#oh the STORYTELLING.. in his choreo...

[llemon-soda]

more scribbles

[meylovesmusic]

Thoughts on The Firstfruit by MARK of NCT 💚

Toronto's Window - chill, moving, and very explanatory of just Mark as a person imo. he's a storyteller through and through.

1999 - such a vibe omg, really showcases Mark's versatility as an artist, a different take on the more nostalgic sound we've been getting from kpop recently

Flight to NYC - really helps create the storytelling element Mark and his group mates have all been saying he'd do for years, sick production

Righteous - so fucking cool holy shit, love the heavier more electronic influence in the production, very neo but still very mark's brand of neo

Fraktsiya - still such a banger I'll never get over this track omg, "I'm NCT", love the variety in the production it adds great texture without being overstimulating, Lee Young Ji is a queen love her, Mark really does carry so much of modern sm on his back atp and props to him honestly for putting out such a good album

Raincouver - very chill very light but still very much a vibe I can understand Mark going for, play on words omg I love it, every person just has that one sing that reminds them of home and I think mark really made his own to express that feeling better

Loser - ooh acoustic?? fun, another play on words ok ok, oh no it's sad longing, but it still sounds so pretty and chill if you ignore the lyrics 😭, love hearing all the different tones and textures in his voice it's so satisfying to the ear, definitely very well executes the feeling of not wanting to let go of someone or something

Watching TV - a fun and chill bop with lots of variety in sound, crush and mark sound great together, the use of auto tune really helps emphasize the kinda vibe mark was going for, oh shit it's still sad boy but party boy but chill this is confusing but I love it

+82 Pressin' - eyyyy haechan feat. mark (line distribution goes wilddd), honestly this was such a good pre release, the lore and storytelling in the mv too??, hyuk sounds great as always, loved the choreo for this, Mark just has a way with writing lyrics like just randomly being able to fit in "dolphin" of all things is such a testament to his writing honestly, Mark sounded great too obv

200 - glad to see it on the full album honestly 💚, I don't think I've listened to this song enough considering how much I love everything about it, Mark really worked hard on this album for so long I'm glad he's getting his moment (I also know exactly what playlist of mine this fits on have to go add it now why didn't I do that earlier??)

Journey Mercies - all the little details in the track production holy shit, this is so dynamic??, ok vocals I see u mark, oh shit this hits you right on the heart, Mark bro I'll be your everything ok, sounds like a good hanging out in the park on a spring night at the beginning of summer when the sky is just clear enough and there's a slight breeze but it's still warm out song, but yeah loved the production on this!

Mom's Interlude - I honestly really liked that Mark added in so many bits like this that drew you back to reality with production that suited the mood of each break, I don't speak Korean but I bet Mark's mom is speaking facts

Too Much - starting off stripped back is such a statement in contrast to the title, also tying it all back to 1999? mark truly is a storyteller, what a great way to end the album, the production switch ok???!!?!?, this is probably the most someone could hear all the different sides of Mark in one song holy shit, this is a masterpiece omg

°•:.*°•

honestly this album is a whole experience, so props to Mark for working so hard on it! I definitely get the vibe that it wasn't just creative expression for him but also his chance to show nctzens all the sides of him (that's really putting yourself in a vulnerable position and as an artist I can relate a LOT)

°•:.*°•

albums I'd recommend to people who liked The Firstfruit: Indigo and RPWP by RM of BTS (immediately these were the kind of vibes and impact I personally felt), 19.99 by BOYNEXTDOOR (there's a similar pattern so far of albums with songs that just feel like entering a new chapter of life idk why)

°•:.*°•

congrats on the release, Mark! it turned out really well and I'm sure everyone will say their praises, but know that putting out music like this reaches your fans in a way that makes a difference 💚

[perksofbeingpoet]

Would the dps boys like the 2023 Barbie movie/how would they react to it?

☆ THE POETS' THOUGHTS ON BARBIE ☆

(please bare in mind that these are teenage boys in the 60s)

NEIL: not really his kind of movie (he's one for indie arthouse stuff, and all the poets tease him about just wanting to sound cool and different), but loves the portrayal of struggles slowly chewing away at Barbie, resulting in a breakdown, and then the reveal of it all belonging to the human experience. It makes him feel understood in a small way. Plus he thought the Kens were hot but shhh

TODD: loves 👏 the 👏 colours 👏 the whole pastel vibe is super calming to him and he likes the music, and that end bit with the trees and montage bits? it definitely touches him, kinda like Keatings speeches do, plus it was his first entry to mainstream feminism (seeing that the boys literally have like zero contact with girls), giving him a chance to maybe do some research from then on!

CHARLIE: hot take but charlie would be annoyed by its portrayal of women's struggles, he'd totally be the type of guy to like chuckle a bit when the speech about how women have to be way too many things at once comes up. i know the book is not canon and the worst but there's a scene in there where charlie gets annoyed at Gloria being like "oh it's nice that you don't just wanna make out with me but also care about my inner values" and i think that is kinda true to Charlie (at least seeing how he pretends to create poetry for the girls to show off)? Ultimately, he did want girls to join Welton just so the boys could stop "beating off", and he is just a 16 year old boy when it comes down to it- so I think that he'd love the music and would definitely identify with Ken, but I'm afraid to say he'd make fun of the feminist aspect. He has room to grow though! I genuinely believe that Charlie learns and gets better <33

KNOX: LOVES it. Come on, tell me knox isn't absolutely in love with the movie and forces the poets to watch it again because this time he wants to sing along. Oh also think he'd talk about it with Chris to like see if she shares the experience described in the movie, and knox is pretty shocked to learn that huh, women do experience discrimination?? Tries his best to be extra nice and thoughtful afterwards

MEEKS: thought it was good, but could have been better. Meeks is definitely the poet with the most education on the women's rights movement and expected something a bit more fierce or outgoing, but he still appreciates that you have to please the masses and for people who know nothing about feminism at all, like most of his friends, it's a good starting point. Laughed SO much about the horse jokes.

PITTS: thought it was funny. didn't think about the message too much, just enjoyed the music and storytelling, plus he was a big fan of the reference at the beginning! Learns the I'm just Ken choreo with Knox, and has the songs stuck in his head for the next days.

