Hoisted from the archives: Athletic R&B comments reconstituted
Am expecting to link my original June 2011 LJ writeup on Miss A's "Breathe" in a couple of days; in the meantime I'm reposting here its original comment thread. This particular thread became very important to me because in it askbask gave me the beginning of a primer on dancers and choreography in K-pop, and he embedded some terrific dance performances - in the case of BoA's dance rehearsal for "Look Who's Talking," I'd say simply my favorite dance performance ever, by anyone: It's not as stunning as the best of, say, Astaire and James Brown, but for basic joy in motion I've never seen anything I'd rather look at.
The reason I'm now giving these comments their own post is that most of the video embeds were eventually either deleted from YouTube or, because they used shockwave flash, they're no longer functional. The original comment thread is just a mess to look at, full of blank space and links that don't work. And because we can't update any comments that have received a reply, there's no good way to put the correct video embeds anywhere near where we'd originally posted them. And Dreamwidth, where people nowadays are most likely to discover this thread, doesn't have the capability of embedding videos in comments anyway.
And I love reliving askbask's awestruck response to "Into The New World," and I want you to experience it too.*
Anyway, I recommend that you start with the original post, linked here:
Athletic R&B: Miss A BREATHE
So here's the reconstituted comment thread:
askbask
2011-06-26 04:26 am (local)
Athleticism.
Min (miss A) - Strong Heart
2010.10.05 strong heart_ Miss A Min Dance
Might've been mentioned before, but Min spent some years in the US, preparing for a launch and recording un-released single 'Boyfriend', before the debut was cancelled and she joined Miss A. Sounds like something Cassie also could've recorded, never released and then had leaked.
MIN (JYP Trainee) - Dancing to "Boyfriend"
Miss A released their (quite listenable) 'Love Again' single and video as a three member group.
koganbot
2011-06-28 12:08 pm (local)
Wow, there are a whole string of these (the rest being [her dancing to] other people's tracks, it seems):
MIN (JYP Trainee) - Dancing to "Radar"
Who are considered the really good dancers in K-pop? I'd think Min'd be near the top. There are some names mentioned in this YouTube thread.
askbask
2011-06-28 12:39 pm (local)
Yeah Min is one of them. The Chinese Miss A members as well, Jia and Fei.
BoA is #1.
090605 ExtraTV BoA's Raw Rehearsal
She just finished shooting a US dance flick (Cobu 3D) in the Step Up tradition, lead role vs Derek Hough.
Former BoA back-up dancer Kahi
As mentioned in those comments, Hyoyeon, Minzy
Unfortunately Sori's own underperforming singles haven't given her opportunities for Ciara-like moves.
Guys: Jay Park, Taeyang, Rain, TVXQ
koganbot
2011-06-29 12:03 am (local)
I like all four of the Miss A's, but Min is the standout, has an extra suppleness, as if every single one of her muscles can hear and speak. Just amazing the way she has of letting the music ripple through her.
Fei is effective in a different way: she's tall and this gives a false sense of gawkiness, with an almost comic faux frightenedness in her eyes; it's very funny and hard to keep one's own eyes off of.
Watching that BoA rehearsal increased my respect for BoA 100%. I've never gotten her as a singer, though haven't heard much of her voluminous repertoire. I borrowed her American album from the Denver Public Library last month. A lot of the material is excellent, especially the stuff from Jonback/Bloodshy & Avant, a track called "Touched" in particular. There was this dance gorgeousness, a desire ready to saturate the atmosphere. But I got the feeling I sometimes get from Keri Hilson of an absence in the middle. The tracks seemed to be waiting for their Cassie, or Britney, or someone, a missing ache or neediness that needed to seep into the music. She was singing well, but not injecting enough character.
