1. When did you start dancing?
“I started dancing when I was five years old. I saw Swan Lake the ballet on TV. To my parents I told them I want to do this.”
2. How did you get into KPOP?
"I did ballet for a very long time. It was only a couple of years ago that I stopped taking classes. I always loved dance which is why I kept up with ballet for so many years. I think that in 2018 when I first heard BTS’ music a big part of what attracted me to them as a group, them as people who performed was their choreography. Getting into that and then discovering more kpop choreographies that’s sort of what led me down that route."
3.What BTS’ choreographies stand out to you and why?
"In terms of BTS choreographies, the ones that really stand out to me are “On” for the performance aspect. I really like the whole group performance and how everybody works together. When you see it on stage, when you see it on video it always looks so cool because there’s so many people involved, because there’s so many moving parts. I also really like Black Swan. Ballet was my first style so anything remotely close to that, contemporary, or jazz more traditional dance style when it comes out in K-Pop choreography I really like that."
4. What do you think makes K-Pop unique?
“I think one of the main attraction points of KPop is that it’s not a singular dance style. It’s a lot of different dance styles put together. Even though the majority of choreographies are based off hip hop dance moves, you also get some occasional choreos that use contemporary or they draw on aspects of tutting and voguing. Being able to bring that altogether into a package, you have the music that’s very good, you have the choreography that’s very good, you have the styling that fits everything together it just makes it something exciting for people to look at and learn more in terms of dance styles. It’s an easy introduction to the different kind of dance styles that there are. For me especially, that’s what attracted me to house, voguing, and tutting."
5. How did you begin teaching at Pineapple Dance Studios?
"Last year, me and my friends organized an inter-uni dance competition. We were searching for sponsorships and we reached out to Pineapple because they’re the biggest dance studio in London. They were very generous. They offered us a class pack kind of bundle as a prize for one of our winners. Then they were looking for Kpop dance teachers and we were interested so that’s how that started."
6. What other K-Pop choreographies stand out to you?
“I really like voguing and tutting and stuff. Aside from the BTS choreos that I’ve already mentioned, I would like to say Irene and Seulgi's “Naughty” that has a lot of tutting and is one of my most favorite choreos ever. I think BTS’ “Boy Meets Evil” that’s also sort of more contemporary, more acrobatic, it’s a very good performance to watch. If I had to pick one more, I think Chunga’s “Stay Tonight” that has a lot of voguing aspects as well.”
7. What destinations should dancers visit in London?
“Obviously, Pineapple is one of the dance studios you would have to visit if you are a dancer. We also have a couple of other famous ones too. Base is very good. I’ve taken a couple of classes there and always enjoyed it. In terms of other dance related spots, the West End is always a great place. If you can catch any musicals, it’s always inspiring to see people on stage doing a very good job.The Royal Opera House as well. There’s a lot of ballets.
8. How did BTS influence your dance journey?
“When I started discovering their choreographies and learning them for the sake of learning them, I had no expectations in my head that I would be immediately good at this. It brought me back to enjoying dance a lot more. That’s something that I’ll be thankful to them for always. Because I got into K-pop and stuff I met so many new friends, I joined my Uni dance team, we organized a competition. We took part in competitions, we did showcases. The whole journey with my dance over the past five years a lot of that can be attributed to BTS and their music.”
9.What have you learned from teaching?
“I have taught classes before in my Uni, but going to a more commercial studio where there are people of all ages I think I've learned how to adjust my teaching style. So that everybody’s comfortable with the dances especially if there are complete beginners or whether they’ve been dancing for a very long time. I think I also learned about feeling the enjoyment in dance. Sometimes there’s pressure to do well. I think when you come to a class you need to release all of that coming in. As a teacher, it’s impacted me in the dance classes I take as well."
9. What KPOP performers have you seen live and what did you think?
"I’ve seen quite a few in the past year live. BTS that I saw in 2019. They have a very good performance all the time. I think the stage setup is incredible. They put a lot of thought into how they want to present their performances not just from the dance style but the sets they have, the costumes they wear, that kind of thing. Another group that I think are very similar in that aspect that I've seen live are ATEEZ. Both times I saw them their performance style is intense but they keep up the energy ,the whole team. You can feel how they feed off the audience and how the audience takes their energy and gives it right back to them. So that’s always a spectacle to see."
10. What have you noticed between the London dance scene and LA dance scene?
"Last year, I was fortunate enough to take some dance classes in Los Angeles, at Ruts, Millenium, and Offstage. In particular, I wanted to take a Krump and Waacking class, as I knew those styles originated in LA. I really enjoyed taking classes in LA and would love to go back. As for the differences between the LA and London dance scenes, there aren't really any that I noticed. Whether in LA or London, everybody in the dance community supports each other and wants to see each other grow. There isn't a sense of competition and everyone gives their 100% in class."
11. What makes Pineapple Dance studios unique?
“ I think it’s a very old studio first of all. It was created by Debby Moore several years ago. I think it’s always been a pillar of the dance community in London and I think because it’s so close to the west end, you have a lot of people who are west end professionals that come in to teach. It’s always good getting industry insights from people who have experienced it and who have so much dance experience under their belts. It’s a very inspiring studio.”
12. How has KPop evolved and what do you think about the dance challenges?
"In 2018, when I first started Kpop choreography I used to seek out the ones that were a little more challenging just for myself, to try and challenge myself to grow and learn more as a dancer. As the years have gone by especially with recent 4th gen choreographies, they’ve just gotten more and more difficult. But I can appreciate that they’ve tried to create more simple dances that are easily accessible for everybody not just for dancers because it really does drive home the point that dance should be for everyone. Dance should always be enjoyable. I think it might have had a slight impact on the choreography in terms of the difficulty but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think any time that we can get people moving, get people dancing, just enjoying themselves that’s always a good thing."
13. What’s your advice for dancers?
“Keep Dancing, don’t think about how you can try to get better faster. Think about learning as much as you can from a variety of sources. Try different things, see what fits you the most, see what you like the most and go from there. Always keep learning, always keep dancing. Don’t try to compare yourself to others just compare yourself to the you of yesterday.”
14. What inspires you about BTS?
"For BTS, they’ve been an inspiring story for a lot of people who maybe have bigger dreams than people have told them they could have. If you had told BTS they’d be this big now they’d be like what? I think they’ve always been an underdog story but the main thing that I think draws people to them is maybe not different from other groups as well because I’m sure every single artist has put time, effort and dedication to their craft. BTS specifically the way they’ve managed to communicate with their fans, the way they’ve managed to show their authenticity every single time that’s attracted people to the group as well as their meaningful lyrics and dances that they’ve put together. The end result that they give to the fans speaks to a lot of people. "