〖🅝⋮🅒〗Shut Up and Dance - Choreo Chat

Boom /CHOREOGRAPHY: Adrian Vendiola, The Quick Style

There are a lot of things I love about NCT, but the choreo is definitely one of my favorite things. Trying to break down dance styles while building the Getting to Know Series gave me a chance to go deep into it, but I wanted to start a thread that was just about dance! I'm not a dancer but I certainly love watching dance and talking about it...

I hope it's more than just me talking in this thread - you could just say you like this movement or that movement or just love the choreo. You don't have to write an essay like me!

Essay starts now. Sorry...

Anyhoo, I was looking for a Dream one to kick this off and found these cool dance practice fancams from Boom! I like fancams for looking at choreo because sometimes because they can show you the detail you miss in the group shots - partly because so much is happening and sometimes just the crazy camera cuts on music shows. And of the things I love about NCT are all the small elements that happen in their choreo and make it so complex.

I picked Renjun because he's in the back for a lot of this choreo and he's actually pretty interesting to watch. He's a great dancer and dude is working like the rente is due even when he's behind Triple J in the front, blocking his face time. He has that combination of flair and ease with power and strength that many of the Dreamies do when dancing. Dude has this slick little spin move at 1:38 that I never saw. My only gripe here would be facial expressions are missing - he's clearly thinking about the choreo. He's behind the very expressive Haechan for a moment late in the choreo that got me thinking about it..

List of NCT Choreographers

NCT, like other SM groups, has a main choreographer, but also works with other choreographers on different songs. The group has worked with American, Japanese and Korean choreographers and does have frequent collaborators.

Many of their choreographers are rooted in hip hop, have dance crews and/or run their own dance studios. In fact, some of the choreographers started as dancers with other SM artists like EXO or as assistants to existing choreographers.

Choreographers with 3 or more works:

• PREPIX Ill (Ill Lee of PREPIX)
  • Original main choreographer and co-choreographer of NCT, also often directed dance practice videos
  • Also NCT 127, NCT Dream concerts, year-end awards ceremony stages, director of dance practice videos
  • Leads PREPIX dance studio and dance crew
  • Current role: performance director, director for NCT
  • Choreo for all groups

• The Quick Style
  • Norwegian hip hop dance group and choreographers
  • In Kpop: BTS Boy with Luv (with Rie Hata), Blood, Sweat and Tears (with Keone Madrid, Son Sung Deuk), Save Me (with Keone Madrid) SuperM One (Monster & Infinity) (with Keone Madrid, We Dem Boyz)
  • In J-pop: FAKY Little More, The Light
  • Mostly with NCT U or 127

• Rie Hata
  • Japanese dancer and choreographer, leader of dance crew - "Queen of Swag"
  • In Kpop: BTS Idol, Mic Drop (with Lyle Beniga), Anpanman, Boy with Luv, Airplane Pt. 2; EXO Tempo; CL Baddest Female; Red Velvet Irene & Seulgi Monster (with Janelle Ginestra, Team Switch); Red Velvet Bad Boy; Ateez Pirate King (with Ateez); VIXX - The Scientist; Twice Signal; BoA "Nega Dola"
  • In J-pop: Exile, Generations from Exile Tribe, Crazyboy, Sandaime J Soul Brothers
  • In Western pop: Chris Brown, Omarion
  • Mostly with Dream

• Keone Madrid
  • Famed American hip hop dancer and choreographer.
  • In Kpop: BTS Run, Dope, Fire, Not Today, DNA, I'm Fine, Singularity, Am I Wrong; Blood, Sweat and Tears (with The Quick Style and Son Sung Deuk), Save Me (with The Quick Style), SuperM One (Monster & Infinity) (with The Quick Style, We Dem Boyz); VIXX Fantasy, Shangri La; GOT7 Just Right, A, Around The World, All About You, Laugh, Just Right; Kai Ride or Die (with Kim Seokchan), Peaches (with Bada Lee and Bailey Sok), Taemin Idea (with Kasper, Ian Eastwood, Bailey Sok); SHINee Atlantis (with GRV and Kasper); JUS2 Focus on Me; SF9 Now or Never; 2NE1 Clap Your Hands, Can't Nobody; Taeyang Just a Feeling; Monsta X; B.A.P. Young Wild and Free; Junho So Good, Love Letter; Trouble Maker - Now, Zhera, XOX; 2 PM Come Back When You Hear This Song, Adtoy, Step by Step, My House, Guilty Love, Higher, Had Enough Parties; B1A4
  • In Jpop: Daichi Mura Right Now, I'm On Fire, Can't You See Our Flag Wavin in the Sky
  • In Western pop: Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar

• Ryu.D - (Auspicious Ryud)
  • NCT trainer
  • Members have been taking lessons with him since they were trainees.
  • Korean dancer and choreographer, leader of Auspicious Dance Crew.
  • He also creates choreography for staged version performances of MV choreo or the intro pieces before Kick It, Punch, etc.
  • In Kpop: Eunhyuk "Be" (with Danho); LOONA "Paint The Town" (PTT) (co); ONF "Beautiful Beautiful"; WEI "Twilight"; SuJu D&E "Nolove" (with Danho) , Super Junior "House Party" (with Danho and MOI); Enoi "W.A.Y.; " Monsta X "Rush Hour" (with Danho); Pentagon "Feelin'" Like with Youngbeen; Pentagon x Auspicious; many live performances for groups on year-end shows; worked with Pentagon as director on Kingdom TV show

• Bada Lee
  • Lead Dance Trainer of WayV - Ten has posted IG posts dancing with her
  • Korean dancer and choreographer
  • In Kpop: The Boyz "Maverick" (with Mihawk Back, Nino Kim, Yumeki Takenaka, You Won, Hansol Lee); aespa "Savage" (with Kiel Tutin, Bailey Sok, Rozalin), "Next Level "(with Kiel Tutin, Jojo Gomez, Han Hauen, Yeojin, La Chica, Rozalin); Kai "Reason" (with Vata), "Peaches" (with Anthony Lee and Bailey Sok)
  • Bada created the signature arm moves in Next Level
  • Bada is also the dancer with the long grey hair during Kai's Kloor Beyond Live concert
  • Also performance director (aespa "Savage", Kai "Peaches")
  • Mostly with WayV

• Sea Ni (Ikju Shin)
  • Korean dancer and choreographer
  • SM dance trainer
  • PREPIX asst
  • Mostly NCT 127

• Choi Hyoje
  • Korean choreographer
  • Choreographed for TVXQ, Shinee, NCT, The Boyz
  • Former NCT and SM choreographer and dance
  • In Kpop: Shinee "Who Waits for Love", "All Day All Night", "Attention", VeriVery "Guess Who", Attention, Shadow, Taemin Holy Water

• Rino Nakasone (previously Rino Kinawa)
  • Renowned Japanese choreographer and dancer who worked with SM Entertainment.
  • In Kpop: SHINee "Replay", "Lucifer" (with Shim Jae-won), "Juliette"; Girls' Generation "Genie" (with Shim Jae-won), "The Boys", "Oh", "Hoot"; f(x) "Nu Abo", "Hot Summer"; TVXQ "Keep Your Head Down", "Android" (with Shim Jae-won); Red Velvet "Rookie", "#Cookie Jar", BoA "Copy & Paste:
  • In Jpop - AKB48 "Heart Ereki," "Gingham Check"
  • In Western pop: Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani (she was one of the Harajuku Girls).
  • Only with NCT 127

• ReiNa QueenMe
  • Japanese hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • Member of Criminalz Crew dance crew
  • In K-pop: Stray Kids "Back Door" (with Sienna Lalau)
  • In J-pop: OWV "Get Away", HTK48 "突然 Do love me!"
  • Mostly NCT U

