Kpop Magnetism: What pulls in the fans and why? The Choreography.
Next in our Kpop Magnetism series, we’ll hip-thrust, spin, and freestyle our way through the all-out happiness Kpop brings to fans through its world-renowned choreography. While musical arrangement, lyrics, and vocals are the perceived bread and butter to any great track, one simply cannot overlook the leaps and bounds choreography in the Kpop industry has made over the years. Where once artists were prided on their musical talent alone, dance choreography has become a major mover and shaker when it comes to drawing in Kpop fans from around the world.
When Kpop was in its infancy, many routines were heavily based on traditional dances, or didn’t include any choreography at all. However, as the influence of western music and dance began to flood Korea in the early to mid 1990′s, the choreography of Kpop gradually began to morph into a monster all its own. Taking influences from classic dance genres, such as ballet and tap, and integrating them with more modern styles, such as modern/freestyle dance and break dancing, Kpop’s love affair with dance began to grow. Through it all, three styles of dance–B-Boying, Freestyle, and Hip-Hop–have become the prince, queen, and king (respectively) of the Kpop choreography world, and have become integral in grabbing the attention of the Kpop fan and pulling them into the genre.
As break dancing (now termed B-Boying in the Kpop world) began to evolve on the streets of the South Bronx in New York City in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s, it became a staple in the U.S. choreography industry, highly influencing even more modern modes of dance, such as hip-hop. While the popularity of B-Boying has died down somewhat in the US, the dance style has continued to garner a worldwide fandom for decades. When B-Boying crossed the pond, so-to-speak, Korean youths became infatuated with it, spurring the country’s own B-Boying movement that has never truly faded.
When you poll Kpop fans and ask them who the best B-Boyer in the Kpop universe is, nine times out of ten you get SidiusHQ‘s R&B superstar Jay Park and his Art of Movement (AOM) crew based out of Seattle. Known for his killer style, both on and off the dance floor, Jay Park has become the quintessential icon when it come to modern day B-Boying in Kpop. With perfectly synchronized and highly acrobatic moves, Jay Park has moved B-Boying in the Kpop world to center stage and inadvertently has sparked a new-found, worldwide interest in this unique dance style.
While B-Boying has become a staple in Kpop’s dance arsenal, it’s modern dance, or freestyling, that has become the queen of Kpop choreography. Freestyle, by definition, includes a myriad of different dance elements and styles artfully mixed together to form something completely different. This is where the majority of Kpop choreography routines live.
Freestyle dance is a perfect fit for Kpop’s super large groups like Super Junior (video above), as choreographers are able to play upon the many individual members’ dance strengths to incorporate a variety of styles into their dance numbers. This also leaves the door wide open for some highly intricate dance choreography that truly leaves fans in awe. From eclectic and subtle movements to highly complicated ones utilizing up to as many as ten group members at once, its no wonder why Kpop’s dancing has become that wow factor that fans absolutely adore and love to emulate with every new release.
The hip-hop dance style first came on the scene in the late 1960′s, with the legendary James Brown credited as the one who started it all. This style slowly began to develop congruently with the growing hip-hop music genre. While hip-hop music was quite influential in the progression of its dance equivalent, the hip hop dance movement didn’t achieve worldwide notoriety until the 1990′s when dance battles became extremely popular. Iconic dance moves, such at the running man (and its derivatives) are still actively used in Kpop routines to this day, and artists like Girls Generation (and many others) utilize hip-hop based routines more frequently than any other form of dance out there.
In every sense of the word, the hip-hop dance style is king in Kpop’s choreography repertoire. With every new set of choreography that’s released, we can see the obvious influences of Hip-Hop with every move they make. With powerful movements, reiterating a tough and aggressive personality, hip-hop dance in Kpop always receives high praise from the fans and places Kpop artists in the realm of pop culture’s dance elite. Because, lets face it, you have to have some serious talent to pull off some of these routines. While some routines are more based in hip-hop than others, with every routine out there, elements of this dance style or its influence can be readily seen, making it the most utilized dance style in Kpop.
Kpop’s choreography has become so influential and important that when a new routine comes out from a popular artist, said routine –or parts of it–usually gets dubbed with its very own name and is often times reused in future routines. Dance moves such as Super Junior’s Sorry Sorry hand rub, Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra hip sway, DBSK‘s Mirotic chin pose, Girls Generation’s Gee crab leg, Wonder Girls‘ So Hot bracelet dance, Sistar19‘s My Boy body roll (video above), and even PSY‘s iconic horse riding dance from Gangnam style, have all solidified their place as some of the greatest dance moves in Kpop history, spurring not only a myriad of dance covers worldwide, but also prompting Korean groups to release dance practice videos in record numbers.
Kpop dance enthusiasts around the world are always on the hunt for the next great choreography, and their passion has turned into a booming movement (and business) worldwide. The interest and popularity of Kpop’s choreography has spawned hundreds of popular dance cover crews from around the world, which cover everything from the simplest of routines to the most advanced–and everything in between. Vietnam’s Kpop dance crew, St319, for example, has covered routines like TVXQ‘s Catch Me, SHINee‘s Sherlock, Kara‘s Step, 2NE1‘s Clap Your Hands, and EXO‘s Mama, and has not only become extremely popular with Kpop fans worldwide, but also has exemplified the true cult-like following that Kpop’s choreography has generated over the years.
Even though the era of flashmobs has died down globally in the last year, iconic dance routines, such as the one for SHINee’s Lucifer (video above), are still a staple at huge fan events, and can be seen being mimicked at concerts and festivals all over the world. Fans don’t hesitate to pop off their favorite artists’ well-known choreography at the drop of hat, and do so simply because they enjoy it and want to show their support and love for their favorite artists. Further proof of the fans’ love for Kpop choreography can be found easily on YouTube, as thousands of fancams have caught these “show the love” moments at concerts and events around the globe.
