On October 8th, Seventeen’s performance unit unleashed their newest song and MV, titled “13월의 춤 (Lilili Yabbay).”
The song itself is fascinating. I haven’t heard anything like it in K-pop at all, which is quite a feat. The background track, during the verses, uses ambient-like electronic noise, with an electric guitar providing some semblance of a melody. Some verses even omit a bass beat. The members' voices, also distorted and ethereal sounding, come out on top. In the chorus, the track drops with an ominous electro bass beat, yet lightens up with bubbly popping beats laid over top. By sound alone, “13월의 춤” is a huge divergence from the usual upbeat fare we are used to from Seventeen.
The benefit of this multi-layered song is that it showcases the performance team’s musicality. Musicality in dance is based on two things. One is the knowledge of the principles of music, like tempo, phrasing, rhythms and sentiment. The other is using this knowledge to creatively connect, interpret and even add on to the piece through movement.
“13월의 춤” omits certain tropes in music, such as a constant bass line, as well as intensifies other sounds, like the overemphasized staccato pops during the chorus. These production decisions allow the choreographers to have fun and play with their dance. They can fill the silent moments with choreographed beats of their own. They can also seek out the more subtle background instrumentals and add movement to that line to bring it to the forefront.
A good example of filling a silent verse with choreography is this nifty little phrase.
The members stand directly in front of each other. As Dino raps with little background music, the members behind him create a clock, using their arms as the speeding hands. An appropriate piece of choreography to represent passage of time, it fits perfectly with Dino’s rap, “I’m always looking for you when I return from January to December.”
In terms of hip hop style, the choreo has an urban feel. It veers from the wacking, popping and breaking style of traditional hip hop, and focuses more on experimental choreography that tells a story. This isn't a new concept to Seventeen. But having only four members to choreograph, rather than thirteen, frees them up to explore choreography.
The boys are showing us some really interesting movements in this piece. It feels very organic at times, even mimicking shapes found in nature, like a lotus.
We also see some nice chain choreography, where one member initiates a movement that flows through the rest.
There is also a pleasing natural growth of movement. From beginning to end of the song, the four trace an arc with their dance, starting from the ground and growing larger in their movements before returning to the ground once again.
This particular choreographic element was highlighted through the production of this video. The stylistic choice of a one shot MV really emphasizes that this is about the boys' dance skills, because one continuous shot means the flow of choreography is not interrupted. The audience can both see and feel the progression through the piece.
Overall, this is a very satisfying performance to watch.
Seventeen's performance unit is arguably some of the more talented dancers out there. However, I think their strength lies in the team itself. Style-wise, all four boys dance very similarly. Their performance is diversified by their facial expressions, but the moves are executed along the same plane. I’m not sure if it’s because they have been dancing together for so long, or if it’s related to their similar body types, but the execution of each move was performed with similar strength and extension across all four dancers. It’s rare to see that.
As usual, choreographic credits are hard to find for this performance. Since Seventeen is known to choreograph many of its dances, I would hope this came from the performance unit themselves. If you have any information about the choreography, let us know!
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