• S**t Kingz
  • Japanese dance crew, hip hop dancers and choreographers
  • In K-pop: SHINee "Dazzling Girl"; Super Junior "Spy"; EXO "Love Me Right," "History," "Lotto," "Coming Over"; EXO-CBX Magical Circus Tour; Toheart - "Delicious"; Pentagon "Sha La La"
  • In J-pop: Exile, Nissy, Sky-Hi, Da-iCE,

• Sooram Oh
  • Korean choreographer and hip hop dancer
  • Member of Pheromone dance crew
  • In Kpop: Yezi "Secreto"; Yang Yoseop "Brain"
  • Mostly WayV

Choreographers with 2-3 choreos

• Danho - Auspicious Crew
  • Korean hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • Member of Auspicious Crew
  • In K-pop: Monsta X "Rush Hour" (with Ryu. D), Stray Kids - "District 9" (co-choreo), Xiumin "Shake", Super Junior D & E "No Love", Super Junior "House Party" (with Ryu.D and MOI)

• Hyunse Park
  • Korean dancer and choreographer
  • Mostly with NCT 127

• Tony Testa
  • Famed American choreographer, director and dancer
  • Selected by SM Entertainment to train their artists, including EXO, SHINee, Girls Generation, TVXQ, NCT
  • Created iconic choreos for SM, including the EXO Wolf Tree, SHINee Sherlock, NCT Cherry Bomb
  • In Kpop: EXO "Wolf", "Overdose"; SHINee "Everybody", "Sherlock"; Girls' Generation "Lion Heart"; Super Junior "Mamacita", "Super Clap"; TVXQ "Catch Me"; EXO Planet tour
  • In Western pop: Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyoncé.
  • Worked on several iconic early NCT choreos

• Melvin Timtim
  • American hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • Director of S-Rank dance crew
  • Also taught dancers including Taemin and Jisung on Korean TV show where main dancers learned to dance from American choreographers
  • In K-pop: Ateez "Thanxx", covers of his choreo by Kai, Hoshi, Treasure
  • In J-pop: King & Prince "Magic Touch"

Choreographers with 2 choreos

• Chocobi
  • Korean dancer and choreographer
  • Tied into PREPIX Studio
  • In K-pop: Key "Yellow Tape",

• Josh Price
  • American hip hop dancer and choreographer

• Alexander Chung
  • Canadian hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • In Western pop: Chris Brown
  • In kpop: EXO "Electric Kiss", "Blooming Day" (with Kasper)

• Anthony Lee (Kinjaz)
  • American choreographer and dancer
  • Co-founder of the famed Kinjaz dance group
  • In Kpop: Winner "Millions"; SuperM "No Manners"

• Jinwoo Yoon
  • Korean hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • In kpop: Stray Kids "Easy", A.C.E. "Callin'" (with Koosung Jung)

• Scott Forsyth
  
  • Canadian choreographer
  • Leader of Brotherhood Crew
  • In Kpop: The Boyz "D.D.D.", Stray Kids "My Pace," EXO "Ko Ko Bop" (with Mihawk Back), Super Junior D&E's "Bout You"; Treasure "Boy" (with Kinjaz, Sienna Lalau, Kim Byung Gon, Young Sang Lee); Vav "Dance with Me"
  • In C-pop - Chris Lee - "Liu Xing (Boss)"

• Taeyong
  • Member of NCT 127

Choreographers who only worked on one choreo (alphabetical)

• Adrian Vendiola

• Antoine Troupe
  • blah

• Baiba Klints
  • Latvian choreographer and dancer
  • In Kpop: Key - "I Wanna Be"

• Brian Puspos
  • American choreographer and dancer

• EZ Twins
  • Slovenian dancers and choreographers
  • In Kpop: TVXQ Chance of Love, Truth; 2 PM Make It; Rain & JYP Switch to Me; Lay Zhang Honey; Got7- Breath

• Fuko
  • Japanese choreographerr
  • In K-pop: SNSD, Red Velvet All Night (with Rino Nakasone), #CookieJar (with Rino Nakasone)
  • In J-pop: Koda Kumi Killer Monster (with Maiko Fukuda), Eh Yo, Lollipop, Butterfly (Gossip Candy)
  • In Western pop: Rihanna

• Julian DeGuzman
  • American hip hop choreographer and dancer

• Jumi Lite
  • Japanese dancer and choreographer

• Jung Koosung
  • Korean hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • Unequalled Style dance crew
  • In Kpop: The Boyz "Thrill Ride" (with Mihawk Back, We Dem Boyz, Nino Kim); A.C.E. "Callin'" (with Jinwoo Yoon)
  • In C-pop: Luhan "Role Play" (with Junsun Yoo, Jay Kim, Lia Kim)

• Kevin Maher
  • American choreographer
  • In Kpop: Girls' Generation Party; Max (Changmin) Chocolate; BoA Camo
  • In Western pop: Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Selena Gomez, Becky G, tours for Justin Bieber, Madonna and J. Lo

• Kida The Great
  • blah

• Kyle Hanagami
  • American dancer and choreographer
  • In Kpop: Blackpink Ddu-du Ddu-du, Kill This Love, Boombayah, Ice Cream; aespa Black Mamba (with Han Haeun, Janelle Ginestra); Girls Generation You Think, Holiday; Taeyeon Why; Red Velvet Automatic, Be Natural, Ice Cream Cake, Russian Roulette, Red Flavor, Power Up, Peek-A-Boo, Zimzalabim, Psycho (with Mina Myoung, Bailey Sok); f(x) 4 Walls; EXO-CBX Hey Mama; Girls On Top Step Back
  • In Western pop: Justin Bieber, CNCO

• Nappytabs
  • American dancers, choreographers and directors
  • In Western pop: Madonna, Calvin Harris, J. Lo
  • In Kpop: EXO "Monster" (with Shim Jae-won), "Call Me Baby" (with Kasper); SHINee "One for Me"; Super Junior "Swing"; Yunho "Make Your Move"; BoA "Only One", TVXQ! "Spellbound", "Humanoids"; Girls' Generation "I Got A Boy"

• Park Sungchan
  • Korean dancer and choreographer
  • SM choreographer for multiple groups
  • (His bio says he worked on Highway to Heaven, but he is not credited on the actual video credits, which do credit PREPIX, EZTwins and Keone Madrid, so I have not included here.)

• Rikimaru
  • Japanese choreographer and dancer
  • Assistant of Rino Nakasone
  • In Kpop: BoA One Shot, Two Shot, Lookbook; Taemin Famous; SHINee Kimi no Sei De (with Rino Nakasone), Red Velvet Rookie (with Rino Nakasone and Ryu So-hee)

• Vinh Nguyen of Kinjaz
  • American choreographer, lead choreographer of The Kinjaz dance group
  • In Kpop: EXO Power, IKON Love Scenario, Killing Me, Beautiful , Bday; Winner Everyday, Millions, Ah Yeah; BTS Fire, GOT7 Hard Carry, U-Know Follow

• Xiaojun
  • Member of WayV

• Ysabelle Capsitulé (Isabelle Caps)
  • American hip hop dancer and choreographer
  • In Western pop: Mya, Usher, Bruno Mars

