This week, we met up with Grade 7 student Aurora P. who was a director for one of the seven dance performances in the October MS Dance Show’ Tasty’! Her show “Fiery,” co-directed with students Aubrey and Aylin, was centered around the theme of hard work symbolizing powerful and energetic dance moves through the performance!
Aurora, who joined ISKL in the 6th grade, is a true K-pop fan, having been introduced to the genre by her friends at her former school. She had always loved dancing, attending contemporary dance classes when she was 5 or 6 years old and eventually moving into Hip-Hop dancing.
Aurora also loves tennis, volleyball, dance, and fitness. She enjoys drawing, listening to music, and loves watching K-dramas and writing – a true Korean culture fan!
Here is her story.
“I was surprised when Ms. Karen Palko, the MS Dance Director, picked me to be one of the directors for the MS Dance performances this semester. I didn’t realize that 7th graders were allowed to have this opportunity, and I am so thankful to her.
‘Being an MS Dance Show director was hard work. As I learned from the K-pop group BTS, you have to work hard, and I always tend to stick with that concept. The first dance I directed was using the song ‘How You Like That’ by BLACKPINK. The lyrics, music, and the dance aren’t anything too special, but I chose the song because it has that swaggish-vibe, the choreography is easy, and many people like this song. BLACKPINK also has this arrogant and confident vibe that I thought was great to start the show with.
‘The next dance we performed was a Hip-hop old school rap song called ‘No More Dream’ by BTS from their first album, ‘2 COOL 4 SKOOL’. I think the song has excellent lyrics and the right meaning about school and dreams. The choreography’s difficulty was average, but performing as a group was way harder than performing individually. The last dance we performed to the song, ‘ON’ by BTS, is the most challenging song out of the three. ‘ON’ also has meaningful lyrics about not giving up. Overall, the show was a bit rushed due to all that is going on with COVID, and that’s why we didn’t have enough time to practice, however, I think we didn’t do too bad.
“The group BTS inspires me because I love their music, lyrics, and dances. When I saw them dancing, the first thing I thought was, “I also want to dance like them.” I started learning their dances from YouTube and ended up taking it seriously.”
‘My advice for those who wish to join the dance program is to be aware that there is a lot of practicing when taking part in a dance show – even on weekends. Also, I would suggest to “Practice as if you are on stage, and dance on stage as if you are practicing as if you are on stage.” I’ve also started taking Choreography classes a few months ago, which has helped, and ISKL has a cool dance room, so do take advantage of that!
‘After I graduate from ISKL, my dream is to study dance at 1 Million Dances studio in Seoul, Korea. I hope to inspire other people who would like to dance. “
What does “Be All You Are” mean to you?
“To be honest in opinions, be cool, be whatever you want to be. Do what you want to do and work hard to achieve that.”