But looking at the rehearsal for "Look Who's Talking," I see immediately that BoA's got something: her whole demeanor, a completely flexible confidence, a casual command of space and an elastic joy that's capable of owning every cubic centimeter in the room, should she find her way to it. Maybe the trouble with the album is that the music doesn't reflect this ease, this motion. Maybe she needed more hip-hop, more disco, I'm not sure.
askbask
2011-06-29 12:29 am (local)
Yes.. I think she shines with this stuff
BoA / 永遠
Although as you know I'm quite fond of her in ballad mode as well, and her latest Korean album. Her own compositions aren't really hip-hop-y but they're enjoyable, I like the casual lightweight sound of 'Ordinary Day' in contrast to its sinister lyrics.
askbask
2011-06-29 12:34 am (local)
She's generally been more rnb on her Japanese stuff
BoA / 三浦大知 "Possibility" (DAICHI MIURA LIVE TOUR 2010 ～GRAVITY～)
askbask
2011-06-29 02:08 am (local)
"completely flexible confidence, a casual command of space"
Exactly! Will be quoting this when talking about her strengths to others. I haven't always been happy with her singles, but am still mostly transfixed by her live performances because of this.
askbask
2011-07-21 01:21 pm (local)
This is the most impressive dance performance I've ever seen from a girl group. It almost beggars belief. The stuff around the 3 minute mark is just scary.
[Pre-Debut] ★Girls' Generation (SNSD)★ ▶『Into The New World』Jul 19, 2007
Helps that it's all lipsynced - it's noticably less sharp on regular performances - and that the camera is fixed so we get the amazing sync work and units moving around the stage. I don't expect them to ever match this level again because it was their debut track and they exclusively practiced this choreography for such a long time.
koganbot
2011-07-21 03:32 pm (local)
I quite like the popping/locking at 2:00 as well. Who was the dancer there? (I've made little effort yet to distinguish the members of SNSD; that's a subject for further research.)
askbask
2011-07-22 12:05 am (local)
Hyoyeon
askbask
2011-07-24 02:46 pm (local)
Sorry, but I can't let the topic of dance and k-pop go before mentioning Rino Nakasone, a Japanese-American who works with SM Entertainment and does choreography for everyone - BoA, SNSD, f(x), SuJu.. Here's one she did for DBSK:
TVXQ! 동방신기 '왜 (Keep Your Head Down)' MV Dance Ver. A
MAXIMUM -TVXQ (東方神起 ) Official Choreography by Rino
[EDIT: askbask isn't certain which of these he originally posted, so I've inserted both.]
koganbot
2011-07-09 12:27 am (local)
Search results for miss a breathe dance cover About 1,480 results https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miss+a+breathe+dance+cover
Only checked a few so far, but they tend to be quite good.
Miss A Breathe Dance Tutorial
koganbot
2011-07-09 12:59 am (local)
Miss A Breathe Dance Tutorial
Re: Miss A Breathe Dance Tutorial
askbask
2011-07-09 09:59 am (local)
Here are some contest winners http://www.allkpop.com/2010/11/miss-a-dance-contest-winners
koganbot
2012-04-01 01:16 pm (local)
Min on a show called "Star King":
https://youtu.be/lx2cUEl2ivg?t=6m59s
Needs more SweetS
pingback_bot
2011-12-11 02:04 pm (local)
User arbitrary-greay referenced to your post from Needs more SweetS saying: [...] In comparison to most of Kpop, which employs athletic R&B [...]
Thinking in webs and not chains
pingback_bot
2012-01-14 09:36 pm (local)
User arbitrary-greay referenced to your post from Thinking in webs and not chains saying: [...] became somewhat viral. So that train of thought took me to Frank Kogan's opinion on BoA's voice [...]
*I doubt I'll ever really get to a wholesale updating of the embeds and links on my old comment threads. Fixing the posts themselves was hard enough, and I'm still not done. These old K-pop threads in particular, though, are crucial because I discovered through them a bunch of people (anhh, tarigwaemir, petronia, askbask) who knew far more about Korean music than I did and who were eager to teach me (and then we were joined by a slew of others: Christophe, belecrivain, skyecaptain, davidfrazer, arbitrary_greay, sub_divided, Maddie, and whoever else dropped in).
