Northwestern’s student-led K-pop dance group, K-Dance, held its sixth annual Spring Show in Ryan Family Auditorium on Friday night. Enthusiastic friends, family and fans filled the auditorium, erupting with cheers and shouts throughout the program.
Titled “K-Dance Star Athletics Championships,” this year’s Spring Show theme was inspired by the “Idol Star Athletics Championships,” which is a Korean show featuring K-pop celebrities competing in multi-sport events, including track, gymnastics and archery.
Nearly 100 students performed in the showcase’s 23 pieces, said Weinberg sophomore and K-Dance co-Performance Director Ryan Lee. Ensembles ranged from four to 12 performers for each piece.
While all the performances drew inspiration from K-pop, every piece was unique in its tone, energy and dance. Some pieces, like “Bag Bad Back” by RIIZE, featured sharp and powerful movements. Others, like “Dun Dun Dance” by OH MY GIRL, were bubbly and playful.
The showcase consisted of several pieces that required different processes of auditions and competitiveness, Lee said. Unlike the set and submission pieces, members for the pieces performed in the middle of the show were selected by a first come first serve sign-up process, not through auditions. This inclusive process was the reason for high performer participation, regardless of dance level, Lee said.
“We didn’t want this show to be just for a few dancers,” Lee said. “Obviously, putting on a competitive show is very important, but I think that the rest of the execs agree that the community engagement aspect cannot be something that’s ignored, so we always take that into account.”
Weinberg first-year and newly appointed K-Dance Communications Chair Adahlia Xu said the K-Dance community’s welcoming nature encouraged her to be more involved with the organization as an exec member.
Other than performing to celebrate members’ talents, the Spring Show serves as a transitional marker every year for K-Dance, Lee said.
Both current and incoming K-Dance executives organized the showcase, giving experienced executives the opportunity to train their junior counterparts, who assume their new leadership positions after the show.
Weinberg sophomore and K-Dance Performance Director Jessica Gomez said the interactions with underclassmen elevated her experience in the club.
“I just love performing, period,” Gomez said. “I really like the lights and the music — it gets me hype. Also working with freshmen is really cool, because they’re gonna take over the club, hopefully.”
Between performances, the showcase featured short videos of members playing their own K-Dance Star Athletics Championships, with two teams competing in table tennis, Connect 4, video games and track. Other parts of the show, like the executive board’s piece and bows, incorporated the theme through warm-up stretches and jump roping.
The performance has come together after months of planning, coordination and rehearsals since Winter Quarter, Lee said.
“Everyone’s really worked hard on this —dancers, execs, people behind the scenes,” Xu said. “I think it’s a really good picture of what we’ve put together and really resembles who we are as a community, and I’m really proud of it.”
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