Josephine Swan never imagined that her stay in South Korea would lead her into K-Pop's glittering and challenging world. Each day, she encounters new hurdles and adventures that fate has in store for her and her four team members. Between gruelling...
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The Training Centre's dance studio resembled the one in the main building when I first visited YG Entertainment.
A wide room lined with light laminate and a wall-length large mirror in which one could watch his every move and those of his fellow dancers. Dark benches had been placed at the sides of the room for the dancers to sit on during the short breaks. We had put our training bags in the corner. In addition to the benches, there were also music systems and two computers in the room, through which the music was played. We handed our phones to our manager, who kept them safe for use during training to avoid distractions.
Nervousness fluttered in my stomach, increasingly building up to the coming dance practice as I warmed up my muscles for the past twenty minutes. My tight black leggings adjusted to my movements. The other three girls around me did the same and stretched their muscles. I smiled as I looked into the large mirror several times and saw their shocked expressions. Similarly amazing was the video performance of my performance according to my new flatmates, my warm-up exercises turned out to be.
At the moment I was sitting on the floor with both legs almost in a sideways split and alternately grasping my toes with my hands or leaning forward towards the middle. Then I bent one of the legs back while the other leg was stretched and bent forward. My hands clasped the foot. My long hair flowed down the sides of my head to the floor.
"Very impressive." said a strange female voice and I raised my head. A young Korean woman had just entered the room. Around her waist was a workout bag. Her brown eyes looked at me eagerly before letting her gaze wander over the other three girls. I immediately loosened my stretch and unceremoniously stood next to Hannah.
Together we bowed.
"Annyeonghaseyo," we said together.
The woman in front of us acknowledged this with a smile and placed her bag in the corner of the room.
"Annyeonghaseyo," she said. She was noticeably smaller, petite and only a few years older than me. Her brown hair was long and tied in a simple braid.
With a few steps, she stood in front of us.
"We have a new apprentice," she said and her eyes met mine.
"You must be Josephine," she said, and I bowed to her again. By now I had gotten used to the way Koreans pronounce my name. In the early days in Korea, I had often had to smile at the way Ahri and Jihe pronounced my name.
"My name is Hong Eun-ha. I am one of the many dance teachers and choreographers and have been employed under YG Entertainment for three years." she introduced herself.
"You will learn the basic skills from me and the other dance instructors and we will steadily increase from lesson to lesson. If you need more practice, don't hesitate to ask. In addition, the practice rooms are also at your disposal, provided they are not occupied by other artists or trainees." she said and I nodded before bowing to her in thanks.
"From your warm-up exercises, I assume that you seem to have some experience in dancing?" she asked and I straightened up.
"I've been doing rhythmic gymnastics since childhood," I answered honestly and my counterpart nodded in satisfaction.
"Rhythmic gymnastics involves a variety of skills such as agility, precision, perceptiveness, conditioning, endurance and flexibility. Many important assets that we try to impart to the trainees in their training and will work on meticulously. Skills that are vital if they are to make their debut. On stage and in front of hundreds, if not thousands of spectators, you can't afford to make any mistakes. The crowd will register whether you give ten or one hundred per cent to them," she explained, turning her words to the entire group. Her eyes moved to me again.
"We will concentrate on popping, locking, sliding, hip hop and jazz. Of course, it will take time to find your style. Many groups have different concepts and stay true to them because they create a certain base within the group. But you will find a few distinct acrobatic and ballet-like figures in the K-pop industry. Which doesn't mean they won't help you in the future." She said, confirming my conversation with my roommates yesterday.
"Similar to your gymnastics, the choreographies are complex and tailored to the music at hand. Every movement is registered and assessed by us, including synchronicity and expression. You are to be perceived as a whole, after all."
Her eyes wandered over the remaining three girls.
"I'm sure the girls have already explained to you how the evaluations are to take place at the end of each month. The producers and the CEO of our company will each expect a solo performance, a group dance and a group performance including dance. You are free to choose your songs, but we expect you to develop your choreography for each dance. They should be different from each other and must not be repeated over time. We will record all performances on camera, not only as proof but also to document your progress. I don't need to tell you that your performances should and must improve with each month if you want to continue training under YG Entertainment," she explained and we shook our heads in unison. Hong Eun-ha looked at us in turn and then nodded her head before walking over to the music system. I tugged my dark grey shirt into place.
"Alright...let's get started." she just said and in the next moment, loud music blasted from the speakers. Hannah and I stood diagonally behind Jinny and Su-a, clearly visible in the large mirror. And visible to our teacher.
Eun-ha walked into the middle of us all before the dancing had already started.