CAMERON: surprisingly moved by it. I think he'd recognise both his parents in Barbie and Ken. I'm also of the belief that Cameron is super insecure, so I think that he'd identify with barbie a LOT, but feels kinda weird about that. Doesn't say much when asked about how he liked the movie by the others.

@folkloreforever sorry I took so long!

♡ please feel free to send me asks about the poets or dps in general, or even if you just wanna say hi! i love hearing from you guys! ♡

[yuuana]

Music Monday #227: EXO - Cream Soda release: July 2023 genre: Kpop

I had something else entirely planned for today, especially since I usually like to let new videos sit for a day or three (and several viewings by me) before I even think of doing a feature. Plus I am already so far behind (this is the third of the three MVs EXO has released in relation to EXIST and my new music playlist on YT is still well north of 200 entries), but ... it's EXO. So buckle in and let's go.

One of the things you notice pretty fast is the way Cream Soda continues the tradition of EXO title tracks being Hard Mode for karaoke with all that falsetto. Those high notes are mad high - there's not too many outside of EXO who could hit all those notes that cleanly while dancing any choreo, let alone that active a choreo - so I suspect this isn't going to be going onto very many boy group's list of covers they want to do. Maybe on aspirational lists, but yeah. Dance covers will no doubt abound because they always do (not for nothing EXO is called Korea's national boy group), but vocal covers not so much.

As for the lyrics themselves ... oh boy. It's funny, I was listening to a podcast ep from the start of the year where it came up that a lot of pop music is love songs, whether that's happy in love or melancholy for lost over or something else, in part because of this perception that we all know what love is. Whatever our specific thoughts about it, we have thoughts about love and can relate to some extent, making those songs more broadly accessible than, say, a song about working on a fishing boat. Many (most? nearly all?) of EXO's biggest hits fall into this very broad category, so no surprise this one does, too. The lyrics are written in a way to provide plausible deniability for how sexual, but you can only sell that so far when you're talking about cream like this song does.

Given the two pre-release MVs included Kai, I'm curious what happened that this one doesn't, outside of his name on a place card. I suppose even with knowing when he was going to be enlisting, there was only so much they could cram into his schedule, between EXO and his solo music and then his fashion label commitments. And so we start the long two years of Kai's service and not seeing him while he works in the civil service.

But that aside, the video is quite the collection of call backs to earlier MVs - Lotto is probably the most obvious, but I'm also seeing callbacks to Monster, Ko Ko Bop, and Obsession. There might be more, but doing a rewatch of all of EXO's previous MVs to check would take too long, so for now we'll leave it at that and note that this could have interesting implications for EXO's lore ... if weren't stuck at a crossroads of wondering what is even going on with the SMCU lore-verse. For various reasons, I'd already paused trying to speculate on SCMU lore because it wasn't clear it was even still a thing and to be honest, this far along, I was almost half hoping we might be getting a reboot on EXO's lore, which has been a steaming mess since 2015 (I love the guys and the lore they've had has its compelling parts, but as a writer, I'm fully aware that it's a mess that could take a couple novels worth of storytelling to fill out and put straight again). Coupled with the two pre-release MVs, best guess is that EXO is still working with the same lore and like with Don't Fight the Feeling, there's some sense that Cream Soda is also pre-Obsession, but other than that? I've got some thoughts, some theories, but nothing really that settled. Compared to some other groups with ongoing lore, EXO leaves a lot more open to interpretation, for better and for worse. I'm going to need a few more viewings before I feel any degree of confidence in trying to kitbash things together into a coherent whole.

All in all, Cream Soda manages to both surprise and be completely what one might expect from EXO, a balance not every group can manage. This one's definitely going into the playlists going forward. And maybe even one of its very own?

EXIST is out now for sale at all the usual suspects, both digital and physical, and for streaming on all major services. I look forward to EXO adding music show performances (and wins) and can't wait to see who all they net for dance challenge exchanges. SHINee seems the low-hanging fruit, but other than that there are many, many, many possibilities and the dancer in me wants to see them all. XD

Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature! But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks. DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[gods-favorite-autistic]

YALL THIS SHOW IS HYPE

Just got to intermission but mid show rant

First off, ALL THE SONG NUMBERS ARE SO AWESOME it truly feels like I’m at a concert the dance the vocals the storytelling is just so gorgeous and then everytime they cut back to the dialogue it comes crashing down in the most amazing way

I was like so shocked that thriller wasn’t the end of act 1 but DAMN THEY DONT REALLY CARE ABOUT US the choreo? The reporters? Michael himself? The puppet part alone was just?? Oh my god??? If I could watch that songs performance a million times I would

Speaking of Michael Jamaal Fields-Green is so amazing he sounds so much like Micheal it’s crazy, and the softness in his voice speaks VOLUMES it’s awesome

Honestly all of the versions of Michael are so amazing they killed all of them (minus little kid Michael for obvious reasons) sound so much like each other and mj that it’s so freaking awesome, the physicality when they sing is so great

I also love all the non song parts, the scenes with the fam, the flashbacks, all the merging, THE REPORTER (as slimy as she is and I do hate her it’s a character that i think is so great), whoever did the choreo should be proud of themselves and I love the framing of everything it just feels so authentic

[sugar-petals]

What are some racy male music videos? (That don't have half naked women - there are many racy female mv where there aren't only half naked guys its only fair)

souds like a case for taemin

say no more, i got you covered ✍️ i’ll add some description so everyone can go after their taste. i’m assuming k-pop mvs? that’s usually where you find more female gaze stuff anyway, they know how it’s done.

