USC dance school students will learn K-pop from the famous Korean dancer ‘Aiki’. This is the first time a K-pop academy has been held for dance majors at a university.
According to the Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles (KCCLA), a K-pop academy will be held for students at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance from October 23-27. The academy will be part of their major classes and is open to 100 undergraduate students.
The instructor will be Aiki and Odd, renowned K-pop choreographer from Hook Crew.
Aiki is the leader of the dance crew Hook and was the runner-up on the 2021 all-female dance crew survival program “Street Woman Fighter.” She also ranked among the top four dancers on NBC’s World of Dance Season 3.
“Aiki, who has a wide range of stage experiences in the K-pop scene, will be delivering her dance skills and experiences in an authentic way,” said Jinok Jang, K-pop director from the Korean Cultural Center. “This is an opportunity to lead the convergence between dance and K-pop genres.”
This year marks the seventh session of the K-pop dance program. Since its launch in 2016, the program has been held in various locations such as Minnesota, Salt Lake City, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Irvine, and Phoenix.
“Because there are so many K-pop clubs everywhere, the program is so popular that it attracts about 100 people of various ethnicities each time,” said Jang. “What sets this apart is that this is the first time the academy is being held specifically for college dance majors.”
The K-pop Academy is crafted to foster increased interest and understanding of Korean culture.
“We are pleased to be able to introduce K-pop to dance majors through the celebrated artist ‘Aiki’, and we hope that this will be a unique opportunity for them to experience and forge a unique artistic genre by incorporating K-pop in a more creative way,” said Sangwon Jung, Director of the Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles.
BY YEOL JANG [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
