the biggest problem i have with aespa's choreos is their formations. whoever makes them just doesn't seem to know what to do with a 4 member group, because so often their stages just feel empty. i think this was the root problem behind the criticism of their stages in savage era. I don't think making 4 people seem to take up a stage is easy, but Kiss of Life's choreographers manage it consistently, and black mamba definitely does accomplish this. Idk i just think they need much more variable formations in general
YES! Exactly! The usage of formations and transitions between formations is so critical and it seems that SM doesn't value that as much as they should!
The problem with Aespa’s choreo, which no one has caught on for some reason, is that their choreo heavily depends on camera work/trick (angles, stop motion, vfx, etc.) “Next Level” is a prime example of it. Their choreo almost always looks amazing in their MVs, but they don’t translate to the stage ever. It’s almost as if their choreos are specifically created with the MV direction in mind and no one ever thinks how it would actually look on stage.
@@shinigagamimi o….k. Good for you and Twitter I guess. I’m not on Twitter and I’ve watched a million videos on YT of professional dancers and just plain commentary channels talking about their choreo and not a single one has ever pointed out camera work hence my comment.
I'll add to your point about camera work that their chores are fairly good for a group that sings live. I mean, aespa doesn't sing live as much as we used to expect for an sm group, but if they were allowed to they would have a easier time singing while doing these types of moves. Singing comes second to dancing in a lot of kpop groups these days, so you see a lot of very intricate and complicated chores which require a lot of running and moving the torso. I could see some of the things aespa does in a group from a previous generation. The problem I have observed is that newer generations of idols don't get trained to take up space on stage the same way. As in, older idols can handle an awkward pause where they have no singing or choreo without looking awkward. They just learned how to brave those moments out without losing their stage presence. Older groups often took a simple or repetitive choreo and really did a great job with it. But newer kpop idols just...dont seem to have those skills yet. I often observe that jyp songs tend to have a move in the choreo for literally every beat of the song, no matter how small. So the idols never have to have a moment where they don't know exactly what to do with their bodies or faces on stage. So aespa is getting choreos that I think a group like snsd could handle with ease and transform, which are meant to look great with interesting camera work and allow them to sing live with stability. I also feel like kpop fans are waaaaaay too strict about things that look 'cringe' or 'awkward'. And then wonder why all the dances and songs are so staid and bland. No risk, no reward. Check your pride at the door and find your sense of fun, please.
@@rachelclark6393 I love your comment so much and wish I could give you thousands of upvotes! I’m fairly new to K-pop and I am absolutely gob smacked by the amount of videos criticizing music and choreography that is not “complex“ enough. They talk about it in a very condescending manner and it seems like it’s 90% girl groups who are targeted for this criticism. They don’t seem to acknowledge that simplicity can be an artistic choice. They complain the companies are always overworking the idols. Maybe some of the choreography is kept simple on purpose so they don’t have to go at 100% all the time. Burnout both physical and mental is a very real phenomenon. I checked this channel’s “about” tab where it says he’s 16 years old and started the channel in October 2023. There are some reaction videos where there is a teenage boy in the thumbnail who might be the creator. So I don’t want to criticize him too harshly. What is so funny is how so many analysis channels are contemptuous of simple vocals and choreography … yet the groups they are criticizing are massively successful with worldwide fanbases. Hmm maybe the professionals running the company who are approving the songs and choreography have a better business sense than people who have probably not made their mark on the music industry or dance world yet. Thank you again for your very refreshing and mature comment! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙏🎄⛄️🎁🎶✨
@@yari139 I thought your comment was very insightful so I wasn’t prepared for the rude comment about how tweets with over 50,000 likes say this all the time. 🤣 It might be true but this person’s expectation that everybody has Twitter and follows every tweet about K-pop is pretty hilarious! Never in 1 million years would I have clued into making choreography designed for certain camera angles - so you have contributed to my education! Thank you! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙏🎄⛄️💚❤️🦢🎁🦌💫
So true. That's why Black mamba is my favourite. Their choreography looks perfect with or without camera work. I hope their choreographer will try something more without much camerawork.
the hand movement in Illusion is called the goblin's flame/fire (도깨비 불). It is expressed in the lyrics as well especially in one of Karina and Winter's lines. They say something like "you won't see it coming". The hand move is meant to put you in a trance to seduce and devour you. In Korean folklore, goblins are said to be mischievous and play with humans. I think the backstory and its use in the song makes the hand move more charming, and it's my favorite part of the choreography.
Thank you so much for writing this comment! This is absolutely fascinating and I’m going to read up on this because I want to know more! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙏🎄⛄️🎁🦌✨
It's so frustrating knowing how hard Aespa can go with their choreo only for the majority of their songs to have very basic, safe choreo with awkward transitions and pauses. Please, SM, I want to watch them eat on stage.
and those choreos work with more performance oriented groups, like gidle, blackpink, but aespa's main strenght is in their dance skills, as winter and giselle are weaker in the performance side. But also when they have detailed choreo, it's not as impactful as it can be done better. A lot of favourite choreographies play with levels more, like chungha gotta go, ive love dive (dance break), Nmixx O.O etc. That's impact. Nmixx and Everglow also do intigrue choreo but it doesn't look as boring as girls.
The way Black Mamba is such an anomaly in Aespa's discography. From choreography to song, it feels like their debut track was the strongest in every way, and after that SME switched the group's direction a LOT.
@@bluequeen8022 exactly, anyone that hear BM can know the song was made for the general public, im not saying its basic but out of all aespa TT is the most basic and the on that GP is going to like bc its simple EDM so i dont blame people like the original comment that like it the most
Not my favorite song in their discography but it was a really strong song. I think the fans hating it (for no reason) made them completely switch the musical style they were originally going for their concept. Karina's favorite song till now remains Black Mamba.
The hand movement in Illusion is really important! The Korean name of the song is 도깨비불 lit. goblin fire, meaning will-o-the-wisp. They’re doing a motion like fire or a will-o-the-wisp with their arms.
Some general info: a. During covid, many groups started making choreo that would only entertain the camera / look good on camera because there was no live audience (i.e. savage, next level). b. LSM wanted them to keep doing the AI-concept and look like AI themselves even on stage hence why earlier choreo and performances seem robotic and unemotional.
Notice how all the choreos in the top 4 have backup dancers. There is only so much Aespa can do with only 4 members in terms of formations. Back up dancers help make the stage feel less empty and create nice visual effects.
@@andreinapereira552 Sure they can. I personally really enjoy their illusion performances where there are no backup dancers. But having dancers sure helps.
haven’t finished the video yet but i think the biggest problem with the girls and next level choreos is that they were made specifically for the cameras and the more dynamic camera movements of the mv and music shows but maybe thats just me. it feels like a lot of aespa choreos are made specifically to be seen in mvs with the actual performance aspect of them being an secondary at best and an afterthought at worst that being said i love the next level walking and standing 🫣 like the slowmo lean back is so slay to me djdbdkdhdkd
I think they've talked about this because they debuted during covid. From meta-verse concept transitioning to now where they have a lot of live performances. I think they're on right track haha
I never got the hype for girls dance break. For me it lacked the impact a dance break needs. Too much hand choreo and not enough foot. No playing with levels and only made decent with camerawork.
I am not exaggerating when I say that "Girls" might be the worst choreography in K-pop. SM's ability to pick the worst parts of each (already questionable) demo should be STUDIED.
