Dance like an Idol – Sem K-Pop Dance Club

By Cosette Zhou ’21

Korean popular music has gained global influence from Blackpink topping iTunes and BTS presenting at the Grammys. Because of K-pop’s cross-culture success, tons of K-pop fans have emerged all around the world, including at Sem. Recently, a group of fans at Sem has brought the eye-catching K-pop dance to campus! 

“K-pop dance has so many benefits that we’ve never realized before,” said one of the leaders of Sem K-Pop Dance Club, Jiayu (Allison) Luo ‘23. “It not only helps more Americans understand South Korean culture but brings happiness as well!” Dance does not only activate the sensory and motor circuits of our brain but also the pleasure centers. Synchronizing our movements with the beat will double our pleasure. But why K-POP DANCE, instead of any other category? When The Opinator asked Allison Luo this question, she gave us an answer from the perspective of the one who not only dances K-pop but other types of dance as well: “In K-Pop Dance Club, you don’t need to worry about your level or skill.” K-Pop Club leaders completed a survey showing that almost every K-pop fan at Sem has no experience but really wants to try the dance. However, the K-pop leaders are confident that everyone in the club will learn and progress together. “In some official dance classes in our school there are level 1 and 2, and sometimes only Level 2 dancers can get great opportunities. This is not gonna happen in the K-pop dance club,” Allison also told us, “because we will always make sure everyone has the same opportunities. If any member feels it is hard to catch up to our pace, we will not ignore her and continue for those who are better, but stop and help her, so that the whole group can dance the most efficiently and beautifully!” 

Also, the pleasure of K-pop dance also comes from how people would normally feel when they are dancing. One of the members of the K-Pop Dance Club, Chi (Callista) Pham ‘23 told us: “I’m always a big fan of K-pop culture, but at first I was not sure whether I could handle the intense K-pop dance. Only after I joined the club and learned the first piece of K-pop dance, I gained so much more confidence in myself.” When dancing K-Pop dance, the club will always be thinking about how K-pop idols dance for their fans. “We always imagine we are the K-pop stars dancing and shining on stage, which makes us dance K-pop so much better than any other dance!” said Callista. 

After Sem K-Pop Dance Club was founded, many students have expressed interest but hesitated because of a lack of dance skill. However, in the first tutorial of K-Pop Dance Club led by Xiaobu (Cosette) Zhou ‘21 on February 21th, all five dancers who attended have learned the chorus choreography of Blackpink Jennie’s solo and memorized all the moves, even though no dancer had prior experience. The K-Pop Dance Club will continue to be inclusive and to bring the best dance and pleasures to the Sem community.