NCT 127 Choreography

• Fire Truck - Tony Testa
• Switch?
• Limitless - Kevin Maher, Choi Hyoje
• Good Thing - Choi Hyoje
• Cherry Bomb - Tony Testa
• 0 Mile - PREPIX Ill Lee
• Touch - S**t Kingz
  • Co-choreography: PREPIX Ill, Melvin Timtim
• Come Back - PREPIX Ill and Kida The Great
• Baby Don't Like It - PREPIX Ill
• Regular - Rie Hata and Choi Hyoje
• Wakey-Wakey - Rino Nakasone and Fuko
• Chain - Rino Nakasone and Jumi Lite
• Kitchen Beat - Rikimaru
• Simon Says - Scott Forsyth
• Superhuman - Keone Madrid, EZ Twins, PREPIX Ill
• Highway to Heaven - Nappytabs, PREPIX Ill
• Neo City: The Origin tour - Rino Nakasone
  • choreo choreo
• Kick It - Jung Koosung, The Quick Style, Julian DeGuzman, Brian Puspos
• Prelude (Kick It performance stages) - Jinwoo Yoon
• Dreams Come True - ?
• Punch - Jinwoo Yoon?, Keone Madrid, Rie Hata, The Quick Style
• Punch Final Round Intro - Ryu.D
• NonStop - Yohan, Huny (of Team Pheromone)
• Music, Dance - Hyunse Park
• Gimme Gimme - Hyunse Park, Josh Price, Isabelle Caps
• Save - Ryu.D, Danho
• Sticker - Keone Madrid, Antoine Troupe, Joo Youngbin, PREPIX Ill
• Lemonade - Sea Ni, Jayssun
• Bring the Noize - Taeyong, Sea Ni
• Favorite - ReiNa, Sea Ni, PREPIX_Ill, Anthony Lee, The Quick Style
• Earthquake - Sea Ni, Jayssun
• Breakfast - ? (Neo City the Link choreo)
• Focus - ?
• Pilot - ?
• Love On the Floor - ?

NCT Dream Choreography

• Chewing Gum - Kyle Hanagami
• My First and Last - Tony Testa
• Dunk Shot - PREPIX Ill
• We Young - Alexander Chung,
• Trigger the Fever - PREPIX Ill
• Go - Alexander Chung and Choi Hyoje
• We Go Up - Rie Hata
• 1, 2, 3 - Baiba Klints, PREPIX Ill
• Don't Need Your Love
• Fireflies
• Boom - Keone Madrid, Adrian Vendiola
• Stronger - The Quick Style
• 119 - Sungchan Park
• Ridin' - The Quick Style, Vincent Nguyen of Kinjaz
• Deja Vu - Bada Lee
• Hot Sauce - Rie Hata, The Quick Style, Melvin Timtim
• Dive Into You - Sea Ni
• Diggity - Sooram Oh
• Hello Future - Keone Madrid, Rie Hata, PREPIX Ill
• Dreaming - Danho, Dope K
• Glitch Mode - Sea Ni, ReiNa, Anthony Lee
• Arcade - Sea Ni

NCT Choreography (all units)

• Black on Black - PREPIX Ill (co choreography?)
• Resonance - Ryu.D, Danho
• Beautiful - Ryu D

NCT U Choreography

• The 7th Sense - S**t Kingz
• Boss - Rie Hata
  • Co-choreo & training: PREPIX Ill
• Baby Don't Stop -PREPIX Ill
• Make A Wish (Birthday Song) - ReiNa, The Quick Style, Melvin Timtim, Kamel
• 90s Love - The Quick Style, ReiNa, Bada Lee, Hyunse Park, Josh Price
• Work It - Ganmi, The Quick Style, The Future Kingz, Rico
• Universe (Let's Play Ball) - ReiNa, The Quick Style, Sea Ni

WayV Choreography

• Regular - PREPIX Ill, rechoreographing Rie Hata choreo
• Come Back - PREPIX Ill, Kida The Great
• Take Off - Rie Hata
• Moonwalk - Scott Forsyth
• Love Talk - ?
• Turn Back Time - Jinwoo Yoon
• Bad Alive -Sooram Oh (To Tell The True)
• Nectar - Sooram Oh
• Kick Back - Ryu.D and Auspicious Crew
• Action Figure - Bada Lee
• Good Time - Bada Lee, Xiaojun
• Low Low - Chocobi
• Miracle - Chocobi

Quote from chounim

NCT as a whole have a kind of "grooviness" in their dancing which makes most members look extremely at ease and like they each have their own style and are doing their own thing while still executing in credible synchronisation. Which is why when others cover them, it always looks lacking.

this is a really good point. I especially notice this when I compare earlier choreos to later choreos. Earlier choreos are very much focused on synchronization, whereas later choreos allow for so much more personalization in the movements.

Quote from butterbutterfly

The Kick It choreo has truly become one of my favorites.

It's like it was made specifically for Taeyong. No one sells it like him tbh

I don’t think I appreciated how complex this was until I was watching it repeatedly through the GTKN series (my new acronym cuz I’m lazy). There are a lot of small movements happening in each move, but because they have a laidback attitude and a bouncy groove, I don’t think it’s clear how complex this actually is. Taeyong definitely owns this - again, seeing it isolated and side by side really brought home the elements that make him one of the top dancers.

Superhuman / CHOREOGRAPHY: Keone Madrid, EZ Twins, PREPIX Ill

The high-energy Superhuman choreo is one of my faves - it’s an NCT choreo that incorporates a lot of types of dance elements, including the dynamic jumps that I love that happen early in it. It feels like a musical meets a Michael Jackson video style (and MJ videos often leaned heavily into musical-type dance). Unfortunately those get cut off a lot in music shows and taped performances (they’re always cutting away, dammit.) but yesterday in the bird app, I saw someone made a compilation of those jumps! *fangirl squee*

In context of the choreo, this is one of the few I could find with the full shot, outside of fan cams. Most of the performances with great jumps just give me a quick cutaway of flying legs. As I looked through different vids to find good cuts, I realized this was hard for the Neos - which says something for how difficult this sequence is. In some performances, not everyone nails this well or with the same altitude or precision as other performances. (There’s also a great jump that accompanies the chorus sequences but this circle jump is my favorite).

Isolated where you can see it:

In performance:

Haechan owns this choreo - he’s having several big moments here and using it to his fullest and indulging his inner MJ with some great breakout sequences.

Jaehyun also has some moments I really love here (this sexy, strong choreo suits his strengths as a dancer well IMO) but I really love this Jaehyun sequence from :21 to :29.

Quote from Mark-Lee

As for NCT Dream, I don't think people realize how hard their choreographies are, even if the songs don't seem to "demand" a hard choreography. I know you ( the101) are not into their early days' music, but watch the video for We Young's choreography in case you haven't yet, it's a really cool one. It's prolly one of their most dynamic choreographies given the fact they use the whole room to dance.

The footwork during the chorus is so cute and satisfying to watch omfg.

The intricate floor dance at 1:39 is so good as well.

Jisung best dancer.

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I’ve said all along that they have some of the hardest choreo in NCT. I enjoy their choreo even if I’m not down for the earlier music. I also think Dream is the tightest and most cohesive dance unit in terms of abilities across the units IMO.

I really like this choreo and My First and Last.

Nectar / CHOREOGRAPHY: Sooram Oh

I really like the Nectar choreo, which to me is a very Way-V choreo. WayV's style is always more fluid and less structured than Dream or 127, reflective of the dance styles of the members and their skill sets. That's not to say that it's less powerful, striking or technical, but it definitely has a different feel.

One thing I always notice is that WayV makes more use of lines - the members will form into a line to create a visual by fanning out or moving with the shape of the line, whether it's Turn Back Time (I actually really love that lineup move and will get there eventually) or here in Nectar. In contrast (to me) 127 and Dream move their formations around much more and use lines less frequently. I think it really works well for WayV and their musical style. (Lines: :56 - they pull in quickly to a line, then walk out, and rotate the line around the stage, 2:03 the line is so fast with the camera move, you don't realize it's forming, then they walk out again; 2:37 - another very fast line set up that spreads out into the v shape. They're moving around quite a bit in the choreo, but it's not as crazy as the formations in the other units.)

This choreo has some (I think) samba and cha cha moves, which just makes it more gorgeous and striking (the "dancing in the moonlight alone alone" moves). The overall choreo is also structured around body lines, so there are lot of extended legs and arms and poses. This is sleek and sexy choreo.

