Since I posted on K-pop this week, I thought it would be nice to do a list of some of my favorite dance performances to watch. My tastes run toward street and Latin (mostly flamenco, which I studied for 2 years), so that’s what I’m sharing here:
- Might as well start with K-pop then, right? My three (four?) favorite dancers in the industry right now are all signed to SM Entertainment and are in the super-group SuperM—so that’s handy. But their best dance performances are with their other groups or solo. We’ll start with Taeyong as he’s the youngest: check out Kick It (just an awesome video in general; he’s the blond one at center) and this freestyle.
- If you made me pick just one K-pop dancer, it would be Kai (Exo). I’m partial to his personal combination of power, presence, and technique. Check out ICU: that should do it.
- Taemin (SHINee) is known as the “idol’s idol” because objectively he’s the best dancer in K-pop right now (and maybe ever). His style is a bit too decadent and abstract for me, but there’s no denying his superhuman talent. And by all reports he’s a really nice guy. I like “Advice.”
- Here’s a performance showcase for the main dancers in SuperM, which lets me sneak Ten (WayV) in here. He’s awesome. If we were just talking style, he would top my list.
- If you like street dance you absolutely have to check out the LXD: Legion of Extraordinary Dancers series. It didn’t get a lot of buzz when it came out, and I think John M. Chu ran out of money before he finished filming all the episodes he had planned, but still it’s an incredible archival work: all of the genres and most of the best dancers of the early 00s are featured. Don’t try to follow the plot—as in martial arts movies, it’s just a thin thread to string the dance sequences on.
- If you haven’t checked out Jabbawockeez, you need to. They’re doing a residency in Las Vegas right now.
- In terms of flamenco, it’s hard to do better than the trilogy of films by Carlos Saura: Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El Amor Brujo. I’m also fond of Yjastros, the dance company of the National Institute of Flamenco in Albuquerque, because my flamenco teacher used to be a member.
The Rookery 