THE CLASSICS

VIXX’ chained up (the concept kings, all the deep cleavages, collars and flowers, this one’s a staple)

taemin’s thirsty (minimalistic theme, just excellent and seductive dancing and grinding on the floor oh shit) 

taemin’s danger (heavy af makeup, iconic, tiny waist moments, dark and mysterious concept)

taemin’s famous (silk and satin, bondage, light horror and gore)

ten’s new heroes (soft racy not hard racy, glitter shirts and merman aesthetic)

ten’s dream in a dream (seductive dance/lighting with traditional elements)

taehyung’s singularity (sexual tension kinda music, if you have a thing for velvet coats and jazz this is it, smooth and slow dancing)

bts’ blood sweat and tears (cultural reset, innuendo everywhere, rennaissance theme, that one choreography)

kang daniel’s paranoia (sensual dancing, tight outfits, great editing, lace/corsets, partial nudity, thriller genre)

got7′s you calling my name (subtle raciness... from the future lmao!, leather suits in a concrete building, choreo eyegasm)

wayv’s turn back time (storytelling but also fishnets and chain bondage, yukhei being mighty topless, ten eating it up)

wayv’s love talk (touch me tease me feel me up!! their manhoe masterpiece, collarbones, hilarious english lyrics) chinese ver.

history’s might just die (popular oldie but goldie, suits choreo and orchestra, stripping)

CIX’s jungle (dancing on water, bdsm undertones everywhere, just great special effects and mystery genre)

baekhyun’s candy (flirty and playful kind of racy, turn on the subtitles he compares himself to sweets that’s all you need to know)

taeyong/ten’s baby don’t stop (sleeveless dancing in an empty cinema, whispering... yeah)

changkyun’s god damn (just released, 90% is him gyrating on a bed)

wonho’s open mind (closeups, cars and muscles challenge: extreme, one night stand kinda talk, groovy/retro sound)

taeyang’s eyes nose lips (pure body appreciation and r&b)

mblaq’s oh yeah (more 2nd gen vintage, sexy seethrough outfits and abs, lee joon is an openly bisexual legend you have to know that guy y’all)

ACE’s cactus (bondage and blindfolds the whole palette)

exo’s obsession (welcome to latex wonderland, insane cinematography and beat, abs galore, fight scenes/dark action)

exo’s call me baby (a whole bunch of guys competing for your attention and wild as hell footwork. bonus: ather jackets and hip thrusts.)

exo’s love shot (raciest chorus point dance in history, gas stations and gun violence that’s how it goes)

jongin’s film: kai aka his album’s concept sampler (haute couture + suit and tie dancing, leather jackets with nothing underneath, waist corsets)

TL;DR: ladies... life’s too short not to love taemin. and the king of racy aka kim jongin. i don’t think we’ll ever run out of quality dance with this fella ;)

[berrymeter]

onf !! i want to know more abt them so i wanna hear what u say abt them! <3

HII... u have come to the perhaps wrong place but it's okay bc i think i'm right all the time 💕💕

my fave member: u know it would be really funny if i said a non-jayus member now wouldn't it. but yea it's jayus aka j-us. what kind of stage name is that? idk. ik what it means but that doesn't mean i approve of it

my fave singer: ....... i must break my silence... it's jayus again 😔 no he's not part of the vocal team. but i love his voice. HOWEVER i will say they all have great voices & my second favourite tone is changyoon's

my fave rapper: well. they only really have wyatt. who should not rap. BUT he's a great singer so i can still answer that he's my favourite bc like... um... anyway

my fave dancer/performer: once again. jayus. this time it makes sense since he's... the leader of the performance team. he's always the one who gets thrown around & carried in choreos & ofc i love that for him 😌💕 also i think my pinned would tell u jayus is just a good performer in general like that's a man made for the stage your honour... respectfully. but i will also say onf generally have great choreos that don't leave out anyone skill wise. they're just great to watch as a whole

my fave title track: sukhumvit swimming. As We Know. but it's tied with complete bc it's very dear to me!

my fave mv: honestly... any mv that isn't ugly dance. most of them have storytelling (love storytelling) & the one that doesn't is a silly little mv that is so fun & good! ugly dance mv is evil though. but for sake of this ask game i'll say sukswim again. that mv threw me in for a loop & led me to create a whole fictional universe based on it... u could say that mentally, i'm ill! (also jayus 👁👄👁)

my fave bsides: 😳 oh so many. here i made u this handy guide. but the short version is cactus good good geppeto i.t.i.l.u the realist+the dreamer moscow moscow 86400 fifty fifty my name is show must go on and... um... well i'm just gonna end up listing the whole playlist. i have some i like more than others but i already had to remove a few songs... it's so hard to pick favourites when u like the whole discography.......

a song i’d recommend to new fans: good good!! it's fun! also they had half the group rapping but none of them can rap but it's still a fun song lmaoo

here i'm giving u a random screenshot i took during the concert for laughs. for free. ofc this makes no sense without context but they were just having unrestrained summer fun

[bibbykins]

the brunch event is here I’m excited!!! @ all MCs, what’s the sweetest fluffiest thing the guys have done for you / you’ve done with the guys? (craving some fluff today, hope you don’t mind!)

(Holy shit, this was longer than I intended but I hope you like it!) (Also this is long and I'm on mobile so I'm sorry for no read later thing here pls dont be mean to me)

Warnings: crying, PTSD, phantom pains/touches

The girls all smile at the question and decide the order they'll go in before Leopard takes a sip of her mimosa and speaks, "One day, Jin said he was taking me to go look at some clothes for an event we'd have to go to," She relaxes in her seat, fingers curling around the champagne glass gracefully, as if she's proudly told this story a million times, "Then, we pull up to a storage place and I'm like 'okay, so you're murdering me?'" She laughs in spite of knowing he's capable of murder, "He takes my hand and then takes me into a unit and in there are sketchbooks upon props and prototypes that I had ever made." She grinned at the thought, "I had started doing stage design and writing when I was 16 and my family never took home my props or anything, so I thought they were just... gone, and then here they all were." She sighed dreamily, "It just... made me feel like someone was proud of that 16 year old hurting herself on nail guns trying to build, or that 18 year old who took an hour to control a sander, it made me feel so exalted for my hard work."

Princess and Dove are already tearing up despite having heard the story before and Leopard holds their hands until they calm down, knowing they will absolutely cry when everyone is done telling their stories.