Ten of course kills it with his dance break - he is effortless and sexy, but Xiaojun really showcased his skills here. Both Xiaojun and Kun (previously the weakest dancers) have improved tremendously as dancers, and it seems the Resonance time with the other units seemed to strengthen it. Both seem stronger dancers when dancing to "Take Off" in the SMTown concert (I'll get to that one later), during the Resonance events, including the NCT Beyond Live, as well as during the Kick Back comeback. He has a great feature sequence at :42 but the thing I think that makes it stronger is that he has the facial expressions and body language, not just the movements, which is the difference in dance performance to me. (This is part of what makes dancers like Ten and Taeyong so strong.)

This is a great snapshot in time of WayV because the strong dancers seem to be even stronger (Ten's time in SuperM), the good dancers seem to have improved their skills (same note for Lucas) and as noted, the weaker dancers have become pretty good to great. As always with NCT choreo, a "weaker" NCT dancer is still a very very good dancer, particularly when you compare them to other groups. Many main vocalists in other groups are not as strong as these two.

Gimme Gimme / CHOREOGRAPHY: Hyunse Park, Josh Price, Isabelle Caps

Ok just for NEO

The darkly lit, we shot it in the garage video doesn't do this choreo justice. You really have to see it in the light of the dance practice. I don't think I can get behind the statement that it's the best choreo of recent years - I may dislike Punch as a song but I love the hell out of that choreo - partly because I think it really really suits the song so well.

Still, this is a great choreo - that a bit like Nectar above can come across like it's not as complicated. Where WayV loves lines, NCT loves Vs as a way of spreading their formation out. But if you compare to Nectar above, 127 is moving a lot more around the formation. Members come forward or bounce forward to draw your attention away from the constant movement. This is not unusual - this is what they do.

The other thing I really like about this choreo is that while they are synchronized, the choreo allows them to dance in their various styles in a way that goes together without matching. However, it is actually highly synchronized even if it does not appear robot-y.

Because I'm lame, I sometimes like to watch these at slower speeds to capture the details. I love the power jump and side kick on the chorus - it's powerful and strong, a very 127 move. When you watch at .25x speed, you realize this not matchy matchy choreo is actually very matchy matchy. Members are (mostly) jumping at the same height and kicking out with precision. However, their upper bodies and arms are structured slightly differently, which makes it feel like it's not matchy matchy. (Taeil is jumping a little short here but this is a practice so I'll forgive him. The only live version has this jump and kick very very soft and on the ground to accommodate Taeyong's back, so no good evidence of it exists in the real world sadly. I won't even talk about this gets chopped up in the MV.)

Chounim's point about the bounciness of 127 comes into play here too, which makes this feel like an effortless "we're not working too hard, just chilling" vibe when they are actually working very hard.

Again, when you slow down to watch - the sequence at 23:, they kick, stretch, turn, turn again, spin, lift a leg, kick and turn, then kick again, set pout and turn back to front, then extend a leg, hop. I watched this at .25X speed.

This sequence takes 6 seconds of actual time.

Because they are fast and effortless, it looks like they didn't do that much.

At 1:20, the formation is moving around to get into place to give us a v formation that moves in a wave (NCT loves this in choreo across units - or the idea that a movement carries across the dancers almost organically.) This is synchronization of a different kind.

I agree with Mark about the way they transition from fast to slow, which serves the unique changes of the music.

The Jungwoo Magic Spells is one of my favorite parts too, Mark! When you watch NCT dance practices or fancams, you realize just how much they are doing with their hands in choreos. I talked in Nectar about body extensions and there are some great moments here - like on Magic Spells. That initial leg stretch while his hands are moving paints the hypnotic, sexy mood of the music and the line read in that moment. (There's a lot of sweeping across the floor smoothly on turns here which means you don't really realize they're happening until you slow it down.)

I do think this is a great, underappreciated choreo - I'd love to see it reappear in something live in all its glory. The Japanese choreos are always interesting - Chain is one of my favorite favorites.

Since I just talked about with you NEO , when I'm looking for the right choreo performance to post (Like trying to find Superhuman with those damned jumps.) , I'm often struck by the skills of specific dancers. Haechan is always a talented and engaging dancer, but he is almost always hyperaware of his facial expression as the camera swoops on him (other dancers are varying across 127 and Dream with this skill set, which is a very specific skill of the best dancers - like Kai in EXO).

I realized when I was looking at the Boom choreo video for Renjun that Haechan was doing a very specific thing - even when he was off to the side and not front and center in the choreo, he is very focused on his facial expressions in a way the others are not. They're either not thinking about it or it's evident they are thinking about the choreo (the placement of the other members, remembering the moves, watching their own body movements in the mirror.)

There's a really gorgeous move at 1:36 that is fluid and effortless, and his focus is completely on his own face. He is not the focus here - he is in the front but not the center, and if you watch the full choreo, it's Chenle and Jaemin that are actually doing something in this moment. But you would never know it by the way he treats it. I think he is thinking about ensuring he is always "delivering" because you never know when the camera - especially on Korean music shows - is moving over to you. Because he's pretty reliable at serving face, the shows like to go to him.

Now that I was interested, I went to check his individual version. He knows exactly where the camera is - he makes eye contact with one of them before the practice. He also is highly conscious to always keep his focus on the location of the cameras, keeping eye contact whether he's in the front or the back and paying attention to his facial expressions. (You can see this difference by the way Haechan approaches the camera at 2:33 and the way Renjun does the same thing a few seconds later, but a little off target and focus). At the end of the video he bounces toward the camera because he knows exactly where it is.

You can see all that in action here, particularly if you compare his awareness of camera angles to the other mains, all while executing a complicated choreo. (That move I was talking about? It happens off camera at 1:45-6..this just enhances my point about how Haechan is thinking about both his oncamera and offcamera looks).

If you look at at the fancam of the same performance, you can find lots of little moments like this. He pops up at :47 in the back with a flirty eyebrow raise and smirk, while Renjun, who is actually in the center front, sort of looks like he's not sure what he's doing. (The move I was talking about to start with is actually fast here).

Quote from Mark-Lee

Wow, I'm just seeing this now. Some of your notifications got lost when I was being spammed by the younguns of the guild. Sorry about that.

The comparison with Punch is fair because both songs are not as fast-paced as Kick It or Superhuman, for example. While both choreographies do a good job at expressing the vibes of each song, I still believe Gimme Gimme is a better choreography because it incorporates more dynamic elements than Punch, which IMO, has an easier-to-digest choreography, especially the chorus section. In Gimme Gimme, for example, during Jungwoo's part before the second chorus (at 1:43), while this section has the similar smooth movements as Haechan's parts at 0:44, it's followed by an intricate footwork, which elevates this section IMO, besides other things about the choreography. And I'm not dismissing Punch's choreography by saying it's a weaker choreography because it's easier or stating Gimme Gimme is a better choreography because it's harder. What I'm actually trying to say is that Punch has a more constant groove to it, which makes the choreography a bit more constant by default. Both choreographies are HARD and definitely translate the aspects/feelings of both songs. Take what I'm saying with a grain of salt because I'm no expert. I'm just here talking and saying gibberish based on what I'm watching as well as learning from our conversation. We are very lucky that NCT and EXO are under SM when it comes to choreography because they are always very theatrical and great at expressing the songs' feelings.

Watching the Gimme Gimme dance practice for the 43243829th time is making me realize how many times they jump around. It's amazing.

As for the bold part from your quote, I believe they can get a little bit more creative when it comes to their Japanese releases because dance/choreography in general doesn't seem to be a big deal for the Japanese audience, while in the KPOP industry choreographies are one of the factors that help a group get popular or, at least, go viral. Remember that Kick It got extremely popular because of its choreography. Also, have in mind this is coming from a few observations since I'm familiar with Jpop.