This entry was originally posted at https://koganbot.dreamwidth.org/391765.html. Comments still welcome here, there, and anywhere.
The reason I'm now giving these comments their own post is that most of the video embeds were eventually either deleted from YouTube or, because they used shockwave flash, they're no longer functional. The original comment thread is just a mess to look at, full of blank space and links that don't work. And because we can't update any comments that have received a reply, there's no good way to put the correct video embeds anywhere near where we'd originally posted them. And Dreamwidth, where people nowadays are most likely to discover this thread, doesn't have the capability of embedding videos in comments anyway.
And I love reliving askbask's awestruck response to "Into The New World," and I want you to experience it too.*
Anyway, I recommend that you start with the original post, linked here:
Athletic R&B: Miss A BREATHE
So here's the reconstituted comment thread:
askbask
2011-06-26 04:26 am (local)
Athleticism.
Min (miss A) - Strong Heart
Click to view2010.10.05 strong heart_ Miss A Min Dance
Might've been mentioned before, but Min spent some years in the US, preparing for a launch and recording un-released single 'Boyfriend', before the debut was cancelled and she joined Miss A. Sounds like something Cassie also could've recorded, never released and then had leaked.
MIN (JYP Trainee) - Dancing to "Boyfriend"
Miss A released their (quite listenable) 'Love Again' single and video as a three member group.
koganbot
2011-06-28 12:08 pm (local)
Wow, there are a whole string of these (the rest being [her dancing to] other people's tracks, it seems):
MIN (JYP Trainee) - Dancing to "Radar"
Who are considered the really good dancers in K-pop? I'd think Min'd be near the top. There are some names mentioned in this YouTube thread.
askbask
2011-06-28 12:39 pm (local)
Yeah Min is one of them. The Chinese Miss A members as well, Jia and Fei.
BoA is #1.
090605 ExtraTV BoA's Raw Rehearsal
She just finished shooting a US dance flick (Cobu 3D) in the Step Up tradition, lead role vs Derek Hough.
Former BoA back-up dancer Kahi
As mentioned in those comments, Hyoyeon, Minzy
Unfortunately Sori's own underperforming singles haven't given her opportunities for Ciara-like moves.
Guys: Jay Park, Taeyang, Rain, TVXQ
koganbot
2011-06-29 12:03 am (local)
I like all four of the Miss A's, but Min is the standout, has an extra suppleness, as if every single one of her muscles can hear and speak. Just amazing the way she has of letting the music ripple through her.
Fei is effective in a different way: she's tall and this gives a false sense of gawkiness, with an almost comic faux frightenedness in her eyes; it's very funny and hard to keep one's own eyes off of.
Watching that BoA rehearsal increased my respect for BoA 100%. I've never gotten her as a singer, though haven't heard much of her voluminous repertoire. I borrowed her American album from the Denver Public Library last month. A lot of the material is excellent, especially the stuff from Jonback/Bloodshy & Avant, a track called "Touched" in particular. There was this dance gorgeousness, a desire ready to saturate the atmosphere. But I got the feeling I sometimes get from Keri Hilson of an absence in the middle. The tracks seemed to be waiting for their Cassie, or Britney, or someone, a missing ache or neediness that needed to seep into the music. She was singing well, but not injecting enough character.
