta.

For Lauren, sharing their work across the Mekong Delta was an unforgettable journey of joy, curiosity, and genuine human connection.

“I was eager and humbled to take our work on the road to Bến Tre and Cần Thơ! We connected with local studios like Oxy Dance Studio and YIN Dance Studio, as well as community spaces like the SOS Children’s Village, Maison Chance, and the Phat Minh Pagoda Children’s Home.”

“I was particularly excited to present our new 15-minute dance fusion piece set to an original score created with renowned Singaporean producer Alif Aircho. The track blended traditional Vietnamese instruments with familiar everyday soundscapes, the hum of motorbikes, street vendor calls, local flora and fauna, and commonly spoken Vietnamese phrases.”

Sharing this work with children, staff members, leaders, and local dancers in more rural regions, as well as leading adapted movement workshops where everyone could participate, was an important part of the experience.

Artist Residency at Dancenter

At Dancenter, we believe that artistic development happens not only through performances, but also through the time, space, research, and exchange that happen behind the scenes.

Our Artist Residency program provides artists with a dedicated studio environment where they can develop new ideas, conduct research, rehearse, experiment, and connect with other dancers and the wider creative community.

United Activ’s residency reflects this approach through an international exchange between artists from different countries and movement traditions. The Dancenter studio became a space not only for creating choreography, but also for sharing practices, exchanging perspectives, and building relationships.

Through supporting residencies such as United Activ, Dancenter continues to create space for artists to research, experiment, collaborate, and grow, while encouraging artistic exchange between Vietnam and the wider international dance community.