"Ah, it's my turn!" Sunshine gleams, "I'm pretty easy to make happy, like ordering my favorite food is groundbreaking to me no matter how often you do it." The girls giggle and nod at this, "But, there was one time we on our way to do our engagement photo shoot at the restaurant we had our first date, but then he pulls over and tell me he wants to show me something." She can't contain her growing smile, "And I'm confused, becuase we stop at this beautiful lake and he hates the outdoors." She chuckles at this, "But then he leads us into a beautiful field with wild flowers and a camera with a tripod." Princess has already let tears fall at this point, "And he tells me this is our engagement photoshoot, something just for us." Sunshine takes a bite of her crepe, "It was just so sweet and grounding since everything something happens with us, it's publicized, which is fine for the most part, but for him to set something up that's just for us to have, especially in nature, so sweet." The girls all giggle and coo at Sunshine.

"Oh, no! I know what story Sweet Pea is gonna say and I'm totally gonna break!" Odette grips Sunshine as the woman in question giggles.

"It's okay, I cried like a baby too." Sweet Pea giggles and she begins cutting Princess's pancakes for her like she always does, "So he was taking me to a gallery, didn't tell me for who for some reason, but you know me, I love a good exhibition." She snickered, "When we get there, I realize it's for my favorite enameler, or art jewler. He uses this beautiful etching technique and makes some stunning intaglio pieces I absolutely adore." The girls all mentally prep their tear ducts for the next part, "And so he has me meet the artist, and I'm freaking out the whole time and trying to hide it, until the artist tells me he has a piece he want to show me." She has excitement on her face just thinking about it, "And he takes me to a piece I haven't seen before and isn't with the new collection. It's an aquamarine pendant with a beautiful silver chain that had parts of a see through material interwoven. The gem was held in place with a beautiful silver trim that looks light and airy, like clouds almost, and in the pendant is this beautiful etching of a familiar skyline." Odette wipes a tear away at the speed of light, "And then Namjoon tells me it's the skyline from where we first met on that forsaken sky bridge and the silver with glass represents the steps that lead me to him." The girls coo at Sweet Pea tearing up for a moment.

"Ah, it's my turn!" Odette wipes away tears frantically, "Mine is quite simple, but it meant a lot to me." She smiles gleefully, "For background, before I majored in journalism, I was a dance major, contemporary, but I had an injury and was out of commission for too long by the time it healed. I didn't even tell Jimin until we had been dating for a couple months, I feel weird talking about it sometimes." She shrugged simply, "So I beacame his practice partner after that, which was fun, and one time we soent ages practicing thus one choreo bc he claimed he didn't want to practice with his actual partner, ever the drama queen." She giggled, "Then, the day of the showcase comes and he reveals that the dance was choreographed for me and him and it's our showcase." She held a toothy grin, "He gave me the feeling of being a dancer again, and it just felt like the closure I needed that I never got from my dancing career."

"It was a beautiful showcase." Angel nodded in agreement and Odette beamed at her praise while the other girls nod.

Dove hums as she chews her food before speaking, "So I do hand stitching, right? I don't think I'm very good..." All the women scowl at her, "But, they and Taehyung think I'm great at it and it calms me down so I make them a lot of hand stitched art or monogrammed clothing or I do commissions for their family." She smiles shyly, "So one day, Tae-Tae says he's taking me to Sweet Pea's gallery, but when we get there, it's all of my pieces up there. And the whole time people are greeting me and telling me how talented I am, asking what pieces they can buy and offering crazy prices, not that these guys would let go of my pieces." She snickered and the girls nodded proudly, "My name was in articles the next day, and he made me feel like I was someone to show off, like I was the impressive one, or impressive at all."

"Because you are impressive, hello?" Sunshine teased.

Princess has mascara streaks on her cheeks and Sweet Pea begins digging through her bag for makeuo wipes, "Uh, I'm not really good at storytelling and I'm a mess, so I'll make it quite short." She sniffled, "inhave this horrible habit of making clothes I hate and then donating them and Kook is always so dramatic when I do, like he has any business with a spring dress that would rip under his bicep." She giggles for a moment as Leopard begins wiping her cheeks, "And then he takes me to fashion week and...and..." She starts crying again and Odette coos at her, "My work, he had me on there as an up and coming designer and people were so nice to me and everytime I got overwhelmed, he took the reigns and it... my childhood dreams came true." She laid her head in Angel's lap, knowing it was her turn. The woman in question strokes the younger's hair soothingly.

Before Angel can even speak, all the girls are holding her hand or holding her and she rolls her eyes playfully, smilimg at the affection, "This why I'm going last." She giggled, "They get like this everytime I tell this story, even Leopard cries."

"Shush." Leopard, who is standing behind Angel's chair and stroking her hair quips, embarrassed, "We just care about you." She huffs.

"Well, it was a year after... the incident." Dove begins braiding Angel's hair to hide her incoming tears, "And I tried to go to work, but my body was not having it, so he stayed home with me and did everything the therapist said to grounding techniques and all, and stuff I could've done on my own, but he insisted." She smiled, "When dinner came around, I began feeling... phantom touches, pains. Like, my cheek ached and my tongue felt like it was burning, everything." Her smile was a bit sad, "It's normal with PTSD, but it doesn't make it any less frightening and none of the other grounding techniques were working, so he sits me on the counter, plays my favorite music, and begins 'treating' my wounds." Princess has her head in Angel's lap, but everyone can tell she's crying, "So for hours, he's there and showing me the clean gauze after treating my phantom wounds so delicately, and it really brought me back into the moment, that this is the man who loves me and this is where I am now." She smiles despite all the other girls being teary-eyed messes.

[plasticflowering]

A Unifying Theory of Loreography (Lore + Choreography)

(2/3/21) HELLO to all new folks finding this post! It is also now a YouTube Video, and I’m pretty happy with it so if you’d rather get your lore analysis visually please check it out! 

Preface: I don’t think it’s just coincidence that we got full choreography for an intro called “Devil is in the detail”, and I’ve made it my mission since 반박불가 dropped to pull apart the threads that might link everything, lore-wise. This morning I believe I had an epiphany about it, so here are my thoughts.

If this flops I will feel my soul exiting my body so please validate me.