Yeah usually when I see a Kpop dance, the demo's at least let me see the vision a little more clearly, but idk what the choreographers for Girls were thinking (no hate). If SM was already choosing between several different questionable dances then might as well have just chosen one so you can see one clear trajectory. I agree tho that SM never actually has clear logic behind the parts they choose, it literally feels like a roll of the die lol.
It’s funny because sm just tries so hard to be different in any way possible (minus looks i guess??) and with yg and baby monster they can’t seem to do anything different
I have to disagree on the drama choreo where they stand in a line together. The whole pose feels so iconic (I know nothing about dance lmfao), but idk it’s just stunning to me like I can’t wait to see that live and cheer loud asf!! Also I’m addicted to the spin around town and pointing at imaginary people, it’s so powerful to me even though it’s like basic movements. However I would say irl, without camera angles it does look a bittt awkward but I agree on everything else you’ve said x
It’s honestly grown on me a lot! I think it is such a moment in the MV and it’d definitely be a clap worthy moment live (tho I still think it is a lil awkward stationary haha)
@@DiceyBryciedid you watch the MMA version with all the dancers standing on a single line with aespa during the pose? it’s epic imho, perfectly captures how BIG the stage was
The Drama choreo is ARTTTT!! I love the spin pointing at imaginary people! Dreamcatcher also does something similar in “Red Sun” and it gives me chills(the storytellingggg). But I finally think I understand why the standing part in “drama” feels a little awkward. The bridge already “slows” the song down so much that when the chorus kicks back in, you’re expecting the energy of the dance to come back in too. I totally get what the choreographer is going for though, it’s very bold! This was such a beautifully-made video though. I love that it was critical, but really emphasized how good choreography amplifies the storytelling. That’s art🥺❤️
I wonder if SM just has these issues with all of their girl groups. It’s interesting to me how some of the same issues that plague aespa’s choreos are seen in Red Velvet’s choreo but not to the same extent. I think RV’s choreos are helped by the fact that they have a distinct style (that being their detailed hand and arm motions) and that they aren’t trying for the “AI”, robotic vibe. But there are a lot of RV choreos that feel like they don’t have much going on outside of the chorus, and most aespa choreos have the same problem. I think SM is too focused on aespa’s concept to give them choreo that let’s the members shine
I would say SNSD’s choreos have a similar ‘problem’ except for them it isn’t really a problem, as even with simply movements because they’re a big group it doesn’t feel as simple or uninteresting to watch. There’s also a lot more they can do with formations. I’ve learnt quite a few of SNSD’s dances, and one thing I’ve noticed is that usually in the verses the member singing has some very specific movements while the rest of the members stand still or do basic movements in the back.
@@LaurenPebblesnsd choreo are usually harder during the chorus where they sings together. Sometimes they dont even dance when theyre singing (cause theyre singing live hella lot) Which isnt a problem cause theyre singers who dance, not dancers who singsz
I think you really underrated the Drama choreo. The line pose and the pair of locking poses at the end are really, really striking, if you'll forgive me for using an overused word, even iconic. I've always felt AESPA was a vocal-first group with merely serviceable dancing (which is fine, Itzy is a dance-first group with serviceable singing, and I like both groups), Drama is the first Aespa choreo where I enjoy watching them perform it FOR the choreo (well, also the post-chorus snakey bits in Illusion, the hand movement part you didn't like is my favorite part)
I already feel sorry for her knees ngl. She's gunna be struggling when she hits 26-28ish (just like me) if they keep giving only her the knee work and in almost every song.
I learned Spicy and it is probably one of the best dances that I learned, primarily because it is focused more on the girlish attitude than the choreography itself. The choreography is not their best dance but it is more on what if Regina George and friends decide to be a K-pop group and decide to dance, Spicy is the answer. To me, not all dances need to be technically in sync and have super hard moves and Spicy is one of that. It is their first title track where the girls literally sing live for every performance which I think contributes to why the dance focuses more on simplicity.
From next level I have been saying SM needs to look to new choreographers for aespa. I don't get how they can see some parts of the choreo and say "Yes! This can work!". But the newer dances are way better
I had the good luck of getting to see them live a couple months ago and I did think it was funny that they added an extra dance break to Girls just so that they could ACTUALLY DANCE. it was actually really cool seeing them dance in a way that matched the intensity and energy of the song
To this day I am still obsessed with Black Mamba. I remember the first time I came across the MV, I was SHOCKED by the drop-to-the-floor move in the chorus. It's just so good
I think that Black Mamba is such an anomaly because its also their most dynamic dance track if that makes sense, as well as the trend of TikTok challenges aiming to make dances easier. Black Mamba isnt really something that's doable for a TikTok, as well the movements make it hard to actually sing on the track. It becomes a challenge of balancing between choreo difficulty and letting the girls have a breather to be able to sing :)
When I watched aespa’s dance performance videos of Girls, it was horrible so I thought it was because of their limited dancing skills….Later, I found a comparison video of aespa and professional dancers dancing to Girls and then I realized the problem wasn’t solely coming from our girls, the main problem was the choreography itself because even professional dancers couldn’t make it 100% look good. Lemme list a few bad things about Girls’ choreography: - Messy formations - Weird moves (Winter and Giselle’s “Woo-hoo” hand-leg move, 🫱🫲 move and “Oh yeah”🤘move in the chorus, etc.) - Some parts just don’t match the instrumentals But I’m glad their Spicy choreography wasn’t that bad, and Drama’s was actually pretty good despite some imperfections. Hope to see more good choreographies from this amazing group
What shocks me is the impact the choreo can have in the perceived abilities of the members, the backlash started slowly with Next Level and had its pick with Girls just to everyone be shocked at Salty and Sweet and Illusion
I'd love to see you analyze Gfriend or Twice dances, because I feel like these groups have the opposite trajectory of going from easy to hard and vice-versa
I'd place Drama at top...that standing group choreo with all of them in a single line is jaw-dropping-diva-moment, you are giving review based on your personal taste, Drama choreo fits the song like a perfect glove and a very glamorous glove at that!!!
😂 Collage of different dances is exactly right bc SM asks several dance companies to make a full choreography for a comeback and then they just use whatever parts they like the most.
i think i've noticed it with many groups that their debut/earlier choreos are stronger/harder than their later ones. like, blackpink had awesome choreos at first but then they kept becoming simpler and more boring. or my faves dreamcatcher who still have strong choreos but i feel like nothing compares to their earlier ones in terms of difficulty and details. saying this as a dancer who has learnt most of said groups' choreos. ig today with all the dance challenges companies aim for simpler dances that can be copied more easily.
I think one of the biggest problems with their choreo was SM wanted this weird robotic, minimal movement image for the girls because of their AI concept, which is why once Lee Sooman left, who seemed to be the one pushing this image on the girls, the girls were showcasing much more emotion, stage presence, harder choreos such as Drama and Trick or Trick that showed off the girls skills even better than we had seen during their whole career. You could also tell that they were setting the girls up through the choreo they chose between all the choreos presented to the girls. I just really think that LSM wanted one image for the girls, which set them up and ended up showing the girls downfalls and faults rather than choosing dances that fit them and the song, and the other side of SM wanted something else for the girls, which is why you can somewhat see a change in choreo, lyrics, stage presence and more
i've done a girls cover and i LOVED doing it, especially with the people that were in that cover. however i do agree that it is one of their dances that lacks a lot.
I’ve seen previous comments about how Asspa’s choreo heavily depends on camera angles/movements. I agree. But as of recently since Drama I feel like their choreos have gotten better when they don’t highly relay on camera work to make it look good.
