I had a little spit thing in my throat
So much of what makes K-Pop an iconic dance style is the dancing that comes with it!
But those dopes dance routines and fire music videos don't just happen! No!
They come from powerhouse choreographers
who are determined to put their mark on an evolving billion-dollar industry
We met with two of those choreographers: Ellen Kim and Lyle Beniga
to get the inside scoop on how those game-changing K-Pop dance moves are made.
So what was the creative process like when creating a dance for a K-Pop group that is entirely virtual like K/DA?
I have to say K/DA, League of Legends, that job, creatively, is my favorite. It's a dream!
The motion capture process actually made the creative process even more fun
Because it was with different characters, it was nice to think about the length of her nails.
So for example when she said crown, I was thinking
movements that would accentuate the fingers and the hands and even this movement.
It's so weird to do, but it was really fun to see it in a music video and on these AR characters because it was
unique and big. It was extremely fun and interesting to
direct and also be the characters and a movement coach for the AR,
for the live show, and also the green-screen for the music video, and then to work with real
humans (as in the artists) and all the twenty girls for the live show.
I will work for any gaming company because that was so much fun!
And Ellen wasn't the only one who had fun dancing as a super unique personality. The video racked up over
250 million views on YouTube and hundreds of dance covers were uploaded within days.
But you don't have to work with virtual characters to shake things up in the kpop scene,
sometimes a shift in style is all you need to get people talking.
Usually when I choreograph with artists, it's more so you don't have that much time with them.
But it was artist's development as well. So we got to really like train him a little bit.
But at the same time, vibe off of him because he's super talented
Just vibing off of him and his style and trying to find a pocket that's suitable for him.
And it's comfortable for him to perform and dance at the same time
We started working on "where you at" first because it was hard.
It was a hard piece at that time. With "wedding dress"
It was cool because it was between two songs actually.
As soon as we heard
"wedding dress" after that first kicked in, it was for sure that was the one. Like we knew we would kill
choreographically.
So, we really really wanted to bring into like, you know more of flavor, like a swag, and just something that was very
conversational that I didn't think was was there at that time.
All the movement was hard and hitting. It was purposeful,
it was more so for the lyrics.
Lyle's unique moves for Taeyang pushed his solo career to the next level and
pushed the entire K-Pop industry to take more influence from Hip Hop and R&B.
I've seen particular moves obviously being reused and recycled. You know
there's a structure that I knew was kind of like a different visual here
and then dance after, the breakdown after that, and then the catchy movement
that everyone can do.
As K-Pop dance continues to change, we also have certain artists that hold a special place in our hearts,
So we had to ask!
I have to say number one: Tiffany Young and I get to see her this Friday. And of course S.E.S!
Obviously Taeyang because you know, I relate to him and you know
I have a friendship with him. Who else EXO. I like them. They have a different style of choreography
It's very clean. They have a lot of control
If you want to learn how to dance like an iconic K-Pop idol too, then click on the link to take a dance class with
One of the many K-Pop choreographers that we have on STEEZY Studio.
What other K-Pop groups do you want to learn about next?
BTS? BlackPink? Itzy?
Comment below and let us know and we'll see what we can do!
And, of course, share this video with all the diehard K-Pop fans in your life. Thanks for watching! Annyeong!