Also, I've been noticing that SM's choreographers have been prioritizing easier-to-follow choreos, at least in the chorus section, to get the songs popular. Kick It, Kick Back and Hot Sauce seem to be following this trend, which is making me way more excited to see what 127 will come up with!

I think one word that would describe Haechan perfectly is self-awareness, he KNOWS what he needs to do when the cameras go in his direction. He's not just randomly looking into the camera, he's flirting with the audience and that's one of the things that makes him so special on stage. He knows that's one of the things he excels at when he's on stage because it's not a one-time thing, it's been a constant aspect of his idol persona. And that's why he should go for an RnB-oriented style of music when he eventually goes solo because it suits him so well and on top of that, I'm convinced he would deliver great performances/choreographies for being so comfortable on stage.

Haechan is an amazing performer.

I also love when he does this.

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Your breakdown on Gimme Gimme makes sense. It also makes sense because the song itself is rather erratic and non-traditional in its melody and one thing I thing NCT always does really well with choreo is fit the song most of the time. Your point that Punch is a consistent groove - yeah, yeah, totally.

I agree that the choreographers are definitely creating with a "this is the TikTok" moment, but I appreciate they will drop an easier to follow section in what is still a dense and complex choreography. (I can't wait to talk about Kick It!)

On Haechan, I agree that he is an amazing, incredibly self-aware performer - now that I'm following along with Dream content, I'm realizing the cameramen love him and always go to him for the "moment." I find my own eye now seeking him, and going back and reassessing the NCT 127 content, when I was focused on Taeyong, Mark and Jaehyun and not appreciating him enough. He is going to kill it as a solo performer, I think, because he has the skill, the desire and the "it" factor. When I think about some of the other Neos, they're missing an element here consistently, but he is always "on" whether he's on the stage or on a TV show.

Quote from Mark-Lee

Let me hype up my new ult because watching him dance is a delight.

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I always enjoy Mark as a dancer - he's strong and powerful but with also a charismatic flair. There's always a vibrant energy to his dance and a skill level where he makes it look easy and buoyant. There's a reason (if you're paying close attention)that he's either in front or drawing the attention at the wings of the SuperM formations. I mean the fact that move you to the front in a group with Taemin and Kai, who are two of the best in the biz, says something for your skill level. (It's true of Taeyong too, but Taeyong is used more for impact flair, where Mark is grinding it out in the middle for high-impact work that fills out the scene next to Kai.)

Maybe I'll dig into some SuperM in here too. (I do think Ten gets hosed in SuperM choreo, knowing what he can do.)

Quote from butterbutterfly

This choreo is really fun

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I really liked that part at ~1:22 where they jumped to the side as Jeno moved.

Also very satisfying to hear all the stomps and claps.

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I'll dig into this one later! :-D

Hello Future / CHOREOGRAPHY: Keone Madrid, Rie Hata, PREPIX Ill

I've been cheating a little on these by picking either choreos I love or things that catch my eye. NEO suggested talking about the "Hello Future" choreo. Ngl, this is not my favorite choreo. I find it a little messy, notably in the way people go in and out of the choreo. NCT units are usually pretty quick or slick in shifting in and out "off the stage" unless they are in a small space and I feel like it's very obvious and not clean in the Hello Future choreo.

I think the fact they keep breaking into small groups make this one choppy. Small groups can certainly work (think "Kick It") but again, this feels a little of a mish-mash. (I get that this is vibe they're going for - make it more natural and less formation, but I'm not a fan..)

Or so I thought. So take a moment here to watch on a TV show. (I'm always a sucker for floorwork but this wan't very interesting to me.)

(Members leaving slowly at 1:12ish in the back, members walking out at 1:34, Haechan running across the front at 1:38, 2:08-2:14, 2:34..I could go on and on. There are always members moving on and off stage in NCT choreos but not as obviously, usually, or it's a very stylized exit like a spin move. All of this is still awkward in a show a week later so it's not because it's new, including Haechan running across the bottom.)

Then I watched this dance practice thinking "ey" and realized the casual choppiness mish-mash is actually deceptive. They are moving in a very specific formation to look casual - it's just that the camera moves are making this look shitty in close-ups.

Watch from 1:16, members scoot off to the side, then start coming back in to sp Members dash in and out for the next :40 seconds and it looks like everyone is running in randomly, but then they are always in a spot to make a precise formation (1:27 Renjun wanders in to spin precisely up against Jeno), Haechan runs in 1t 1:32 to form the line, as they move across the stage Chenle, Jisung and Mark dash in seemingly randomly, then hit a pair of precise formations at 1:37 and 1:38 into 1:41. Our three stragglers scoot in to hit the point at 1:48. It's kinda awesome.

There's a similar sort of sequence at 2:30 where members wander in before hitting some really high and intricate moves.

I think the rainbow sequence in the chorus is adorable. (There's also a fluidity in the dance after the wave that matches the liquid layers of vocals. It reminds me a lot of WayV and overall Renjun reminds me a lot in this choreo of the WayV style.) The attention to detail is all Dream tho - especially with all the micro movements happening with hands, arms and shoulders here or behind the back foot touches like in the dramatic final formation.

From 2:58 on there's a lot happening from the moving line, behind the back kicks, constantly shifting formation, fast and slow movements - honestly, this portion of the choreo gives me life. All of this is chopped up on the music shows so you can't appreciate this sequence.

I'm sorry this is so long, but we're almost there.

But it's worth watching this isolated Haechan fancam to appreciate all the movements actually happening in this seemingly casual choreo. At 1:45, when doing the little wrist turn, his knee is moving in and out and slowly turns back in. Also he's adorable doing other people's parts. 2:43 to 3 - man, there are a lot of things happening here, from body waves to isolation to...it's a lot. Similarly from 3:05 to 3:14, which is less than 10 seconds, y'all. But because he's bouncy and loose, it seems easier than it is vs a crisp sharp movement.

Final verdict: still not my favorite NCT or even Dream choreo, but more interesting and better than I thought it was. As always, even when the song is sweet, Dream choreo is complex.

Come Back / CHOREOGRAPHY: PREPIX Ill, Kida The Great

I went to do some WayV choreo and I was thinking I'd talk about the differences in the choreo with the same song. The WayV choreo has been altered to play up their strengths, notably those line formations I talked about.

Overall, 127's style is crisper and more propulsive (almost attacking the dance), and the mains and leads have a better sense of their stage presence and facial expressions around selling these moves.

Of course, 127 also had a 3-year head start over most of WayV in terms of on-stage experience, not counting their SM Rookies time. I think you can see in later choreo how WayV is more in touch with the presence and facial expressions, but I do think there are some elements here that are still true: NCT 127 is still more aggressive and explosive in their dance style than WayV's more fluid style. (I also feel like WayV is really visibly thinking about their choreo, rather than feeling the mood, which is pretty typical of early days WayV, particularly for the non-dancers.)

You can really see this through the sequence beginning with floor work at :28 (WayV) where 127 is more natural and smoother on this floor work sequence, then when they pop up with the fast and groovy footwork and movements. There's a bouncy swag and sexy vibe the Neos have that the Weishens don't.

At 1:27 you see a change that favors WayV in the elegant formations in their line vs 127. In this choreo, 127 is worried about seksi swag, not lovely hand motions.

At 2:11, we see another divergence of the fluid and graceful vs the sharp and punchy if you watch what the other dancers are doing around the main vocal having their vocal moment. WayV is showing off the vocalist better IMO here.

But in the next sequence, we again see the power and flair of 127 as the three dancers break out behind the rapper.

In watching this again, I'm very aware that Ten is holding back so he's not a disproportionately higher level than his group mates.

I've written a lot here about a choreo that I'm pretty ambivalent about (I don't hate it but it's not on I could watch it all day list either, it just is), but I think the similarities are the best way to see the differences in the two group's dance styles.

That said, I did really like the way they staged it in Neo City.