Interesting breakdowns and makes me understand why I cant delve into their performances for the most part. With that being said, I gotta say, I really love Drama choreo, they add to the song imo, including the last chorus. I think it's satisfying to me because all of their arms are angled the same way, tho i hve no idea how achievable is that (im not a dancer). It felt minimal but hold so much impact due to the "lines" they create from the pose for their last chorus.
i agree with this list! I'm glad 3 of the top 4 are their most recent releases i hope they keep this momentum. Better things is a personal fav because of how climatic the choreo feels i find black mamba a tad bit repetitive even tho it's the cleanest out of all of them.
I think the problem is that they pick from so many different choreos and try to stick it all together when other groups mostly use one choreo and change thing or two
with drama last chorus i understand from a pov of just the dance its not giving anything, but from the view of the performance i think it works really well cuz cuz it give space to the audience to watch the members power without even doing nothing and just posing, and the popping after it is just so satisfine and igree with what you said about spicy but even when it has some messy and basic movements it still feels like it finish the purpose of what i think they wanted for that comeback that is the synchronisation alsoooo, for me salty and sweet choreo is good but the dance break moves feels awkward like if it was from savage, like that the only part of the choreo i dont like
@@DiceyBrycie it’s almost as yours but for mine I would put spicy some spots higher(higher than DCT for example) and would put salty and sweet a little bit lower for what I said in the other comment(lower than drama)
I also have notice how much they keep walking in the midst of their choreo to get into formations and there's alot of formations, so half of the time the girls are just moving from one place to another and that looks ugly to me. Their choreographers or the ones deciding the steps for them really need to consider that. Based on their black mamba performance and their energy throughout their other performance also i can definitely see that aespa are capable of more. They just need right choreography in one direction according to their beats of the songs in my opinion. I love these girls so much .... they are so talented and top of the game but it always irks me that they don't have cool, catchy and strong choreography in their stages anymore like black mamba. I loved drama choreography too but only chorus part and winter's savage part.
I love the description for each choreo, its breif but not vague. I agree with your opinion on Girls cus wtf... to some extent, most kpop choreos dont flow and rather are made for pure uniqueness sometimes. This is just a general view i noticed, which brings up your point of random posing in between the dances.
I really enjoyed watching this video. For me, as someone who doesn't know anything about dancing it was soo informative. It's sad how half of their choreos don't do them or their songs justice but it's giving me hope that some of their more recent releases are among the top spots!!
Omg thank you so much for the support! I honestly think they should update some of their choreo for a big stage/award and then keep it like that for the future (that way the audiences that like the dances won't feel betrayed because they can js make it seem as if it's a grander version), but seriously a lot of the choreography doesn't showcase their overall talents at all (especially their dance breaks! Does SM realize that dance breaks are literally designed to showcase the groups dance capabilities...?) and they deserve to be able to showcase bigger and better choreography. Their newer stuff has been so good though and it's making me more hopeful for the future :)))
For dreams come true, the original song is very soft and the choreo for it accordingly dreamy. For aespa's version it does seem odd to keep it more to the arms as the music is much more vivid.
one thing i personally don't like about aespa new choreo's is that a lot of movements, on top of relying on hands & arms, seem made only to "look pretty" (except for some dance breaks). that makes the dance look overall static and more of an improvised interpretation of the song, rather than a work of art on itself. SM should be less scared of giving them cool, intense movements (like the ones we had seen in black mamba) out of fear of potentially making a "weird" dance move. after all, the original, unexpected dances are the ones that stand out and remain iconic.
ok, i know this song doesnt have choreo, but imagine how fun hold on tight choreography could be, given that aespa is a 4-member group! they could do formations in shapes of tetriminos
One thing I think people don't talk about enough in relation to Aespa's choreography is that whoever SM has working on formations is just... not very good at it. This is especially obvious in comparison to HYBE who have quite a few groups with a low member count, but each dance is latticed in a way where the overall architectural effect onstage is good. From what I've seen, 90% of Aespa's backup dancer choreography is just them doing the same steps as Aespa, which is honestly kind of distracting, especially since the dancers can usually put more power into the moves. It's my personal opinion that the best backup dancing choreography always needs moments where if you watch them individually, you'd be like huh???? For example: th-cam.com/video/aqW4xXUgmno/w-d-xo.htmlsi=vB8gHymQNaY8NC__&t=75 Or here: th-cam.com/video/aqW4xXUgmno/w-d-xo.htmlsi=esHsw5FhMJxdsN1U&t=115 (sweeping the floor with their bandanas for 6 counts... they are so real for this.) I KNOW someone at rehearsal was laughing, but these are also some of the best parts of Run, so. This entire stage is great, costuming included, but especially from this section: th-cam.com/video/318cwWHhO3o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=MncI10E0ovfLr07f&t=94 (Sorry if my sentence structure is wack. It's 3:30am, and I definitely should be sleeping. 😂)
I agree with this so much. Backup dancers are there to highlight the main members performance and enhance the overall imagery (which is gonna have to include some wacky moves/imagery). I think people got mad at SM after that one Savage stage where SM provided no budget and they had no backup dancers, so they were like "fine we'll throw people in the back that will do the exact same thing that aespa does and call it a day" without actually caring for/utilizing the dancers to enhance the imagery smh
I'm truly surprised you rated Black Mamba so highly with it being created by three choreographers: Kyle Hanagami, Han 'REDLIC' Haeun and Janelle Ginestra. Really thought you'd gone with Life's Too Short since there were only two choreographers involved: ASUPI and Kiel Tutin.
have you seen the original choreographers' dance of GIRLS? I know that aespa have to sing and stuff so they can't always perform at 100% energy, but it shows kind of shows the maximum potential of the choreo
I think Girls is sooooooo good, all of their choreo is so good to me. There’s something so addictive about it, I actually like the way a lot Girls is made up of “poses” - there’s something so sassy and ‘vogue’ about it. Maybe they’re making it for the gays cause I’m obsessed
I don't agree with the point not having different choreographer work on it. Having multiple demos. Other group make it work. They take the best part and create seamless transitions. It gets all ideas from every professional and I feel like one choreographer can't achieve. Having different eyes and ears are so crucial The choreo manager just needs to be good.
I like how although your analysis was part-critical I could also tell it was coming from a place of being a legitimate fan of aespa and was very respectful. I enjoy ultra-negative and sensational critiques as much as the next kpop girlie but sometimes… it can verge on being unnecessarily mean. So rash to the point of becoming noise pollution.
This was so interesting! I love to hear someone who seems to know a lot about this type of dance talk about it. I agree with your list, but before I wasn’t able to put all of my thoughts into words, especially about what makes the better dances so good. “Girls bad because the moves look awkward and they don’t even DO anything for half of it. Black Mamba good because uh- well it just is, look how they go on the floor!” But yeah sometimes I think things like “well, Spicy is a pretty easy choreo, I bet I could learn that chorus so fast!” and then I go look at it and decide it’s just not worth the effort to learn all those various assorted movements that don’t really make anything together I like aespa but don’t follow them closely- I had no idea Salty and Sweet had a dance, so thank you for bringing this to my attention. It’s great
i love that you put so much effort into such a simple video. the effort really shows! i love dance analysis videos like this and it definitely explains why i felt such a disconnect between the dancers and the dance; since i know they are good dancers but i mean.. girls was such a scary dance to witness i thought something was wrong with them lmfao.
i feel like SM Ent. proratizes poses and the girls looking as pretty as possible at all times instead of intense choreo. I this is part of why their choreos feel boring, because they are dancing the choreos in a way that doesnt use a lot of strength or full extension. Sometimes it feels like the girls dont put much personal flavor into their choreo. It feels unpersonal and they dont look like they are having fun which makes it boring.
