Welcome to ‘I tried it,’ an ongoing series in which our reporters try novel or trendy experiences in New York — so you can decide if you want to.
I love working up a good sweat without going to the gym, and I love listening to K-pop. So when I found out there are several dance classes across the city that tick both boxes, I knew I had to try one.
That’s why I found myself trudging in the rain on a recent Saturday morning to take a K-pop dance class at I LOVE DANCE. The Times Square studio opened in 2021 and specializes in my favorite genre.
K-pop choreography combines hip-hop, jazz and electronic dance styles and is famous for its synchronized dance movies.
The genre has become one of the most popular in the U.S., thanks to industry titans like BLACKPINK, TWICE and BTS — all of whom have sold out shows in the New York area.
A big part of K-pop fandom is learning your favorite artist’s choreography, as evidenced by ‘K-pop in public’ dance videos (with some garnering millions of views on YouTube), or the ‘K-pop random dance’ challenges on TikTok.
No wonder dance teachers in the city have caught on.
I found several studios in the New York and New Jersey area offering some version of a K-pop dance class, including I LOVE DANCE.
The studio offers dozens of classes a month and averages about 1,000 attendees across its three locations in the city, according to founder MJ Choi.
Of the three choreography options available the week I visited, I chose “Fast Forward by Jeon Somi,” a catchy electro-pop number full of energy that I’ve had on repeat on my Spotify playlist.
I also chose it because I came across a video on YouTube where K-pop superstar Jeon Somi appeared in a dance challenge filmed in Times Square last month.
I soon learned the dance challenge was organized by instructors and longtime dancers with I LOVE DANCE. They did a mashup of the idol’s top hits, right in front of Times Square.
I figured if they were making videos with Jeon Somi, they were a…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply