Are you a K-pop lover who avidly watches every performance stage of your favorite artist’s newest release, but never dances it yourself? While elaborate choreography — a trademark of the K-pop genre — may seem intimidating, learning it does not require professional dancing experience.
“If it’s just for interest, K-pop dancing is perfect for beginners,” said Anna Zeng (‘25), a dancer trained in a variety of genres such as hip-hop, ballet, and K-pop.
As a novice K-pop dancer, choosing your first song to conquer is crucial for a successful learning experience. In general, girl groups have simpler choreographies, while many boy group dances require hip-pop foundations and stamina. With these considerations in mind, start with a song that makes you excited to learn — it will provide more motivation to sustain your learning effort.
Next, find a quiet environment spacious enough for big movements. It can be your living room, a dance studio, or your backyard. Having a mirror to track your movements provides a big bonus! Learning a new choreography also drains a lot of energy, so a water bottle and light snacks by your side will keep you energized.
Now you are ready to begin your K-pop dancing journey! One starting route is to learn directly from your artist’s choreography video. Watch its mirrored version, slow down your playback speed, and start dancing! If you anticipate being a slow learner and want step-by-step guidance on specific moves, Anna suggests following an explained dance tutorial made by other dancers on YouTube.
“The teachers can explain the moves to you, and sometimes that is better because you can listen to the audio and dance while watching the tutorial,” Anna said.
The most difficult part of learning a new K-pop choreography is memorization and fine-tuning. Try to gradually progress from dancing with counts, to matching with varying music speeds, and finally putting everything together with full-speed music.
“Personally, not practicing with the music at first helps because you can look at the mirror and observe which angle that you pose makes you look the best,” Anna said. “While you practice, you can also record yourself, and each time when you look back at your recording, you can see which part you want to change.”
If you can’t memorize the choreography in one practice session, don’t worry — let the material “marinate” in your head for some time before trying again. Repetition and patience are key!