While dance covers have become a huge part of Kpop’s virility in the world, that influence hasn’t just been limited to the Internet, concerts, and fan events. This love for the art has also sparked classes in local gyms and dance studios worldwide. These businesses offer Kpop-themed classes, where they teach their clients highly popular Kpop routines step by step or, in the case of gyms, offer aerobics classes perfectly timed to Kpop, while utilizing iconic moves from across the genre. Even in small towns, far from the hustle and bustle of diverse urban areas, these classes are beginning to spring up and have become a testament to the true power of Kpop and its choreography.
So what is it about Kpop choreography that really pulls in the fans? Answer: Everything. There is something for everyone when it comes to dance in Kpop. Whether you enjoy sexier dancing with a more R&B-style groove, highly choreographed freestyle dancing that makes you want to get up and dance, or powerful hip-hop inspired routines that just make you feel invincible, Kpop has it all.
Just as fans of Kdramas are unable to nail down their favorite OST track, Kpop fans have an even more difficult time trying to pick their favorite Kpop dancers! Who do you think are the BEST Kpop dancers in the business? Tell us in the comment section below.
Sources:
Video: Jay Park, SM Entertainment (1,2), Starship, ST319, Youtube
Photo collage provide by author, secondary photo provided by Clover
St.319’s New Year 2013 greetings to hellokpop readers
About St.319
St. 319 is a K-pop dance cover group from Hanoi, Vietnam and was founded in January 2011 by Aiden and Zoie. Within a short time span of less than two years, it has already been garnering massive online attention for all their various K-pop dance cover music videos, spiced up with their own creation of stories. Their official YouTube account has over 110,000 subscribers and with over 25,000,000 total video views.
Featured stories of St.319
Uncovering St.319, the K-pop dance cover group from Vietnam
St.319′s latest dance cover attracted BoA’s attention
Hallyu in Vietnam: PSY’s Gangnam Style inspired dance talent St.319
Watch St.319′s latest video of its solo series, Ice Cream by HyunA, below:
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Hallyu in Vietnam: PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ inspired dance talent St.319
Dress classy, dance cheesy? You get the winning formula – Gangnam Style.
Talented K-pop dance cover group, St.319, has responded to the world’s most watched video, Gangnam Style, by performing the song as their latest dance cover project. The number 1 YouTube video by Korean singer Psy has registered more than 871 million views. With Gangnam Style, Psy has also recently picked up three awards at the MAMA 2012, and right after the award ceremony on the next day, he flew to Singapore to perform a free showcase at Marina Bay Sands on December 1.
St.319 is becoming one of the main Hallyu drivers in Vietnam due to the strong local interest and recognition of their K-pop dance performances, which also leads to the rapid buildup of local interest in K-pop and Korean culture. This has eventually attracted K-pop agencies and artists to take notice of the growing trend and began to hold concerts and showcases in the country. The recent K-pop festival in Vietnam include many prominent artists such as SNSD, TVXQ, BEAST, SISTAR, B.A.P, T-ARA and TEEN TOP.
2,000 fans welcome T-ARA’s arrival at the airport in Vietnam, Teen Top’s overwhelming popularity in Vietnam
Many K-pop fans are getting curious regarding St.319’s new dance cover project as the previous solo dance cover of BoA’s Only One has attracted the attention of the K-pop queen and earned her honest praise to the group through a tweet reply.
St.319’s latest dance cover attracted BoA’s attention
Will the latest work of St.319 draw the attention of the world K-pop icon Psy himself? Watch the video that has already hit over 100,000 views within a day and leave your comments below!
hellokpop is a media partner of St.319
Previous: [Exclusive] Uncovering St.319, the K-pop dance cover group from Vietnam
Additional information: Kpop Festival Vietnam 2012, all other news links: hellokpop.com
Teen Top’s overwhelming popularity in Vietnam
Teen Top has received an overwhelming interest in Vietnam.
On November 28th, during a special performance in Vietnam to celebrate the 20 years of diplomatic relations of Korea and Vietnam, Teen Top’s Vietnamese fans passionately supported and poured out their love as they performed for MBC Show! Music Core.
Competition: Teen Top added to Australian tour lineup; win the ultimate fan experience
On this day, the fans of the country joined in Hanoi with their self-produced t-shirts with Teen Top’s name and continued to show their love following the group to their next schedules to support them.
At the official press conference, the fans prepared gifts for Teen Top members. Those who came across the photos said, “Teen Top is the idol of Asia. Where is the end of their popularity?“, “Wow such great popularity in Vietnam too“, “Teen Top’s popularity is all over the place“, “I’m jealous of those fans who met Teen Top.”
The stage Teen Top performed on Show! Music Core will be aired on December 8th at 4pm.
Source: news and photo-The Star
2,000 fans welcome T-ARA’s arrival at the airport in Vietnam
Girl group T-ara left Korea for the airport in Hanoi, Vietnam on November 25th. The Vietnamese fans, who heard of the news of the expected arrival time, have been waiting for their arrival early in the morning at Noi Bai International airport, and there were about 2,000 fans who showed up to welcome them to their country. The airport security and police had to get involved to make sure everyone was safe.
The fans matched yellow outfits with T-ara’s logo printed on them and cheered loudly as T-ara exited the airport. The members of T-ara responded, “We were very touched but we worry if any of the fans got hurt”.
On the other hand, as Korea and Vietnam’s diplomatic relations have reached its 20 years anniversary, T-ara flew to Vietnam to be part of the the MBC Music Core K-POP Concert and Beautiful Together (아름다운 동행) performances
Source: new and photo-The Star