Notes: In forming this theory I mostly considered the events of the storyline MVs and teasers as well as the choreography, but a very important part of my epiphanies came when considering the post-MV stingers for TBONTB and 반박불가. It’s using these stingers that I feel like I can better understand the thesis statements in the choreo. 

Part One: Now then, where were we? 

At the end of TBONTB, the monarchs are approaching monumental, pitch-black gates made of skulls and desperate, reaching hands. 

I can’t not interpret this as the gates of Tartarus, considering the Greek mythology in the canon lore already. Tartarus, however, is at the lowest depths of the underworld, and so my interpretation is that, while they reclaimed their souls from the necklace, they awoke physically in a realm beyond the underworld, and now have to make their way out of this psychological nightmare to breathe free the air, as it were. Through Tartarus, through Hell, this is not because I played 80 hours of Hades in the last three months but it might have a little to do with that. Stay with me. (Though if anyone is wondering, YES Leedo would be Zagreus, but that’s not why we’re here today)

Part Two: Devil is in the Detail 

What an opening formation. The imagery is not 100% clear to me, but I feel as if this entire opening formation sequence is dual-wielding imagery of a crown (much like the killing part of TBONTB), but also the gates of Tartarus. 

Look at this transition once Hwanwoong ascends to the top of the formation, and how the hands all come out, similar to the gates above. I’ll be damned if this is supposed to invoke anything else.

Rewinding a bit, this framing of Seoho being resuscitated and borne by their hands is stunning. Seoho’s journey in the TBONTB choreography merits its own post entirely, because there are a lot of moments that seem to be telling a story for him particularly, and this is just a continuation of that. 

Ravn and Leedo being separated for the rap line part seems like an obvious utilitarian choice, and I agree that it is. However, before we prepare to dismiss all “pairings” as serving the progression of the song itself, I have another theory that ties together a lot of the inciting moments of choreo. I promise you this is going to sound like A Reach, but that’s just how my mind works and if you enjoy it I’m glad.

Leedo, Hwanwoong, and Xion are the monarchs who have absolved themselves by the events of 반박불가, and fully reclaimed their souls as well as their conscience. Seoho and Ravn, not so much. They have a lot of work to do to free their conscience - especially Seoho. Oh, lord, especially Seoho. Keonhee is an extremely interesting case, as he seems to have a foot firmly in both sides, More on that later. 

For further paranoid conspiracy theorist proof of this, please note that their outfits in the choreography videos symbolically reflect this:

Light, Light, Light/Dark, Dark, Dark/Lightish, Light

If you need more convincing, may I point out that Leedo, Hwanwoong, and Xion are the only members who got those wonderful “all clothed in white” shots in the back half of the 반박불가 MV? I tried to make a gif, and I did make a gif, but Tumblr doesn’t want to post it in this text post.

(you rn)

The most interesting moments of loreography in DiitD are the following: 

1. These lotus hands. Again, the imagery, I die!! Keonhee is coming into his own, his character is blooming, expanding his consciousness, going sicko mode with the realization that he has power in the underworld. 

2. Directly following this, Seoho offers a hand to Keonhee and literally drags him down (again, the light/dark dichotomy of Keonhee), while the two good good boys Hwanwoong and Xion are back there just trying to maintain balance so they can get through this Hell/Tartarus thing. 

3. Good ol’ ONEUS Summoning Circle, but wait this time I think it’s actually meaningful beyond the imagery. Seoho is at the center because he has the vocal line, yeah obviously, but he stays there much longer than is objectively necessary without a formation change. This isn’t common in ONEUS choreography. As much as they love their Summoning Circles, they tend to move on to other formations quickly. This one has meat on its bones, and I think what’s happening here, loreography wise, are the other monarchs banding together in an attempt to save Seoho from the darkness. But Seoho is powerfully dark, y’all, even going so far as to overpower them in the moment above. 

4. This is flame imagery. Seoho has been engulfed in flames despite everyone’s best efforts. 

5. At the last minute, he gets yeeted via backflip back into Hell/Tartarus

6. Keonhee takes the initiative in going back for him...

7. We’re back in Hell, that’s just great. Thanks, Seoho. You’re lucky we love you and your extremely disturbed conscience. 

With this in mind, you can probably get way ahead of me, here. 

Part Three: 반박불가 

Perhaps not remarkably, the title track doesn’t have nearly as many loreography beats as DiitD. However, we know it’s part of the lore, and this was made abundantly clear simply with that opening move...

This is where we left off TBONTB, but not exactly. There is a slightly different formation of dancers here, which suggests it’s not picking up exactly where TBONTB left off, but rather that this is a cue to let casual fans know, explicitly: yes, this is a continuation of the TBONTB story. 

Some moments don’t have choreography allusions, but they are loud in the MV, such as:

- “Youngjo, would you stop playing with flowers, our lead vocalist is going to Hell.” Ravn, who barely scraped out of Hell last time, ostensibly with Leedo’s help according to the rap line break in the choreography, has a rough time of it in the 반박불가 MV, but Hwanwoong isn’t going to let him fall back into toxic behaviors and lose himself to that psychological prison again. Hwanwoong drags Ravn back out of Hell, but not before Ravn successfully makes contact with Seoho. Obviously, Ravn would be the one to make contact, because Ravn’s still a little on edge about his own conscience and can easily backslide if he wants to. Who does he find down there? Seoho.

- Keonhee, who led the charge to return to Hell, is staying on task but seems to be the chief of operations to Hwanwoong’s chief of intelligence here, exercising his newfound sicko mode. Those two are certainly working hardest at keeping the servants of darkness in check down in the depths so they can make a quick break for it. 

- Leedo’s actually having a grand time fighting his own demons - or rather, smirking at them and realizing that nah, he’s good. He can use his guilt and regret to motivate him towrd good things now. 

- Xion is literally just above all of this and can move between Hell and Earth with ease, so he’s just waiting to see if he has to pull any Fallen God-Prince cards here to save his friends. 

Now, for the key loregraphy moments. It’s obvious that 1Million was choreographing for a new direction in the ONEUS style, here, so it’s nearly bereft of the usual lyricism and formations, but they’re definitely there. Unsurprisingly they almost all deal with Seoho. 