This video was such an intriguing watch! I really enjoyed the amount of detail you put into aspects you did and didn’t like. You have a unique way of illustrating your takes that becomes satisfying when paired with your editing!
6:06 The example that comes to my mind of this done right is the last chorus of Charmer by Stray Kids. They are doing a similar chain of movements but they do it in different ways and it showcases their different dance styles very well
I actually really liked the weird chorus thing for illusion with Karina's hands, it feels mysterious/sexy to me kinda? I agree though, it definitely lost the mystique in parts that would've done great with more movement
can you pleaseeee do twice? your commentary is so interesting and twice has some of the most iconic choreos in the industry so i think it would be entertaining to see how you evaluate them, especially given their growth as artists that shows in the way their choreos change throughout the years
Aespa has huge potential become bigger than what they are now but SM is not taking advantage of it and their transition and formation feels very awkward and there stage feels empty and I wish they had better choreography and instead of going with the basic and safe and easy choreography that don’t sometimes even goin with the songs
i agree on most but i have to say that the movements that you considered uninteresting are good to me. idk why haha. i think it's because those movements match the energy o the sog. for illusion, the hand movement is on the downbeat chorus so I like that they kept it simple. same with savage with that iconic chorus movement.
the entire video made me appreciate the top 5 choreos a lot more, especially better things and salty and sweet !! i love how u get into it immediately and just explain so well! and the editing !!!! everything was so easy to keep up w
Genuinely loved this video, you put your thoughts out really well. It’s just their choreos not only seen messy sometimes, but underwhelming compared to the pace of the song. Like Trick Or Tricks dance. I was expecting an intense dance and was given in a sense a spicy level dance :/
I think its the girls lack of energy and facial expressions is what ruined girls’ choreography cus if you look at the demo choreographies the amount of energy the dancers put it into it makes the dance look better 💀
We have to remember SM wanted them to keep the AI-concept even within their stage present the first 2 full years of their career. That's why until Spicy they have stiff movements (like in Savage and Next Level) and no facial expressions. They were supposed to look like robots/AIs. Thank god LSM left and they're finally allowed to breath and have fun on stage.
I just started liking a few songs by Aespa. I don't know much about them but this is what I think so far: Next Level - Since they had heals on, they couldn't do a lot of dynamic moves. Drama - Peaked my interest in Aespa. The song is cool and catchy. Choreo is visually interesting. Girls - I didn't mind the choreo but I think it did demanded more powerful moves in the routine. Black Mamba - I agree that it has the most visual interesting choreo.
I mostly agree with your opinion. As a SM GG Stan, aespa' choreos are so unfortunately bad when compared to other 4th gen GGs and I don't know what SM is doing with its GGs because I think Red Velvet also has awful choreos. Please make a video like this for RV as well (of course, If you want to).
I'm glad I came across this video cause aespa choreo is just not that good yk? I mean the girls are really good at dancing, especially karina and ningning, and it sucks cause the bad choreo makes it seem like their bad dancers which is just not true
Black Mamba is truly their best so far. Its seems like the choreography was made without consideration of being tiktok-friendly. But my favorite move is Karina’s run run run kitty kitty run run.
I realiked the video and i think it would be cool to see you examine others gg dance (I would love izone, ive or le Sserafim but honestly any group would be cool- i don’t follow aespa and it was super interesting!)
i think, until spicy, they just wanted to show the kwangya story so they try to keep choreo just so simple and almost not visible. the lyrics, the hand movements, the costumes… all of them just worked for kwangya. when spicy came out they changed their direction. the story is gone now😂 but i think they still want to make simple choreos cause all they want is showng ‘aespa’ power. they want aespa looks powerful even they dont look they are doing too much. they are sm, they are aespa. the name is enough. so they wanted to show aespa’s sp! you can see now, aespa changed a lot. they focused their sp and their stage looks like they are too big for the other 4th gen groups (like ive’s and new jeans’ powers are the song itself, itzy’s is performance but gidle, le sserafim and now aespa focused on sp. it makes them more serious in every way. you can see their choreos all simple, songs are more simple than other, they didn’t even try much for perform but overall they all looked more unbeatable. that is just my opinion of course😊). in short, aespa’s simple and blank? choreos not gonna go but they are doing this more interesting now. if you can watch new stages of them, you can clearly see their sp is on top but even now, their sp of the songs before spicy is still boring and have no sp. kwangya story itself still too hard for the girls. they still look like they dont wanna perform their before spicy songs so it makes me understand that they were not boring performancer since begin, the company, choreographers and the girls cant handle this much concept at all.
for me, girls can be more loved and popular if they made the choreo better. i hate the choreo so much but i love the song. esp the dance break concert ver, they did a bad job with giving karina that choreo….
![aespa 'Supernova + Armageddon' reaction [IVE ATEEZ RIIZE 이영지(G)I-DLE BOYNEXTDOOR TWS QWER]/2024MMA](/img/n.gif)
the biggest problem i have with aespa's choreos is their formations. whoever makes them just doesn't seem to know what to do with a 4 member group, because so often their stages just feel empty. i think this was the root problem behind the criticism of their stages in savage era. I don't think making 4 people seem to take up a stage is easy, but Kiss of Life's choreographers manage it consistently, and black mamba definitely does accomplish this. Idk i just think they need much more variable formations in general
YES! Exactly! The usage of formations and transitions between formations is so critical and it seems that SM doesn't value that as much as they should!
them always using the diamond formation and you can barely see giselle
The problem with Aespa’s choreo, which no one has caught on for some reason, is that their choreo heavily depends on camera work/trick (angles, stop motion, vfx, etc.) “Next Level” is a prime example of it. Their choreo almost always looks amazing in their MVs, but they don’t translate to the stage ever. It’s almost as if their choreos are specifically created with the MV direction in mind and no one ever thinks how it would actually look on stage.
@@shinigagamimi o….k. Good for you and Twitter I guess. I’m not on Twitter and I’ve watched a million videos on YT of professional dancers and just plain commentary channels talking about their choreo and not a single one has ever pointed out camera work hence my comment.
I'll add to your point about camera work that their chores are fairly good for a group that sings live. I mean, aespa doesn't sing live as much as we used to expect for an sm group, but if they were allowed to they would have a easier time singing while doing these types of moves.
Singing comes second to dancing in a lot of kpop groups these days, so you see a lot of very intricate and complicated chores which require a lot of running and moving the torso.
I could see some of the things aespa does in a group from a previous generation. The problem I have observed is that newer generations of idols don't get trained to take up space on stage the same way.
As in, older idols can handle an awkward pause where they have no singing or choreo without looking awkward. They just learned how to brave those moments out without losing their stage presence. Older groups often took a simple or repetitive choreo and really did a great job with it. But newer kpop idols just...dont seem to have those skills yet.
I often observe that jyp songs tend to have a move in the choreo for literally every beat of the song, no matter how small. So the idols never have to have a moment where they don't know exactly what to do with their bodies or faces on stage. So aespa is getting choreos that I think a group like snsd could handle with ease and transform, which are meant to look great with interesting camera work and allow them to sing live with stability.