(I'm really excited to talk about one of my fave choreos after seeing a really crisp video of the on-stage performance on IG that shows how impressive it is in close up but I'm trying to track down what video that came out of to talk about it. Ay.)

Quote from NEO

I've been thinking about it for the last few days and there are a few advantages when it comes to disjointed choreos, I don't know if you agree or not:

1 - The members get to have the spotlight on them when they're singing their lines.

2 - It less tiring (which in theory would help them sing live more properly without getting out of breath) and they get to play with the camera, make hand gestures and just play around overall. It gives them more freedom to show stage presence and look less robotic. If you've watched the live performances (especially the last one), you can notice how they keep playing around, making a lot of hand gestures. I think they have a lot more fun when they aren't doing synchronized movements all the time. We also have to consider the fact that Hello Future isn't as fast paced, so expecting a hard-hitting choreography all the time is not very logical. Although it could have been done better maybe.

Overall the choreo may not be as interesting as their previous ones, but it does a great job at showing the boys' individual charms.

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I think it can work - NCT 127 plays with this quite a bit as people move in and out of formation and more recent choreos are much less synchronized than early ones and allow for greater personalization of dance style.

The biggest challenge I have with the Hello Future choreo is there are people running across the screen (visibly) to get into place many times, which IMO is not great planning by the choreographer. It feels like you either need to think about better transitions to move people into position or rethink the movements. It's this that makes it feel choppy to me.

There are a number of 127 choreos where the movement is either tied into the choreo or is conducted unobtrusively enough that you don't notice (unless you're watching live and can see people moving in and out to the "sidelines".) "Kick It" is a great example of one like that. But even a slower choreo like "Fly Away With Me" uses the movements into position as a fluid aspect of the choreo. Both of these are on my to-do list to chat about but..at 1:18, 1:57, 2:30 you can see they're moving into positions but it's treated as a fluid part of the choreo so it's not jarring, but feels like a natural motion that suits the song.

In Kick It, they move into formation so they don't have to cut across the screen but always come in from the appropriate side. They are also a lot faster with these transitions. The slowest one is probably at :13. At :33-1:00, there is a constant shift of formations and groupings but they aren't moving behind or in front of the main choreo, generally speaking. And when they need to, it's unobtrusive and quick. More like this between 1:30 and 1:57. The group coming back into the choreo comes from the opposite corner..

If I didn't know better, I would say it feels like NCT Dream maybe doesn't know how to be quick with transitions like 127 does, but as they are the strongest dance unit IMO, this strikes me as a flaw in the choreo design.

Touch / CHOREOGRAPHY: S**t Kingz, Melvin Timtim

Since we're talking about Touch in the main thread, it is a choreography I like. There are better and more complex NCT choreos but I do like this one because it's exuberant and bright and really matches the song well and there's something to be said for simple choreography executed well.

NCT 127 choreo for "poppier" songs always has a more Broadway/movie musical style feel to me. (I'm sorry I'm not enough of a dance expert to describe this better.) It's very theatrical with long stretches and jumps and dramatic moving across the stage movements. In contrast, when the song is more hip hop oriented, the choreo reflects hip hop dance styles as well as more of that bounciness Chounim talked about earlier.

Touch, Superhuman and Highway to Heaven all go together for me in this poppier Broadway-feeling style. That said, I think Superhuman is a superior choreo to the other two.

There's a constant push and pull and up and down here to keep things interesting. The front row will move down as the back row goes up and vice versa. It kicks off with a great cinematic intro that makes great use of the stage. Or how at :16, the front row drops and slides in an easy circle before popping up crisply and doing the pulling the rope motion, which then cascades in the rows behind. (This happens so fast you almost miss it in real time, but if you drop it to .25x time, you can appreciate how smoothly they do it.)

Jaehyun is very good at this style of choreo (think back to that moment at the front of the Superhuman line) so it's appropriate to me that he's at center so long here. He's the best IMO during this sequence from :43 to :52 with the way he moves his hands, this hand on the head move at :46 (he also is the only one to nail this move in HtH - he plays it stronger and sexier there and I always notice it but then always laugh at how no one else can seem to consistently get it right when it's a pretty basic dancer move - when Taeyong is on point, he can also nail it as he does here), although Taeyong is also great here as is Yuta when he steps into this role later in the choreo.

This is still NCT 127 the synchronization years, but I love the way the choreo breaks off one member to shine while the rest of the group moves in unison. Haechan steps to the side and does this wonderfully at :52 and I love this adorable movement at :55 where he seems to pull or tug the group to him, then steps right back seamessly in the choreo.

Similarly we get the spin and knee drop while Taeyong and Mark are cute in the middle. WinWin comes forward for the same move as Haechan at 1:46 and sells it really cutely.

(I never thought I'd say this but Jaehyun's body roll at 1:53 feels random as hell though in this song.)

I like this sequence at 2:00 but had to watch at a slower speed to appreciate: they move around into position, spread out, then draw into a circle, back up and do a domino effect while Taeil's having his moment before jumping up explosively. Timing is everything here. Watching it in real time you don't realize how much movement is going on here because it all feels very natural to the beat..

There's not as much micro movements of arms and legs as the best NCT choreo but I think it makes nice space of the floor and uses timing and synchronization to good effect. They are actually moving positions quite quickly across the floor.

I really like this choreo best in performance because they're having so much fun with it in the later performances although Yuta is the only one who consistently remembers to keep his smile. LOL Our choreo "tug/pull" isn't executed as well in any of these.

The choreo get sloppier here but they're having so much fun, who really cares?

(If you're bored, the ongoing Mark and Taeyong interactions during their duo portion are adorable as hell, as well as WinWin's random cute moments. The "tugs" don't look great in any of these like the original and most of the floor work is missing due to the way things are cut.)

Also everybody singing Taeil's parts are cute.

Quote from butterbutterfly

This choreo is really fun

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I really liked that part at ~1:22 where they jumped to the side as Jeno moved.

Also very satisfying to hear all the stomps and claps.

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a month later, here I am finally returning to this.

This is really fun and fast. The transitions here are really nice, which I was bitching about in Hello Future, like I love Haechan’s spin and walk across the floor at :29, then he slowly struts across the floor with attitude into position.

These little finger snap circles at 1:45 are so fun :-D

There’s a really nice turn of the ankles that only about half of them are doing at 3:07 that makes that move more interesting.

I watched this one a few times and I think it’s bright and fun but it was hard to pick out specific sequences that were memorable, honestly. It’s a solid choreo executed well but not one that moves into my “I’ll watch this a lot” list.

A side tangent: as I watch more NCT Dream choreo, I’m finding something a little missing in Jisung as the main dancer. When the main dancers in WayV and NCT 127 take the floor, I don’t stop watching them unless I’m making a conscious decision to watch someone else (usually on subsequent viewings when I’m following my biases), but when he takes the floor, I find myself more interested in what Mark, Jaemin, Jeno or Haechan are doing from a dance perspective. Is there some “flair” missing there or a presence? I can’t put my finger on it. Thoughts, anyone?

(I know Mark is very fast and explosive here but I’ve been thinking about it across a few Dream choreos now.)

STICKER - choreo: Keone Madrid, Antoine Troupe, Prepix ILL

GAAAH. I'm crazy for Sticker, which may have vaulted into my top five fave choreos. There are new little elements to the choreo that I notice every time, just like I do with the song itself. This is long because there's so much to say here and I'm only scratching the surface.

First off, everyone kills it. Even people who aren't great dancers, like Taeil, have clearly upped their game here. The leads are on freaking fire (Yuta, Jaehyun, Jungwoo and Haechan), which make a nice break I think on the dance load on Taeyong.

Mark is phenomenal in this choreo. Again, balancing out the choreo here helps highlight his strengths - his opening move here is gorgeous and really helps paint the song's story. The flute also plays a role in the choreo, which I'll get to.

The instrumental is slightly hypnotic and the dance reflects it, often moving sinuously and hypnotically. In NCT tradition, it also moves from slow slow to fast fast, often simultaneously. It also makes excellent use of the space. (I was bitching about messy transitions on Hello Future and this is completely the opposite. The transitions move the action or draw the eye from other transitions.)

This opening sequence is that slow slow fast fast - Taeyong (ripped jeans) is flying here while the others are moving slowly to frame his explosive energy from :12 to :25. While he's killing it, the others are popping out to widen the formation, like Johnny (white shirt) starts in the middle and ends up on the outer edge while he's dancing. Also this sequence is so awesome and so Taeyong. I love it.

This is also a lot like some of the sequences in Gimme Gimme we talked about. They are fast and intense in the center while the others frame, but also stay in constant motion.

One thing that also strikes me with Sticker is that the transitions are really interesting, they move across diagonals or come from unexpected angles so there's constantly something happening.

On the chorus, there's a lot of hand and arm movements - many small movements happening, like the best NCT choreo (and part of what makes them distinctive IMO - there's a lot of isolation but also using the entire body).

I'm going to jump to this moment that me literally shout and hoot - and why I love dance practices because I didn't see this in all the performance choreo.

Y'all, the moves during Mark's rap sequences are synced to the damned flute. At 1:26, their legs are moving in time to the flute beats, which themselves are synced to punctuate Mark's rap, but watch their feet during this sequence - they are moving in micro movements (including small motions to turn their ankles out) and then tapping - all to the beat of the flute.

Too much.

Seriously tho, well played, NCT choreo folk.

I think Jaehyun is really used in a cool way here - he has always made a good center in choreo, and while his style may not be as flamboyant as Taeyong's, I think he does draw your eye with the strength, power and presence. I think they use him well by allowing him to anchor the choreo while some of the more flair dancers frame him with extra embellishments (like Haechan and Jungwoo). (Like the sequence at :36).

A number of members come into the center on this choreo and each represents a different style - Jungwoo is flashier like a Taeyong, Jaehyun is strong and centered, Yuta splits the difference while Johnny - although a less strong dancer than the others - does have a very theatrical face and delivery that helps sell the dance.

One other note: Taeil and Johnny. Both have done a lot of work to improve as dancers. It speaks to Johnny's grown that he now has moved to center in several key choreos, while Taeil kills it in his little section at 1:14. He is often set with strong dancers so you'll notice them while he sings, so the fact he's front and center while they frame him actually dancing just knocks me out - and did in the MV. He is the weakest dancer in 127 (as always, that's not what he's there for) so I loved seeing him kill it. (You can see the moves look easier and more fluid by the two dancers behind him - Taeyong and Jaehyun - but they are also experienced and good enough dancers to know how to dial it back to let him show off a little). At 1:50, he's in front of the dynamic leads, who are allowing their dancing to be a little more relaxed and fluid to help frame his dancing well. Again tho, he's grown so much to be framed this way at all instead of tucked in the back or limited in his moves. Go Taeil!

Coming out of Taeil's moment, I really love this sequence with Haechan, then Yuta's big kick and Jungwoo's "you treat me like a boy" at 1:56 All three of these are extremely fluid and charismatic dancers and I think their motions suit the sinuous groove while combined with the explosive energy that makes NCT choreo so great.

I love this pairing of Jaehyun (black knit cap) and Yuta and their complementary but different dance styles: Jaehyun is power and strength and Yuta is flexibility and flair. To me, these two really represent NCT 127's strong and sexy dance style, and I love when we get them together.

I've talked a lot about how Jaehyun moves across the formation in my choreo talk and there's a great example here starting at 3:04. He starts in the center middle, then side steps out to the left of your screen, then to the far left then works his way back to be center front. All of this happens in 24 seconds.

This roll up to the party sequence is particularly challenging although it looks basic. Watch this at :25 time and you'll see people are jumping and spinning, turning and doing a lot of motions with hands, arms and upper bodies and rapid foot motions that you don't see at full speed.

This is really complex work here. You'll see in the finishing portion what I'm talking about in anchoring the wings. Jungwoo and Haechan balance the wings so you can focus on what's happening in the middle. Both of these two dancers do a lot of hard work in every choreo that isn't always appreciated so it's nice to see particularly Jungwoo having some great and iconic moments here.

I think Haechan is off a little energy wise in the Studio Choom but this is a gorgeous full view of the Sticker choreo in 4K. I'd suggest watching the intro portion at that 0.25 speed - Mark's lines are beautiful while you can really appreciate this turning leg, thrust and elevation of Taeyong's opening section (as well as the way the members start framing in stacked motion after it). It's stunning. (His stylized vocal is nightmarish at this speed tho so hit mute.)

I also think here you can appreciate the speed of the footwork, especially in the chorus (the simpler color palette isn't competing with the dance so you can just appreciate it seeing how that dance practice comes to life with more energy).

Full choreo:

Close up to see some of the points I've mentioned - like Johnny's theatricality.

You'll notice you don't see the flute feet

(The Sticker MV is under the cut if you want to jump to it to also compare. You sorta see the flute feet but let's be honest, there's a lot happening in this video.)

Even for me that was long. I'll try and dial it back next time. Eep.

NEO I agree with you that Lemonade is fast and eye-catching. I really like the swagger there which is meant to reflect a hip hop video and I think it's well done with that "bounce" to their dance. That bop that Chounim was talking about. Like a lot of NCT choreo is harder than it appears.

I'll do it next.

Quote from quarkie

While it would have been perfectly passable on American TV... this is 100% true. I learned from Road to Kingdom that if men are shirtless they can't dance "provocatively " when they are. Those hips are definitely provocative.

Also yessss the flute legs! I noticed it in the fancams! I love it.

Slow clap to you for reading all of that.

Just a note on the “weakest” dancer. Context here is everything. The “weakest” dancer is typically someone selected for another strength (usually the vocal.) That’s not to say they are still not a very good dancer. The problem is magnified by the fact that the strongest dancer is usually dancing in front of them. This is on purpose - your eye and attention go to the strong dancer and not the “weak” one. The problem of course is that if you are paying attention, it just makes the “weaker” dancer look even weaker. (There’s probably a fun side tangent about xom

Here are three comparable parallels for Taeil. When you watch the fancams of all 4 of these guys, you’ll realize they are actually very good dancers BUT you’ll also see in all three of these cams the way the main or lead dancer is also in their shot showing the gap in skill level. Doh.

Plus, I always think that this type of main vocalists always wears on their face that they are thinking about the choreo. It does not come naturally to them and they often don’t remember to have the facial expressions because they’re thinking about the steps, which you don’t see on mains or leads.

I’d also note you see a lot of walking or pauses or slow choreo for mains of course because they have to sing those big notes. (Doing a comparison on NCT main vocalists as dancers is a fun rabbit hole for another day, altho I’d eliminate Ten and Jaehyun for a clear view.)

Here’s Kihyun of Monsta X, who is really strong dancer as a main vocalist and is missing the “thinking about it” expression they usually have. BUT this choreo, while it looks nice on camera, is not very complex. Their fast parts are comparable to the slow parts of the Neo choreo and are missing all the small movements of hands, feet, body portions that make Neo choreo so appealing to watch.

Here’s Chen, one of the main vocalists and a power belter like Taeil, is shown behind Kai and Sehun (the main in the crop top and one of the leads) as well as behind Baekhyun (blonde hair), who is a parallel to Haechan (an excellent vocalist who is an outstanding dancer. Yes, Baek is the better vocalist here but trying to paint a parallel here.) This choreo is harder and a lot faster but still missing the intricate sub movements.

I took Lemonade specifically for a reason here. I don’t think it’s fair to compare a really complex choreo like Sticker to the other examples here. You can clearly see Taeil is thinking about it and he’s not as sharp and defined or dramatic as the other dancers, but I think you can also see how well he is doing with it. You can also see how intricate and difficult this choreo is even if, for NCT, this is an “easier” choreo.

