Professional dancer and choreographer Viet Dang has launched a groundbreaking new venture titled Guided Dance Meditation—a pioneering movement and television series that blends dance, meditation, and wellness. CHOPSO sat down with Viet, also known as MoOon, to talk about his latest creative endeavor. Stream an exclusive six-episode series of Guided Dance Meditation—streaming FREE now on AAM.tv!
How and why did you decide to create Guided Dance Meditation? What is it about?
VD: I spent many years working as a professional choreographer and dancer—creating for stars, TV, film, and major stages around the world. On the surface, it was a dream life. But deep down, I kept asking: Is this all dance has to offer? I was longing for something more honest, more human—something that wasn’t about performance or pleasing others, but about presence and truth.
Even as a child, I found myself meditating—before I even knew the word for it. I’d sit in lotus position and just be. But stillness never felt completely still to me—I always felt the urge to move. Later, I realized that for some of us, movement is meditation. Dance is our first language—before we spoke, we moved. In ancient times, movement was sacred. It was a way to commune with the Divine. But somewhere along the way, dance got confined to the stage, the studio, the club… or commodified for attention, the ego, or perfection.
Guided Dance Meditation was born from this longing—to reclaim the sacredness of movement and make it accessible again. It’s a way to come home to yourself—not through performance, but through presence. It’s about feeling instead of fixing. It’s about letting your body lead you, beyond judgment, beyond control.
Each session is a safe space to move intuitively, to breathe, to release, and to reconnect with the wisdom that already lives within you. It’s not about getting it “right.” There’s no choreography. No mirrors. Just music, guidance, and a gentle invitation to listen to what your body is asking for in that moment.
This is dance not as entertainment—but as healing. As devotion. As your birthright.
I know you have been a professional dancer for years. What did you take from your dance background into Guided Dance Meditation?
VD: What I carry with me isn’t the choreography—it’s the devotion to the body as a vessel of truth.
As a professional, I trained hard. I learned to sculpt movement into something beautiful, controlled, precise. But in Guided Dance Meditation, we’re not aiming to impress—we’re practicing presence. My background gave me the tools to guide with intention, to read energy, to hold space. And many of the techniques I use—breathwork, posture, grounding, stage presence—are the same ones I used to help artists feel confident on stage or in front of a camera.
But now, they’re not just for performance—they’re for life. For people who want to feel more connected, more confident, more alive in their everyday bodies. Movement becomes a pathway not just to presence, but to healing. Because the body stores everything—traumas, joys, fears, and breakthroughs. And when we learn to listen, it begins to release what we’re ready to let go of.
Why did you adopt the name of moOon for this creation?
VD: For over 30 years, I’ve built a name—Viet Dang. That name is known in the dance world. It carries the legacy of my work as a choreographer and performer. But when I began this new journey, I felt the need to step into a new identity—one that reflected not the outer spotlight, but the inner light.
If my sun sign is Viet Dang, then “moOon” is my moon sign. The soft, emotional, introspective part of me. This practice is not about the stage. It’s about the soul.
The name also carries personal meaning. When I was little, my mother and other kids used to call me “moon face”—probably because of my big head and small body. It was something I once felt teased for, but now I reclaim it as something sacred. The moon reflects light, moves with cycles, and never rushes. It invites softness, surrender, and deep inner knowing. That’s the energy of Guided Dance Meditation. And when I once heard someone use the name “Moon,” something deep in me stirred. I knew—it was meant for me.
How did you come into meditation? When did you start meditating yourself?
VD: I started meditating at a very young age—around six years old—even before I knew what meditation was. I would sit cross-legged in silence, in lotus position, often in the mornings or evenings, and just be in conversation with something beyond this world. Maybe it was cultural, maybe it was intuitive—but it was already part of me. Later in life, when I formally “discovered” meditation again, I laughed and thought, Oh… so that’s what I’ve been doing this whole time.
But even then, I was craving stillness—and I didn’t always know how to find it. Traditional meditation didn’t always feel accessible to me. Sitting completely still felt unnatural. My body wanted to move. It wasn’t that I couldn’t focus—it’s that my energy asked to express itself, not suppress itself.
So I started to experiment. I followed my breath, let music guide me, and began to drop into meditative states through intuitive dance and movement. That’s when it clicked. That’s when it began to heal. I realized meditation doesn’t always mean sitting down in silence—it can mean moving with deep presence, with awareness, with intention.
And I know I’m not alone in this. So many people struggle with meditation because they think it has to look a certain way. Guided Dance Meditation offers a different way in—a way that honors your body as part of the journey, not something you have to fight against to reach peace.
What is the essential connection between movement and dance and meditation, in your opinion?
VD: Dance, in its essence, is meditation. It’s one of the oldest, most direct ways to enter a state of presence. Whether it’s through breath, stillness, or movement—the goal is the same: to quiet the noise and return to yourself.
When you move with awareness, when you let your body speak without judgment, you’re meditating. You’re listening. You’re healing. It’s not about how it looks—it’s about how it feels. Dance gives us access to a truth beyond the mind. It brings soul into motion.
How is Guided Dance Meditation different from just dance or meditation?
VD: It lives in the space between. Traditional dance often focuses on form, technique, or entertainment. Traditional meditation emphasizes stillness and mental focus. Guided Dance Meditation brings the two together in a way that’s intuitive, embodied, and healing.
There’s no choreography. No pressure to “do it right.” It’s about letting your body move you. The guidance helps anchor you in breath, intention, and presence—but the movement is yours. It’s a practice that meets you where you are, emotionally and physically, and invites you to feel your way home.
What is the most important thing you want someone to take away from Guided Dance Meditation?
VD: That your body is sacred. That it’s not something to fight against, but something to listen to.
I want people to walk away feeling more connected to themselves, more trusting of their own wisdom, more forgiving of their past. Whether it’s a small shift or a big breakthrough, the most important takeaway is this: you already have everything you need within you. This practice just helps you remember.
What’s the purpose of Guided Dance Meditation?
VD: The purpose is reconnection—with your body, your intuition, your truth.
It’s a space to feel, to release, to remember who you are underneath the noise. Whether you come for emotional healing, spiritual clarity, or simply a deeper relationship with yourself, Guided Dance Meditation is here to support your journey back to wholeness.
What’s your favorite food?
VD: Right now? Something warm and grounding—like a nourishing bowl chicken pho noodles, or roasted veggies with protein. Food that feels like home in the body. A hug from the inside.
What’s one thing you’d recommend everyone to do every day, besides Guided Dance Meditation?
VD: Make healthy choices for yourself—over and over again. Every moment is an invitation. Choose love. Choose presence. Choose what truly supports you, not just what soothes the surface.
Even just taking a moment to breathe, to check in, to be honest with yourself—that is a radical act of care.
Stream the exclusive free six episodes of Guided Dance Meditation on AAM.tv now!