I also feel like kpop fans are waaaaaay too strict about things that look 'cringe' or 'awkward'. And then wonder why all the dances and songs are so staid and bland. No risk, no reward. Check your pride at the door and find your sense of fun, please.
@@rachelclark6393
I love your comment so much and wish I could give you thousands of upvotes! I’m fairly new to K-pop and I am absolutely gob smacked by the amount of videos criticizing music and choreography that is not “complex“ enough. They talk about it in a very condescending manner and it seems like it’s 90% girl groups who are targeted for this criticism.
They don’t seem to acknowledge that simplicity can be an artistic choice.
They complain the companies are always overworking the idols. Maybe some of the choreography is kept simple on purpose so they don’t have to go at 100% all the time. Burnout both physical and mental is a very real phenomenon.
I checked this channel’s “about” tab where it says he’s 16 years old and started the channel in October 2023. There are some reaction videos where there is a teenage boy in the thumbnail who might be the creator. So I don’t want to criticize him too harshly.
What is so funny is how so many analysis channels are contemptuous of simple vocals and choreography … yet the groups they are criticizing are massively successful with worldwide fanbases. Hmm maybe the professionals running the company who are approving the songs and choreography have a better business sense than people who have probably not made their mark on the music industry or dance world yet.
Thank you again for your very refreshing and mature comment! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙏🎄⛄️🎁🎶✨
@@yari139 I thought your comment was very insightful so I wasn’t prepared for the rude comment about how tweets with over 50,000 likes say this all the time. 🤣
It might be true but this person’s expectation that everybody has Twitter and follows every tweet about K-pop is pretty hilarious!
Never in 1 million years would I have clued into making choreography designed for certain camera angles - so you have contributed to my education!
Thank you! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙏🎄⛄️💚❤️🦢🎁🦌💫
So true. That's why Black mamba is my favourite. Their choreography looks perfect with or without camera work. I hope their choreographer will try something more without much camerawork.
the hand movement in Illusion is called the goblin's flame/fire (도깨비 불). It is expressed in the lyrics as well especially in one of Karina and Winter's lines. They say something like "you won't see it coming". The hand move is meant to put you in a trance to seduce and devour you. In Korean folklore, goblins are said to be mischievous and play with humans. I think the backstory and its use in the song makes the hand move more charming, and it's my favorite part of the choreography.
Thank you so much for writing this comment! This is absolutely fascinating and I’m going to read up on this because I want to know more!
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 🙏🎄⛄️🎁🦌✨
YES, the move was perfect. I immediately thought of it as fire swaying on a dark night, and like you said, as if their trying to put you In a trance!
It's so frustrating knowing how hard Aespa can go with their choreo only for the majority of their songs to have very basic, safe choreo with awkward transitions and pauses. Please, SM, I want to watch them eat on stage.
and those choreos work with more performance oriented groups, like gidle, blackpink, but aespa's main strenght is in their dance skills, as winter and giselle are weaker in the performance side. But also when they have detailed choreo, it's not as impactful as it can be done better. A lot of favourite choreographies play with levels more, like chungha gotta go, ive love dive (dance break), Nmixx O.O etc. That's impact. Nmixx and Everglow also do intigrue choreo but it doesn't look as boring as girls.
they eat on stage with whatever choreo they have
@@andreinapereira552 ehh
The way Black Mamba is such an anomaly in Aespa's discography. From choreography to song, it feels like their debut track was the strongest in every way, and after that SME switched the group's direction a LOT.
Literally the only choreo that I memorized (Thank you Just Dance 😘) and it's stayed with me.
Next level was pretty solid too honestly
I strongly disagree with BM as their strongest song, choreo? Sure but she's like 5th in my list 😂
@@bluequeen8022 exactly, anyone that hear BM can know the song was made for the general public, im not saying its basic but out of all aespa TT is the most basic and the on that GP is going to like bc its simple EDM
so i dont blame people like the original comment that like it the most
Not my favorite song in their discography but it was a really strong song. I think the fans hating it (for no reason) made them completely switch the musical style they were originally going for their concept. Karina's favorite song till now remains Black Mamba.
The hand movement in Illusion is really important! The Korean name of the song is 도깨비불 lit. goblin fire, meaning will-o-the-wisp. They’re doing a motion like fire or a will-o-the-wisp with their arms.
Some general info:
a. During covid, many groups started making choreo that would only entertain the camera / look good on camera because there was no live audience (i.e. savage, next level).
b. LSM wanted them to keep doing the AI-concept and look like AI themselves even on stage hence why earlier choreo and performances seem robotic and unemotional.
Notice how all the choreos in the top 4 have backup dancers. There is only so much Aespa can do with only 4 members in terms of formations. Back up dancers help make the stage feel less empty and create nice visual effects.
that is like saying aespa can't shine by themselves. they can perfectly have good choreos and performances with just them
@@andreinapereira552
Sure they can. I personally really enjoy their illusion performances where there are no backup dancers. But having dancers sure helps.
haven’t finished the video yet but i think the biggest problem with the girls and next level choreos is that they were made specifically for the cameras and the more dynamic camera movements of the mv and music shows but maybe thats just me. it feels like a lot of aespa choreos are made specifically to be seen in mvs with the actual performance aspect of them being an secondary at best and an afterthought at worst
that being said i love the next level walking and standing 🫣 like the slowmo lean back is so slay to me djdbdkdhdkd
like the chorus for girls only makes sense with the crazy zoom ins in the mv and it looks bad literally everywhere else yknow?
@@shadowroxili123very much agreed.
Mostly for camera
I think they've talked about this because they debuted during covid. From meta-verse concept transitioning to now where they have a lot of live performances. I think they're on right track haha
I never got the hype for girls dance break. For me it lacked the impact a dance break needs. Too much hand choreo and not enough foot. No playing with levels and only made decent with camerawork.
I am not exaggerating when I say that "Girls" might be the worst choreography in K-pop. SM's ability to pick the worst parts of each (already questionable) demo should be STUDIED.
Yeah usually when I see a Kpop dance, the demo's at least let me see the vision a little more clearly, but idk what the choreographers for Girls were thinking (no hate). If SM was already choosing between several different questionable dances then might as well have just chosen one so you can see one clear trajectory. I agree tho that SM never actually has clear logic behind the parts they choose, it literally feels like a roll of the die lol.
I literally love the dance Break of Girls! Like: Hooold Up! Booom!💥
the way that all 3 demos where not fitting the girls song
@@asmamohammed5659 Selene Haro’s was good, but SM still picked out the most boring 4 second bit from hers. ☹️
It’s funny because sm just tries so hard to be different in any way possible (minus looks i guess??) and with yg and baby monster they can’t seem to do anything different
I have to disagree on the drama choreo where they stand in a line together. The whole pose feels so iconic (I know nothing about dance lmfao), but idk it’s just stunning to me like I can’t wait to see that live and cheer loud asf!! Also I’m addicted to the spin around town and pointing at imaginary people, it’s so powerful to me even though it’s like basic movements. However I would say irl, without camera angles it does look a bittt awkward but I agree on everything else you’ve said x
It’s honestly grown on me a lot! I think it is such a moment in the MV and it’d definitely be a clap worthy moment live (tho I still think it is a lil awkward stationary haha)
@@DiceyBryciedid you watch the MMA version with all the dancers standing on a single line with aespa during the pose? it’s epic imho, perfectly captures how BIG the stage was
The Drama choreo is ARTTTT!! I love the spin pointing at imaginary people! Dreamcatcher also does something similar in “Red Sun” and it gives me chills(the storytellingggg). But I finally think I understand why the standing part in “drama” feels a little awkward. The bridge already “slows” the song down so much that when the chorus kicks back in, you’re expecting the energy of the dance to come back in too. I totally get what the choreographer is going for though, it’s very bold!