But looking at the rehearsal for "Look Who's Talking," I see immediately that BoA's got something: her whole demeanor, a completely flexible confidence, a casual command of space and an elastic joy that's capable of owning every cubic centimeter in the room, should she find her way to it. Maybe the trouble with the album is that the music doesn't reflect this ease, this motion. Maybe she needed more hip-hop, more disco, I'm not sure.
askbask
2011-06-29 12:29 am (local)
Yes.. I think she shines with this stuff
BoA / 永遠
Although as you know I'm quite fond of her in ballad mode as well, and her latest Korean album. Her own compositions aren't really hip-hop-y but they're enjoyable, I like the casual lightweight sound of 'Ordinary Day' in contrast to its sinister lyrics.
askbask
2011-06-29 12:34 am (local)
She's generally been more rnb on her Japanese stuff
BoA / 三浦大知 "Possibility" (DAICHI MIURA LIVE TOUR 2010 ～GRAVITY～)
askbask
2011-06-29 02:08 am (local)
"completely flexible confidence, a casual command of space"
Exactly! Will be quoting this when talking about her strengths to others. I haven't always been happy with her singles, but am still mostly transfixed by her live performances because of this.
askbask
2011-07-21 01:21 pm (local)
This is the most impressive dance performance I've ever seen from a girl group. It almost beggars belief. The stuff around the 3 minute mark is just scary.
[Pre-Debut] ★Girls' Generation (SNSD)★ ▶『Into The New World』Jul 19, 2007
Helps that it's all lipsynced - it's noticably less sharp on regular performances - and that the camera is fixed so we get the amazing sync work and units moving around the stage. I don't expect them to ever match this level again because it was their debut track and they exclusively practiced this choreography for such a long time.
koganbot
2011-07-21 03:32 pm (local)
I quite like the popping/locking at 2:00 as well. Who was the dancer there? (I've made little effort yet to distinguish the members of SNSD; that's a subject for further research.)
askbask
2011-07-22 12:05 am (local)
Hyoyeon
askbask
2011-07-24 02:46 pm (local)
Sorry, but I can't let the topic of dance and k-pop go before mentioning Rino Nakasone, a Japanese-American who works with SM Entertainment and does choreography for everyone - BoA, SNSD, f(x), SuJu.. Here's one she did for DBSK:
TVXQ! 동방신기 '왜 (Keep Your Head Down)' MV Dance Ver. A
MAXIMUM -TVXQ (東方神起 ) Official Choreography by Rino
[EDIT: askbask isn't certain which of these he originally posted, so I've inserted both.]
koganbot
2011-07-09 12:27 am (local)
Search results for miss a breathe dance cover About 1,480 results https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=miss+a+breathe+dance+cover
Only checked a few so far, but they tend to be quite good.
Miss A Breathe Dance Tutorial
koganbot
2011-07-09 12:59 am (local)
Miss A Breathe Dance Tutorial
Re: Miss A Breathe Dance Tutorial
askbask
2011-07-09 09:59 am (local)
Here are some contest winners http://www.allkpop.com/2010/11/miss-a-dance-contest-winners
koganbot
2012-04-01 01:16 pm (local)
Min on a show called "Star King":
https://youtu.be/lx2cUEl2ivg?t=6m59s
Needs more SweetS
pingback_bot
2011-12-11 02:04 pm (local)
User arbitrary-greay referenced to your post from Needs more SweetS saying: [...] In comparison to most of Kpop, which employs athletic R&B [...]
Thinking in webs and not chains
pingback_bot
2012-01-14 09:36 pm (local)
User arbitrary-greay referenced to your post from Thinking in webs and not chains saying: [...] became somewhat viral. So that train of thought took me to Frank Kogan's opinion on BoA's voice [...]
*I doubt I'll ever really get to a wholesale updating of the embeds and links on my old comment threads. Fixing the posts themselves was hard enough, and I'm still not done. These old K-pop threads in particular, though, are crucial because I discovered through them a bunch of people (anhh, tarigwaemir, petronia, askbask) who knew far more about Korean music than I did and who were eager to teach me (and then we were joined by a slew of others: Christophe, belecrivain, skyecaptain, davidfrazer, arbitrary_greay, sub_divided, Maddie, and whoever else dropped in).
This entry was originally posted at https://koganbot.dreamwidth.org/391765.html. Comments still welcome here, there, and anywhere.