Former K-Pop Idol Dishes On Whether There Is Really A Hierarchy Amongst Professional Dance Groups
When it comes to K-Pop, there is no denying that there is a hierarchy between idols. The idols who have been around for longer are called sunbaenims and have a huge amount of respect from their junior artists. Although groups like BTOB have expressed their desire to remove many of these aspects from idol culture, it is still very present.
Although the world of professional dance groups in Korea seems a world away from the K-Pop idol scene, it seems that there might be more similarities than first thought.
Former Blady member Tina (now more commonly known as Soobin or Christine Park) recently released a video on her YouTube channel, discussing what it’s like to work with dance crews and choreographers.
During the video, Tina spoke about what it was like being around dancers during music shows. In particular, she spoke about how there were distinct hierarchies between different dance groups and within the groups themselves.
According to Tina, she saw a lot of moments that seemed more similar to K-Pop when it came to dancers and respecting those with more experience than them.
Sometimes there might be better dance crews or more popular dance crews. Or you know, there might be people who have been working with the broadcasting or dance for a long time. Honestly, it’s very complicated within the dance scene.
— Tina
Tina then recalled what would happen every time one of the senior choreographers came to music shows to monitor performances, there was always so much respect, and it was something that she didn’t expect.
Other dancers from other groups would be like ‘hello’ to the other choreographers. That was very interesting to me because it’s not like the dancers are saying hello and doing 90-degree bows to idols, but there is a hierarchy within the dancers.
— Tina
Although it might have been an initial shock, Tina then said that this respect was very much on show during Mnet‘s show Street Woman Fighter, particularly towards dancers like Honey J and Lip J, who have been in the industry for a long time!
Korean society has always been praised for its respectful attitudes. Tina showcases that this is the case in every part of society! Despite the misconceptions about professional dancers, they are just as polite as idols. You can watch the whole video below.
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