The popular KPop group Seventeen is using their platform to promote their individual artistry and spread different dance forms to a mainstream audience.
Contemporary dance developed in the mid-20th century and has now become one of the most dominant genres in modern times. It has a focus on self-expression, highlighted with free movements and improvisation. However, many people would still struggle to identify what contemporary dance looks like, and many view it as pretentious. Contemporary art is something which is often seen as a high-brow form of art and dance is no exception to this. Mainstream consumers tend to avoid this performance style due to this perception and the belief that they will be unable to understand or connect to the artform.
However, KPop as a mainstream form of performance is helping to change this perception. Kpop has taken over the music industry with its striking visuals and catchy songs but the most impactful element of KPop is its plethora of intricate and hypnotic dances. Many groups are renowned for their dance abilities and bringing highly choreographed group dances back into the entertainment industry.
Seventeen is the perfect example of this. As one of the biggest groups in KPop, Seventeen is most well-known for their perfectly synchronised, self-choreographed dances with some people even claiming they are the best dancers in the industry. Whether you agree with this statement or not, everyone can agree that they are an incredibly talented group with incredibly versatile performances. The main reason for this is how the team is structured, with all the members broken into 3 separate ‘teams’: the performance team, the hiphop team and the vocal team. Each of these teams is responsible for some element of the group’s performance; the vocal team handles lyrics and production and the hip hop team helps with production and rap. But it is the performance team which is key in the creation of Seventeen’s distinctive choreography and their ability to popularise alternative dance forms.
Apart from creating the entire group’s choreography, the performance team also releases their own separate dance videos. They use these as chances to experiment with different styles and showcase the expertise of the different dancers in the team. One of these performances was to Seventeen’s song Lilili Yabbay, where the team performed on the streets of Brooklyn with a contemporary version of 13 Month’s Dance. The team combines the strengths of each of the members to create a juxtaposition between the jarring instrumentals, strong vocals and almost dreamy dance. This song has now become one of the group’s most popular b-sides and has garnered much attention for the mesmerising choreography.
The music video created so much attention that Billboard wrote an article praising their intricate choreography and artistic performance, which only helped to skyrocket the influence of contemporary dance in the KPop industry.
The individual members also release their own dance videos alongside both the performance team and group as a whole. These allow the artists to express their individual styles and curate this is an art form that suits them.
The youngest member of the group, Dino, has an ongoing series titled Dino’s Danceology where he choreographs dances to the songs of other popular artists including Drake, Charli XCX, the Jonas Brothers and Avicii. This allows him to explore his favourite dance styles while also experimenting with new ones, with many of his videos gaining millions of views.
Another member, who is commonly referred to as The8, has also released a series of contemporary art videos which he directs and choreographs himself. The most popular of these has gained almost 2 million views, while the others also obtain hundreds of thousands of likes, comments and views. He uses beautiful visuals and cinematography to initially draw in the audience, while also exploring themes of isolation, heritage and other ideas that many people (including his fans) can relate to.
With such a large fanbase, the impact of Seventeen and their experimental approach to dance cannot be overstated. Many fan-led KPop dance groups have created dance covers of the group’s contemporary performances, including East2West, a Montreal-based performance crew who currently have 1.5 million followers on YouTube. These cover groups tend to specialise in the hip hop-heavy choreography championed by many KPop groups, but through Seventeen, they have begun to diversify their performances and explore contemporary dance.
It has also become a trend for professional contemporary dancers to react to Seventeen’s choreography, both the purely contemporary performances as well as the whole group performances. The recognition and respect they receive from these dancers proves just how talented and well-thought out their choreographies are, and how impactful their performance can be for their fans and mainstream audiences.
Although contemporary dance still has these connotations of being ostentatious and not consumable for the masses, KPop choreographers and groups continue to use elements within their performances, which their fans have come to love and cherish. As artistic expression becomes a common trope within the industry, we can only hope that more people can be exposed to alternative artforms through their beloved idols.