This was such a beautifully-made video though. I love that it was critical, but really emphasized how good choreography amplifies the storytelling. That’s art🥺❤️
wait which part is the “spinning and pointing”?
@@leonajasz5738 at the outro during karina’s part
I can't believe Black Mamba was their debut song! The choreography was stunning and tbh it was very enjoyable.
I wonder if SM just has these issues with all of their girl groups. It’s interesting to me how some of the same issues that plague aespa’s choreos are seen in Red Velvet’s choreo but not to the same extent. I think RV’s choreos are helped by the fact that they have a distinct style (that being their detailed hand and arm motions) and that they aren’t trying for the “AI”, robotic vibe. But there are a lot of RV choreos that feel like they don’t have much going on outside of the chorus, and most aespa choreos have the same problem. I think SM is too focused on aespa’s concept to give them choreo that let’s the members shine
See that's what I'm saying! They need to realize that only focusing on the concept is screwing them over
I would say SNSD’s choreos have a similar ‘problem’ except for them it isn’t really a problem, as even with simply movements because they’re a big group it doesn’t feel as simple or uninteresting to watch. There’s also a lot more they can do with formations.
I’ve learnt quite a few of SNSD’s dances, and one thing I’ve noticed is that usually in the verses the member singing has some very specific movements while the rest of the members stand still or do basic movements in the back.
@@LaurenPebblesnsd choreo are usually harder during the chorus where they sings together.
Sometimes they dont even dance when theyre singing (cause theyre singing live hella lot)
Which isnt a problem cause theyre singers who dance, not dancers who singsz
I think you really underrated the Drama choreo. The line pose and the pair of locking poses at the end are really, really striking, if you'll forgive me for using an overused word, even iconic. I've always felt AESPA was a vocal-first group with merely serviceable dancing (which is fine, Itzy is a dance-first group with serviceable singing, and I like both groups), Drama is the first Aespa choreo where I enjoy watching them perform it FOR the choreo (well, also the post-chorus snakey bits in Illusion, the hand movement part you didn't like is my favorite part)
anyone notice SM always got ning on her knees waving her arms in almost every dance its so adorable
I already feel sorry for her knees ngl. She's gunna be struggling when she hits 26-28ish (just like me) if they keep giving only her the knee work and in almost every song.
I learned Spicy and it is probably one of the best dances that I learned, primarily because it is focused more on the girlish attitude than the choreography itself. The choreography is not their best dance but it is more on what if Regina George and friends decide to be a K-pop group and decide to dance, Spicy is the answer.
To me, not all dances need to be technically in sync and have super hard moves and Spicy is one of that. It is their first title track where the girls literally sing live for every performance which I think contributes to why the dance focuses more on simplicity.
I like this. Unique point
From next level I have been saying SM needs to look to new choreographers for aespa. I don't get how they can see some parts of the choreo and say "Yes! This can work!". But the newer dances are way better
Well go ahead and ask Redlic that then. Redlic is SM in house choreographer and she works extensively with aespa
I had the good luck of getting to see them live a couple months ago and I did think it was funny that they added an extra dance break to Girls just so that they could ACTUALLY DANCE. it was actually really cool seeing them dance in a way that matched the intensity and energy of the song
To this day I am still obsessed with Black Mamba. I remember the first time I came across the MV, I was SHOCKED by the drop-to-the-floor move in the chorus. It's just so good
I think that Black Mamba is such an anomaly because its also their most dynamic dance track if that makes sense, as well as the trend of TikTok challenges aiming to make dances easier. Black Mamba isnt really something that's doable for a TikTok, as well the movements make it hard to actually sing on the track. It becomes a challenge of balancing between choreo difficulty and letting the girls have a breather to be able to sing :)
When I watched aespa’s dance performance videos of Girls, it was horrible so I thought it was because of their limited dancing skills….Later, I found a comparison video of aespa and professional dancers dancing to Girls and then I realized the problem wasn’t solely coming from our girls, the main problem was the choreography itself because even professional dancers couldn’t make it 100% look good. Lemme list a few bad things about Girls’ choreography:
- Messy formations
- Weird moves (Winter and Giselle’s “Woo-hoo” hand-leg move, 🫱🫲 move and “Oh yeah”🤘move in the chorus, etc.)
- Some parts just don’t match the instrumentals
But I’m glad their Spicy choreography wasn’t that bad, and Drama’s was actually pretty good despite some imperfections. Hope to see more good choreographies from this amazing group
What shocks me is the impact the choreo can have in the perceived abilities of the members, the backlash started slowly with Next Level and had its pick with Girls just to everyone be shocked at Salty and Sweet and Illusion
song wise Black mamba is just amazing no wonder I keep going back to it
I NEED you to do this with other groups. Your commentary is super fascinating
I'd love to see you analyze Gfriend or Twice dances, because I feel like these groups have the opposite trajectory of going from easy to hard and vice-versa
I'd place Drama at top...that standing group choreo with all of them in a single line is jaw-dropping-diva-moment, you are giving review based on your personal taste, Drama choreo fits the song like a perfect glove and a very glamorous glove at that!!!
😂 Collage of different dances is exactly right bc SM asks several dance companies to make a full choreography for a comeback and then they just use whatever parts they like the most.
i think i've noticed it with many groups that their debut/earlier choreos are stronger/harder than their later ones. like, blackpink had awesome choreos at first but then they kept becoming simpler and more boring. or my faves dreamcatcher who still have strong choreos but i feel like nothing compares to their earlier ones in terms of difficulty and details. saying this as a dancer who has learnt most of said groups' choreos. ig today with all the dance challenges companies aim for simpler dances that can be copied more easily.
I think one of the biggest problems with their choreo was SM wanted this weird robotic, minimal movement image for the girls because of their AI concept, which is why once Lee Sooman left, who seemed to be the one pushing this image on the girls, the girls were showcasing much more emotion, stage presence, harder choreos such as Drama and Trick or Trick that showed off the girls skills even better than we had seen during their whole career. You could also tell that they were setting the girls up through the choreo they chose between all the choreos presented to the girls. I just really think that LSM wanted one image for the girls, which set them up and ended up showing the girls downfalls and faults rather than choosing dances that fit them and the song, and the other side of SM wanted something else for the girls, which is why you can somewhat see a change in choreo, lyrics, stage presence and more
i've done a girls cover and i LOVED doing it, especially with the people that were in that cover. however i do agree that it is one of their dances that lacks a lot.
I’ve seen previous comments about how Asspa’s choreo heavily depends on camera angles/movements. I agree. But as of recently since Drama I feel like their choreos have gotten better when they don’t highly relay on camera work to make it look good.
Interesting breakdowns and makes me understand why I cant delve into their performances for the most part. With that being said, I gotta say, I really love Drama choreo, they add to the song imo, including the last chorus. I think it's satisfying to me because all of their arms are angled the same way, tho i hve no idea how achievable is that (im not a dancer). It felt minimal but hold so much impact due to the "lines" they create from the pose for their last chorus.
i agree with this list! I'm glad 3 of the top 4 are their most recent releases i hope they keep this momentum. Better things is a personal fav because of how climatic the choreo feels i find black mamba a tad bit repetitive even tho it's the cleanest out of all of them.