For more perspective, here’s Taeil three years ago in superhuman, which is so a “simpler” choreography. Again, he does well (dude isn’t a bad dancer - he’s just with ridiculous ones), but I think you can see how much better he is by Lemonade.

I'll add into a separate post, but in the interim:

Sticker-Favorite era choreographers for NCT 127:

Sticker: Keno Madrid, Antoine Troupe, Lee Ilhyung and Joo Youngbin of PREPIX.

Lemonade: ?

Favorite: The Quick Style, ReiNa, Anthony Lee of Kinjaz, Lee Il-hyung of PREPIX

I still want to do Lemonade and Favorite, but since I skipped WayV in my rotation, I was going to return to that. EXCEPT WayV has the fewest dance practices (as the newest group), so I'm quickly going to run out, so will jump to NCT U.

I've talked about a lot of group choreo, but Baby Don't Stop remains one of the coolest, most effortless Neo choreos. There's no floorwork, complicated lifts or complex formations - just two fantastic dancers bringing their complementary styles to a sensual groove.

BABY DON'T STOP / Choreographer: PREPIX Ill

You've probably seen the dance practice that also features dancers, but I really like this one with the two in isolation and no distractions.

These two have very different styles: Taeyong is sharper and structured in his movements, while Ten is more fluid and relaxed. Both make this look easy. They also both are great about ensuring their faces tell the story, as well as the movements themselves. They also remain in motion - no matter who is out front, the other continues to move in complementary ways that don't upstage but add to the playfulness here. Although the dancers make a nice line and create some formations, I really don't think they're necessary here.

The intro is so sharp and precise that I think it's a bit startling as they move into a more relaxed dance style - you think you're getting one thing and you get something else. (I love that, btw).

One thing I really love here are Taeyong's little reactions like at 0:14-15 where he pretends to be shocked. He offers small moments like this throughout that maintain the playful energy.

The walk forward sequence during the chorus looks simple because these two are very good, but there are actually a lot of little micro movements here that you don't realize. (Which is both very hip hop dance and very Neo choreo). Here's where this version with the dancers helps.

Watch the dancer the farthest to the left, particularly his legs and feet during this chorus sequence and you'll realize just how many motions are happening here. Then watch it again focusing on Taeyong or Ten to see how liquid they make these motions. (Sorry, dancer dude, you're doing great!)

I'm sorry here because Taeyong isn't wearing a shirt here and Ten is sorta wearing one-ish, but this is really the cleanest view I saw of this choreo in performance across 8 different performances because music shows, yo. There is another clean view if you're thinking, "Not today, satan" but I think it has lower energy.

This jumps straight into one of my favorite moments in this choreo: the marionette sequence, which they played a lot with in stage performances. This is a great combination of the two dancers - Taeyong's jerkier, sometimes frenetic stage energy with Ten's equally magnetic one. The two make it work because they're so good at what they do. Less dynamic and engaging dancers would make this awkward. I apologize again because I'm back to shirtless Taeyong but I really love the snap on this initial moment. (I watched 8 different performance videos and two practices but I really love this version and refuse to offer you another.) This is a two part sequence, once at about :56, which is where the video is timestamped from in the cut below and the second part at 1:28.

If you jump back to our original video at the top of this page to 2:02 and watch Ten through what is Taeyong's sequence, you'll see the way his movements complement without taking away from Taeyong. This is comparable to what Taeyong is doing when Ten was in the front for a good portion of the beginning of the choreo.

I've talked in other vids about the small micro-motions of feet, legs, hands and arms that make this Neo-ish. This is why when other people do their choreo, it doesn't work. These small moments is what makes their choreo pop so much. (Remember the flute feet?) Watch their hands and arms as they move through the sequence beginning at 2:14 and running through 2:21. Slow it down to .5 speed. (In general I haven't said to slow this choreo down because it's not very fast, but these movements happen quickly. I noticed the behind the head move Ten does at the end while watching for this, which made me go to look at this more closely.) The overall body movements seem simple when it's happening, but looking at those, you realize how much they're doing. When you slow it down, you can also really see the difference in styles as they make the same movements.

I also really like the way this laidback choreo goes all out at the end for a close.

30 Days of NCT - Choreo Chat

Choreo notes for 30 days of NCT

Day 1 - Nov. 14 - NCT U - 7th Sense - S** Kingz

Day 2 - Nov. 15

Baby Don't Stop - NCT U

Choreographer: PREPIX Ill Lee

Day 3 - Nov. 16

NCT Dream - My First and Last

Choreographer: Tony Testa

Day 4 - Nov. 17

NCT 127 - Regular

Choreographer: Rie Hata, Choi Hyoje

Co-choreographers: PREPIX_Ill, Kida The Great

Day 4 - Nov. 18

WayV - Turn Back Time

Choreographer: Jinwoo Yoon

Day 5 - Nov. 19

NCT Dream - Hot Sauce

Choreographers: Rie Hata, Melvin Timtim, The Quick Style

Day 6 - Nov. 20

NCT U - 90s Love

Choreographers: The Quick Style, ReiNa, Bada Lee, Hyunse Park, Josh Price

Day 7: No. 21

NCT Dream - Chewing Gum

Choreographer: Kyle Hanagami

Day 8 - Nov. 22

NCT 127 - Chain

Choreographers: Rino Nakasone and Jumi Lite

Day 9 - Nov. 23

WayV - Moonwalk

Choreographer: Scott Forsyth

Day 10 - Nov. 24

NCT 127 - Lemonade

Choreographers: Sea Ni, Jayssun

Day 11 - Nov. 25

NCT U - Make A Wish

Choreographers: ReiNa, The Quick Style, Melvin Timtim, Kamel

Day 12 - Nov. 26

NCT Dream - We Go Up

Choreographer: Rie Hata

Co-choreographer: PREPIX_Ill

Day 13 - Nov. 27

NCT 127 - Touch

Choreographer: S**t Kingz, Melvin Timtim

Day 14 - Nov. 28

NCT U - Boss

Choreographer: Rie Hata

Day 15 - Nov. 29

NCT 127 - Simon Says

Choreographer: Scott Forsyth

Day 16 - Nov. 30

NCT Dream - Boom

Choreographers: The Quick Style, Adrian Vendiola

Day 17 - Dec. 1 (AAA awards - Dec. 2)

NCT 127 - Superhuman

Choreographer: Keone Madrid, EZ Twins, PREPIX Ill

Day 18 - Dec. 2

NCT Dream - 1, 2, 3

choreographers: Baiba Klints, Prepix Ill

Day 19 - Dec. 3

NCT Fire Truck

Choreographer: Tony Testa

Day 20 - Dec. 4

NCT Dream - We Young

Choreographer: Alexander Chung

Day 21 - Dec. 5

NCT 127 - Kick It

Choreographers: Jung Koosung, The Quick Style, Julian DeGuzman, Brian Puspos

Day 22 - Dec. 6 (MAMA week)

NCT - 2017 MAMA Performance

Day 23 - Dec. 7 - Sticker first here?

WayV - Take Off (MAMA)

Day 24 - Dec. 8

NCT - Black on Black

Choreographer: PREPIX_Ill

Day 25 - Dec. 9

NCT - Resonance

Choreographer: Ryu.D, 2danho

Day 26 - Dec. 10 (MAMA - Dec. 11)

NCT 127 - Sticker

Choreographers: Keone Madrid, Antoine Troupe, Joo Youngbin, PREPIX_Ill

Day 27 - Dec. 11

NCT Dream - quiet down

Day 28 - Dec. 12

NCT 127 Highway to Heaven?

Day 29 - Dec. 13 NCT 127 Cherry Bomb

Day 30 - Dec. 14

Bassbot?