1. God, this moment whips. They’re all working to free Seoho and lock the gates behind them, with Keonhee giving Seoho one final push. That’s not a normal choreography move. That is storytelling and it sticks out like a beautiful sore thumb with an entire sonnet written on it. 

2. With Seoho on lock, now Ravn may break out. He does so rather easily, but it’s not without Hwanwoong’s help. Please notice that Keonhee and Seoho are the two BEHIND him, and what that symbolizes. 

3. This fucking bridge. It’s amazing with the loreography. First of all we have Keonhee, and the Summoning Circle is using the same imagery/texture that was formerly used to represent engulfing fire. Uh-oh.

4. Keonhee reaches out...

... but gets dragged under.

5. (excited football commentator voice) but who’s that on the outside making it to the surface, literally with the support of the other monarchs? IT’S SEOHO (cheers)!!

And Seoho finishes things out in the center, as well he should because he got us into this mess.

Part Four: What just happened to Keonhee

I’m so angry at this post-MV stinger. It took me forever to wrap my brain around what is being suggested here, because I thought “hey wait, the red lighting represents darkness/hell, doesn’t it?? DOESN’T IT?? RBW???? I thought we just GOT OUT OF HELL????

So I leave the final interpretation in everyone's individual hands, but the thought that occurred to me today was: 

What if this entire scenario was a test of resolve and camaraderie, an illusion, a trick by the Devil (or that donger Helios, whatever). What if Keonhee was the only one who saw through this, and the only one who genuinely made it to Earth at the moment he appeared to have been dragged back to Hell? Because, as we know, Keonhee is a tactical genius, a monarch among the monarchs, and all his visual imagery in the MV suggested a sort of power cabal. 

What if he realized that they weren’t all strong enough to face the challenge of breaking this cycle, so he schemed to leave them behind, but leave them safe in the illusion, while he struck out with the power of God and anime on his side.

I... I think Keonhee is about to go kill and dethrone a God, y’all. 

[duskholland]

Oh my god but with the Dylan thing- same!!! And like, my boyfriend used to play baseball so 🙃🥵 its all just a big yes yes for me haha

Also i'm sorry but care to elaborate on those gum chewing tags?? Im honestly confused 😅💜

And a big yes to dancer tom!! I might have said this already, but i once tried to (co)write a Strictly Pro!tom fic in which the reader would be the celeb and something about the infamous Strictly Curse but yeah. So i would love love LOVE to see Tom do ballroom/latin not only cause 8/10 times the choreo and storytelling makes me cry but he'd look so fucking good in those outfits 💫💫

I could probably make seperate rants about each single dance but yeah dancer!tom is god tier 👑

ok so ! i can’t remember what my tags were rn but it was probably something sinful so !! dancer!tom!!! 💃✨

the strictly curse would be so cute ahahaha. i would love to see tom do a spicy dance? latin...tango... something with spice. we already know he can move, mr broadway...mr lip sync battle.... he’d look insane in a bedazzled dancer costume too. the flared trousers + the satin shirts, all in really cute colours :’) please mr holland give this to us !!! i want to get spun around by him. can you imagine..... getting into a fight with him right before the show (about whatever, probably a miscommunication, maybe some petty jealousy), not speaking to him at all backstage, then having to go out and dance for your spot in the competition... getting all the tension going. the intense touches. the close stares. the unspoken i-love-yous. ending with him dipping you and just passionately staring at you, nose to nose, heavy breathing. i can’t fr. him dancing with a rose in his mouth, hair all slicked back and cute. strictly prof!tom is all that i need.

but !! i’ve been trying to think up more aus that i could actually write. y/n as a professional dancer who teaches tom how to do certain dances ahead of an upcoming film role...? slowly falling in love with him every wednesday morning at your scheduled practising sessions... building up a really close bond only to drift apart once the scene is filmed .... followed by a dramatic reunion at the premiere. cue dramatic gasping.

[goldrockyroad]

public performances round 2 thoughts! (pt 1)

just watched public performances round 2 (eps 6.1 & 6.2) and once again am Thinking so let’s goooo!! (pt 2)

believer: han peiquan 【韩佩泉】, zhou keyu 【周柯宇】, zhang xinyao 【张欣尧】, hu yetao 【胡烨韬】, dai shaodong 【代少冬】

starting off so strong alrEADY!  can i just say it was so refreshing to see all of them take on a concept like this they're the last people i would expect to perform this song  but they absolutely NAILED IT in every way possible they deserved their four-time streak  zhang xinyao caught my eye the most for sure the facials the execution the fit ??? mate ate that UP fr  zhou keyu hu yetao and dai shaodong are already great but they had the chance to really shine like they hadn’t before (i say this even when they were centers in their groups for public performances round 1) totally unrelated but i get the vibe that hu yetao’s really popular so why’s he ranked so low? han peiquan’s performance was unexpected but nonetheless stellar  but yes this group was a killer that i did not anticipate for 

lemon: he zhenyu 【何圳煜】, wei ziyue 【魏子越】, nuo yan 【诺言】, lailai 【一之濑飞鸟】, ye haoran 【叶皓然】

i will start off by saying that this was easily the worst performance of all 11 groups  was it actually bad though? i don’t think so i definitely don’t think it’s as bad as the mentors made it out to be in their comments - yes they did slip up at points but it wasn’t terrible to listen to what the group didn’t have (imo) was a connection to the song they were singing + a version that made both the song and them unique  and considering how the stages are pre-arranged for them to just learn and perform i want to hold onto that benefit of doubt that that wasn’t entirely their fault

the whale transformed into an isolated island: qu boyu 【屈柏宇】, xue bayi 【薛八一】, eisho 【佐藤永翔】, zhang zhang 【张璋】, liu yu 【刘宇】

ethereal. that’s it really.  at this point i think we all know that if liu yu’s there he’s gonna make it absolutely beautiful isn’t he my man xue bayi!!! so graceful as per usual mans never disappoint  can i just say eisho looked so good ??? how??  this group did really well with their storytelling of the emotions of the song and props to qu boyu zhang zhang and eisho for executing the choreo so well despite it being their first time doing something more modern / contemp

love bird：he yijun 【何懿峻】, jiang dunhao 【蒋敦豪】, huang kun 【黄鲲】, caelan 【庆怜】, fan zhener 【范臻尔】

a pleasant surprise! caelan owned this stage tbh he didn’t catch my attention during previous performances but this one i Am Looking lemme tell you that hard carried it with that expensive fit  but the rest of them! they kept that vibrant energy up it was so good to see  was just good vibes all around i loved it 

feng ding (original rap): liu zhang 【刘璋】, oscar 【奥斯卡】, luo yan 【罗言】, lin mo 【林墨】, zeng hanjiang 【曾涵江】

tHIS ONE  OH HONEY THEY WENT OFF ON IT  like believer, every guy in this group is a strong player and arguably the best rappers in this season are all here  i myself am a zeng hanjiang stan and liked lin mo since his expectional lover boy 88 performance and the both of them did not! fail! to! impress! over here  i will admit luo yan didn’t leave a big impression on me prior to this and oscar’s and ak’s rapping just didn’t really stick with me but after this i am Changed. i see them now.  all 5 of them have distinct styles but they made it work - more importantly work well  am not even joking when i say i was aggressively vibing with them throughout their stage they burnt it down  their six-time streak and eventual overall win + ak as mvp was so well deserved mad props to them 

[witchofren]

(Preface: this is a really long post as I typed it as I was watching the movie so this is unedited, pure thoughts as I was watching this movie.)

I just started watching the new Cats movie and I’m already having issues with what’s going on

Why did Munk spider man his way down a wall

What’s wrong with Misto

Why don’t they just crawl on their knees Jesus Christ if they weren’t on their toes it would be better

“Are you mean like a minx” that’s not in pitch

ThatS NOT HOW JUMPING WORKS

The choreography is going good though- I knew it would. I’ve worked with that choreographer before.

WHY IS THIS NOW A POP REMIX

I have so many questions

Music is too fast. Tempos are everywhere.

Singing isn’t too bad. I can understand the words better.

Munk is a little too feminine for my taste at the moment but I like his design.

ROMANTICAL CATS (heart hands) IS THE MOST ON BRAND MISTO THING YET

Macavity speaking and singing his own song is disgusting

WHY DO THEY HAVE HUMAN TOES AND FINGERS

Why is everyone bullying Misto

AND HUMAN NOSES

Munk there’s a rhythm to the Naming of Cats. You can’t go off it whole everyone else is on it.

You guys can’t keep a tempo can you

HIS name. HIS.

Munk that’s a little sexual. NO YOU ARE WITH DEMETER STOP

stop cutting the scene up. Just let them dance.

AH REFERENCE TO ORIGINAL CHOREO. I SAW THAT

Misto is on brand except he’s not Misto yet storytellers

Also I’m liking the idea that Victoria is new to everything and the plot is they’re introducing her to the wild and the whole heaviside layer thing

THATS NOT THE MELODY MUNK STOP

they have human eyebrows too what

Munk that note is too high for you

Is Jenny twerking excuse me

JennY IS SUPPOSED TO BE MOTHERLY STOP THAT

that’s also not the melody

The human mice are going to cause nightmares

Wait is Jenny lusting after Munk

Why does he actually look interested

Munk do you have an English accent or American. Please decide.

Jenny that’s not the right notes

HUMAN ROACHES NO

WHY DO THEH HAVE HUMAN FACES

The skiN UNZIPPED OH NO

no one needed that undershot of cockroach crotches

Mm meow

huh what Tugger what was that

Okay Derulo is not bad at all

I’m missing the Tugoffolees banter though

This Tugger is a little gayer than the original

THE NEUTER JOKE OH MY GOD

Tugger is reminding me of Dr. Frank N Furter from Rocky Horror Picture Show

Why does he have an English accent though

VictoriaaaaAAAAA? (The TOES)

Jenny’s humor is eh. Don’t see the reason of putting that in.

The ending is pure Tugger though

Not a bad rendition

Grizz isn’t as rough as I imagined her looking

Oh her VOICE

HER VOICE HITS HARD

Who is this cat singing about Grizz (the first) her voice was nice

NO. WHY THE SHORTNESS ON “that”

Munk why did you grab that queen’s head

Edward Hyde is that you?

Jenny stop trying to be the comedy relief you’re too awful at it

Bustopher please STOP singing your own song

PLEASE KIDNAP HER IDRIS ELBA

THANK YOU

I wish they spent more time dancing since that’s really the point of the show and the draw to it.

Bustopher wearing heels? I’m for it. Gay legend.

“Thanks Tugger” stop this whole sequence please

Bustopher is supposed to be a very prim and proper cat. What happened to him

Still can’t get over Idris Elba being in this

THATS NOT THE MELODY OF MUNGOJERRIE AND RUMPLETEAZER

What have thEY DONE TO THE MELODY GOOD GOD

AND THE RHYTHM THEY DESTROYED THE SONG

Oh. Hey that’s pretty neat choreo though

“I bought that for her myself” “hey” “what?”

My brain is rebelling because it’s not right at all in anything I remember

Did Misto just pull a whole femur from his hat

STOP THAT. MISTO LOOKS LIKE A CLOSETED TWINK STUCK IN A STRAIGHT RELATIONSHIP

is he wearing eyeliner

GROWLTIGER IS BACK

I don’t actually know his song so this is new to me

Jenny and Bustopher being comedic relief hurts because they’re not funny

Munk “where have you been?!” Is there a love triangle happening. What happened to Demeter

Also his voice in Deuteronomy is actually really nice

“Sits in the suuun” that was beautiful oh god

Deut looks more like how I imagined Grizz would look

IS THAT DAME JUDI DENCH

I bet she regrets ever saying yes after this.