Yesss I love Better Thing's dance. My top 3 is honestly tied cause I love all 3 so much!
I WOULD LOVE if you made a series I really love when people analyze dances and you did it so good
I think the problem is that they pick from so many different choreos and try to stick it all together when other groups mostly use one choreo and change thing or two
with drama last chorus i understand from a pov of just the dance its not giving anything, but from the view of the performance i think it works really well cuz cuz it give space to the audience to watch the members power without even doing nothing and just posing, and the popping after it is just so satisfine
and igree with what you said about spicy but even when it has some messy and basic movements it still feels like it finish the purpose of what i think they wanted for that comeback that is the synchronisation
alsoooo, for me salty and sweet choreo is good but the dance break moves feels awkward like if it was from savage, like that the only part of the choreo i dont like
You bring up some great points! What would your ranking be?
@@DiceyBrycie it’s almost as yours but for mine I would put spicy some spots higher(higher than DCT for example) and would put salty and sweet a little bit lower for what I said in the other comment(lower than drama)
I became a MY the moment I saw the drop in Black Mamba and I never regretted it 😂
Great job with the video man
I also have notice how much they keep walking in the midst of their choreo to get into formations and there's alot of formations, so half of the time the girls are just moving from one place to another and that looks ugly to me. Their choreographers or the ones deciding the steps for them really need to consider that. Based on their black mamba performance and their energy throughout their other performance also i can definitely see that aespa are capable of more. They just need right choreography in one direction according to their beats of the songs in my opinion. I love these girls so much .... they are so talented and top of the game but it always irks me that they don't have cool, catchy and strong choreography in their stages anymore like black mamba. I loved drama choreography too but only chorus part and winter's savage part.
Is it crazy that I didnt know Spicy had a choreo... I dont pay full attention to M/Vs anymore but usually at least ONE dance move stands out to me 😭
I love the description for each choreo, its breif but not vague. I agree with your opinion on Girls cus wtf... to some extent, most kpop choreos dont flow and rather are made for pure uniqueness sometimes. This is just a general view i noticed, which brings up your point of random posing in between the dances.
A group I'd love this type of video on would be Purple Kiss, their choreos are some of the best out of current girl groups imo.
I really enjoyed watching this video. For me, as someone who doesn't know anything about dancing it was soo informative. It's sad how half of their choreos don't do them or their songs justice but it's giving me hope that some of their more recent releases are among the top spots!!
Omg thank you so much for the support! I honestly think they should update some of their choreo for a big stage/award and then keep it like that for the future (that way the audiences that like the dances won't feel betrayed because they can js make it seem as if it's a grander version), but seriously a lot of the choreography doesn't showcase their overall talents at all (especially their dance breaks! Does SM realize that dance breaks are literally designed to showcase the groups dance capabilities...?) and they deserve to be able to showcase bigger and better choreography. Their newer stuff has been so good though and it's making me more hopeful for the future :)))
This is so cool! I'd love to see more choreo analysis videos!
For dreams come true, the original song is very soft and the choreo for it accordingly dreamy. For aespa's version it does seem odd to keep it more to the arms as the music is much more vivid.
one thing i personally don't like about aespa new choreo's is that a lot of movements, on top of relying on hands & arms, seem made only to "look pretty" (except for some dance breaks). that makes the dance look overall static and more of an improvised interpretation of the song, rather than a work of art on itself. SM should be less scared of giving them cool, intense movements (like the ones we had seen in black mamba) out of fear of potentially making a "weird" dance move. after all, the original, unexpected dances are the ones that stand out and remain iconic.
ok, i know this song doesnt have choreo, but imagine how fun hold on tight choreography could be, given that aespa is a 4-member group! they could do formations in shapes of tetriminos
th-cam.com/video/jk92G3bpohU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=X9SzK-239trKcsAH
One thing I think people don't talk about enough in relation to Aespa's choreography is that whoever SM has working on formations is just... not very good at it. This is especially obvious in comparison to HYBE who have quite a few groups with a low member count, but each dance is latticed in a way where the overall architectural effect onstage is good. From what I've seen, 90% of Aespa's backup dancer choreography is just them doing the same steps as Aespa, which is honestly kind of distracting, especially since the dancers can usually put more power into the moves.
It's my personal opinion that the best backup dancing choreography always needs moments where if you watch them individually, you'd be like huh????
For example:
th-cam.com/video/aqW4xXUgmno/w-d-xo.htmlsi=vB8gHymQNaY8NC__&t=75
Or here:
th-cam.com/video/aqW4xXUgmno/w-d-xo.htmlsi=esHsw5FhMJxdsN1U&t=115 (sweeping the floor with their bandanas for 6 counts... they are so real for this.)
I KNOW someone at rehearsal was laughing, but these are also some of the best parts of Run, so.
This entire stage is great, costuming included, but especially from this section: th-cam.com/video/318cwWHhO3o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=MncI10E0ovfLr07f&t=94
(Sorry if my sentence structure is wack. It's 3:30am, and I definitely should be sleeping. 😂)
I agree with this so much. Backup dancers are there to highlight the main members performance and enhance the overall imagery (which is gonna have to include some wacky moves/imagery). I think people got mad at SM after that one Savage stage where SM provided no budget and they had no backup dancers, so they were like "fine we'll throw people in the back that will do the exact same thing that aespa does and call it a day" without actually caring for/utilizing the dancers to enhance the imagery smh
I'm truly surprised you rated Black Mamba so highly with it being created by three choreographers: Kyle Hanagami, Han 'REDLIC' Haeun and Janelle Ginestra. Really thought you'd gone with Life's Too Short since there were only two choreographers involved: ASUPI and Kiel Tutin.
have you seen the original choreographers' dance of GIRLS? I know that aespa have to sing and stuff so they can't always perform at 100% energy, but it shows kind of shows the maximum potential of the choreo
I think Girls is sooooooo good, all of their choreo is so good to me. There’s something so addictive about it, I actually like the way a lot Girls is made up of “poses” - there’s something so sassy and ‘vogue’ about it. Maybe they’re making it for the gays cause I’m obsessed
I don't agree with the point not having different choreographer work on it. Having multiple demos. Other group make it work. They take the best part and create seamless transitions.
It gets all ideas from every professional and I feel like one choreographer can't achieve. Having different eyes and ears are so crucial
The choreo manager just needs to be good.
please, do more of this kind of videos about diff groups. really liked it.
I like how although your analysis was part-critical I could also tell it was coming from a place of being a legitimate fan of aespa and was very respectful. I enjoy ultra-negative and sensational critiques as much as the next kpop girlie but sometimes… it can verge on being unnecessarily mean. So rash to the point of becoming noise pollution.
This was so interesting! I love to hear someone who seems to know a lot about this type of dance talk about it. I agree with your list, but before I wasn’t able to put all of my thoughts into words, especially about what makes the better dances so good. “Girls bad because the moves look awkward and they don’t even DO anything for half of it. Black Mamba good because uh- well it just is, look how they go on the floor!”
But yeah sometimes I think things like “well, Spicy is a pretty easy choreo, I bet I could learn that chorus so fast!” and then I go look at it and decide it’s just not worth the effort to learn all those various assorted movements that don’t really make anything together
I like aespa but don’t follow them closely- I had no idea Salty and Sweet had a dance, so thank you for bringing this to my attention. It’s great
Honestly I couldn’t see the differences this guy was talking about until he got to the last two and I was like ‘oh yea this is waay better’
i love that you put so much effort into such a simple video. the effort really shows! i love dance analysis videos like this and it definitely explains why i felt such a disconnect between the dancers and the dance; since i know they are good dancers but i mean.. girls was such a scary dance to witness i thought something was wrong with them lmfao.
Such an good vid, deserves more views and attention.
Thx 🥰❤️
i feel like SM Ent. proratizes poses and the girls looking as pretty as possible at all times instead of intense choreo. I this is part of why their choreos feel boring, because they are dancing the choreos in a way that doesnt use a lot of strength or full extension. Sometimes it feels like the girls dont put much personal flavor into their choreo. It feels unpersonal and they dont look like they are having fun which makes it boring.
the ai robotic concept probably also is a factor in the personality-less style of dancing at times.
such a cohesive and good video pls make more I'm not a dancer I can never put into words what you just did thx for that
I’m sorry but the way there were walking sounds added during the part of Next Level killed me 💀💀😭😭
This video was such an intriguing watch! I really enjoyed the amount of detail you put into aspects you did and didn’t like. You have a unique way of illustrating your takes that becomes satisfying when paired with your editing!
Bruh illusions hand movement was the best wtfff???
6:06 The example that comes to my mind of this done right is the last chorus of Charmer by Stray Kids. They are doing a similar chain of movements but they do it in different ways and it showcases their different dance styles very well
this video sent me into a kpop choreo deep dive 😂 imo le sserafim has the best dances, i would love to see you make a video ranking their choreos!
I love Salty and Sweet + Black Mamba choreos as a dancer myself so i pretty much agree with you.
black mamba was just that girl.
Would love to see more pf this kind of video!
I actually really liked the weird chorus thing for illusion with Karina's hands, it feels mysterious/sexy to me kinda? I agree though, it definitely lost the mystique in parts that would've done great with more movement
can you pleaseeee do twice? your commentary is so interesting and twice has some of the most iconic choreos in the industry so i think it would be entertaining to see how you evaluate them, especially given their growth as artists that shows in the way their choreos change throughout the years
Too many TT I fear
Salty & sweet is aespa's best song imo
Aespa has huge potential become bigger than what they are now but SM is not taking advantage of it and their transition and formation feels very awkward and there stage feels empty and I wish they had better choreography and instead of going with the basic and safe and easy choreography that don’t sometimes even goin with the songs
amazing analogy! Very well said (Also I love how you‘re a winter stan too) and yes pls more vids like dis!
i agree on most but i have to say that the movements that you considered uninteresting are good to me. idk why haha. i think it's because those movements match the energy o the sog. for illusion, the hand movement is on the downbeat chorus so I like that they kept it simple. same with savage with that iconic chorus movement.
the entire video made me appreciate the top 5 choreos a lot more, especially better things and salty and sweet !!
i love how u get into it immediately and just explain so well!
and the editing !!!! everything was so easy to keep up w
Aww thank you sm 😅❤ Even while analyzing the dances that closely during my writing process made me appreciate their dances sm more!
aespa's 'Dreams Come True' is nostalgic. The choreography is awesome.
Genuinely loved this video, you put your thoughts out really well. It’s just their choreos not only seen messy sometimes, but underwhelming compared to the pace of the song. Like Trick Or Tricks dance. I was expecting an intense dance and was given in a sense a spicy level dance :/
Yall are so incredibly loved💜
I think its the girls lack of energy and facial expressions is what ruined girls’ choreography cus if you look at the demo choreographies the amount of energy the dancers put it into it makes the dance look better 💀
We have to remember SM wanted them to keep the AI-concept even within their stage present the first 2 full years of their career. That's why until Spicy they have stiff movements (like in Savage and Next Level) and no facial expressions. They were supposed to look like robots/AIs. Thank god LSM left and they're finally allowed to breath and have fun on stage.
aespa's 'Drama' is incredible. The choreography is fantastic.
I just started liking a few songs by Aespa. I don't know much about them but this is what I think so far:
Next Level - Since they had heals on, they couldn't do a lot of dynamic moves.
Drama - Peaked my interest in Aespa. The song is cool and catchy. Choreo is visually interesting.
Girls - I didn't mind the choreo but I think it did demanded more powerful moves in the routine.
Black Mamba - I agree that it has the most visual interesting choreo.
Wow I’ve learned a lot from this video! now I really want to see a Twice choreography analysis 🫣
aespa's 'Next Level' is awesome. The choreography is sick.
I mostly agree with your opinion. As a SM GG Stan, aespa' choreos are so unfortunately bad when compared to other 4th gen GGs and I don't know what SM is doing with its GGs because I think Red Velvet also has awful choreos. Please make a video like this for RV as well (of course, If you want to).
I'm glad I came across this video cause aespa choreo is just not that good yk? I mean the girls are really good at dancing, especially karina and ningning, and it sucks cause the bad choreo makes it seem like their bad dancers which is just not true
Any other groups I should do? ↓↓↓↓
Ive
Nmixx
Newjeans
Le sserafim
Billlie
I would love to see more videos like this from! So interesting and enjoyable to watch
Black Mamba is truly their best so far. Its seems like the choreography was made without consideration of being tiktok-friendly. But my favorite move is Karina’s run run run kitty kitty run run.
aespa's 'Black Mamba' is great. The choreography is amazing.
aespa's 'Spicy' is amazing. The choreography is awesome.
aespa's 'Illusion' is cool. The choreography is fantastic.
amazing video!!!
pls do it with other groups (ive, le sserafim, newjeans, itzy, nmixx, etc)
aespa's 'Savage' is insane. The choreography is intense.
Like also they weren’t even allowed to sing live during next level era (and also most of girls), so why is the choreo do goddamn boring???
I realiked the video and i think it would be cool to see you examine others gg dance (I would love izone, ive or le Sserafim but honestly any group would be cool- i don’t follow aespa and it was super interesting!)
A le sserafim video is coming!! :)
awesome analysis.
aespa's 'Salty & Sweet' is awesome. The choreography is good.
i think, until spicy, they just wanted to show the kwangya story so they try to keep choreo just so simple and almost not visible. the lyrics, the hand movements, the costumes… all of them just worked for kwangya. when spicy came out they changed their direction. the story is gone now😂 but i think they still want to make simple choreos cause all they want is showng ‘aespa’ power. they want aespa looks powerful even they dont look they are doing too much. they are sm, they are aespa. the name is enough. so they wanted to show aespa’s sp! you can see now, aespa changed a lot. they focused their sp and their stage looks like they are too big for the other 4th gen groups (like ive’s and new jeans’ powers are the song itself, itzy’s is performance but gidle, le sserafim and now aespa focused on sp. it makes them more serious in every way. you can see their choreos all simple, songs are more simple than other, they didn’t even try much for perform but overall they all looked more unbeatable. that is just my opinion of course😊). in short, aespa’s simple and blank? choreos not gonna go but they are doing this more interesting now. if you can watch new stages of them, you can clearly see their sp is on top but even now, their sp of the songs before spicy is still boring and have no sp. kwangya story itself still too hard for the girls. they still look like they dont wanna perform their before spicy songs so it makes me understand that they were not boring performancer since begin, the company, choreographers and the girls cant handle this much concept at all.
Need more of this
plss my mom wants to know if you can do this type of video with stayc,itzy and le sserafim
for me, girls can be more loved and popular if they made the choreo better. i hate the choreo so much but i love the song. esp the dance break concert ver, they did a bad job with giving karina that choreo….