What cat is randomly wearing a crow skull around their neck. Is that a witch’s cat

JUDI DENCH CAN’T YOU ACTUALLY SING? WHY ARE YOU STRUGGLING

Why are you singing Munk’s line

Oh the Jellicle ball is next let’s go Andy show me that awesome choreo

Asparagus are you okay

Tempo doesn’t exist in this movie does it

Neither does rhythm or time keeping

IS THAT MY BOY SKIMBLESHANKS

Twirly boy Munk

Munk really just wants to be topped doesn’t he

WhAT WAS THAT TWITCHING AND THE PANTING

Andy I love you man but the traditional and classic choreo would’ve worked just as fine

Skimble and Munk being gay

what happened to Plato and why is there something going on with Misto

TUGGER YOU HAD A MOMENT YOU COULD HAVE INTERRUPTED

Ah okay I understand why that happened. No mating dance or slumber party

Cats wearing shoes disgusts me more than the toes

POINTE WITHOUT POINTE SHOESSSS GROSS

honestly? Jellicle ball is disappointing. They just cut the ten minutes of amazing dancing down to like four.

I don’t like the heavy breathing. That’s not something that was ever necessary.

Okay, the end worked okay with the big synchronized dances.

I’m ready for this Memory rendition. Already getting chills.

Those are very human hands

Oh keep with the rhythm I beg of you

Ooh altered verse

Wait that’s jennifer Hudson???

Oh we just removed a whole verse, bridge, and chorus didn’t we.

Sweet moment? See I like Vic reaching for Grizz

Vic gets a song??? Ooh intrigued

I like her voice

I’m going to cry this song is sad and I’m glad she gets a story

Though it’s kind of “you think your life is hard? Mine’s worse” feeling after Memory

Awww I’m gonna cry what a sweetheart what a lovely dear protect her

Ugh meaning of happiness. I hate this song no matter who sings it.

Wait what happened to Rumpus Cat song :( the battle of the pekes and the pollicles

What do you mean you’re about to make the choice

We still have Gus’s song, Misto’s song, and Skimble’s song.

They got Ian McKellen to do this?? How much was he paid

“Cross paws” no stop

Why is Gus singing his own song please don’t

Munk’s face bugs me for some reason

His song always makes me cry for some reason but this is kind of goofy and cute and I love it

Misto in the background is just strange for me

Is he forgetting the words sometimes and mumbling to fill in because goodness

Misto’s so eager to please what a bottom

“Macavityyy” I hate it

Munk starting Skimble’s song has the same energy as Tugger doing Misto’s songs

I’m glad they’ve kept this song the same as it was

Skimble is SO gay oh my god what a classic twink

Oooh I like this addition of the train getting started via tap

I’m actually really liking this rendition and the tap dancing on the the rails

Though the tap continuing when no one is tapping or the rhythm being wrong is uh not good

Such an iconic song and I love the changes in scene

Oh skimble that note was not good

WAIT OKAY THAT WAS MACAVITY’S DOING WITH THE LEVITATION

Oh hi Taylor Swift

Use more breath. Stop doing the pop voice thing. Stop it.

Is Bombi a drug dealer

MISTO BEING TWEAKED ON DRUGS IS THE FUNNIEST GODDAMN THING IVE EVER SEEN IN THIS LIFE

I can say though that what they’ve done to the song is exactly the vibes it needed. Sultry and pushing the boundaries.

Sad there’s not a Demeter.

SORRY MUNK WHAT WAS THAT

I actually rewinded to see what happened there with the martini glass

OKAY MAN NEEDS TO BE TOPPED OH MY GOD

“Green house glass is broken” was changed and that makes me sad

This was a good song for Taylor to show off her vocal prowess but she just didn’t

Why is Macavity naked

Why is he singing his own damn song

PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON

Munk you’re still tweaking out a little

Oh here’s the sleeping orgy

What’s with this drama now with the choice thing

We don’t have Munk’s fight with Macavity. Robbed

VICTORIA YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE TO GET MISTO OUT THERE. IT HAS TO BE TUGGER

If there are no 23 spins, I’ll throw my phone

Munk that’s gay and I’m here for it. Encourage your twink Misto

“Please don’t make me do this” has phantom vibes

Munk that was a lusty look

Where’s the “ooh ahs”

This is weird without Tugger singing it and being an ego for Misto

Tugger come on. Please save this number.

Victoria I swear to god I will beat you

Why do they have one person on the melody in this. And Derulo going through the stratosphere

WHERE IS THE DANCING >:(

That trombone is playing absolutely nothing in the music at all

DON’T YOU DARE KISS HER

oh here’s the fight music

WHY DID WE UNZIP SKIN AGAIN

oh they used the fight music for the escaping of cats

How much longer is there

Oh there’s the daylight reprise thing

I want to die

To the sun, Vic. To the sun.

Munk, Tugger, be respectful. That’s your mother.

Wait that doesn’t work in this universe because Deut is female.

Oh they gave the Asian cat patterns that resemble tiger stripes hmmmm

Why couldn’t they have just filmed an actual stage version and turned that out

Oh that “smile at the old days” was god awful

How much longer oh god

I’m tired man. I wasted 6 bucks on this

Victoria just stealing Jemima’s parts

“Like a flowER as the dawn is breaking”

Okay here it is

OH COME THROUGH QUEEN. WHOLE FILM IS WORTH THIS CLIMAX

Okay so there are some cats wearing clothes and others not. What are the rules for this universe. Are they naked or are they not.

I have not shed a single tear. Usually I have by now from this show. Not a single tear.

Deut X Grizz is still my favorite ship

Is that the intro to Til I Hear You Sing that I hear. Those F to Gm chords Lloyd Webber loves.

Judi Dench stop trying to sing for the love of god.

Ah yes show off that beautiful ballet dancer that plays Vic

Aww Munk bowing to Grizz

Oh so it’s a chandelier this time and not a tire

Where’d Macavity and Bombi go

Oh there he is. What a child. Hate that.

BUSTOPHER CONFIRMED A GAY ICON

Deut being a proud mother to Munk is cute with the hands on the shoulder

Why are we reprising the first song

Also Air balloon.

WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME JUDI DENCH

why are they all staring so intently at her too wait

Munk looks like someone is touching him inappropriately this whole scene.

Munk and Misto looking at each other

MUNK STOPPPP JESUS CHRIST DO YOU NEED TO BE REMOVED FROM THE SITUATION

The choreography doesn’t even match the beat of the song. Huh???

Misto you’re gay stop

Munk and Misto looking at each other and the shy glances away

So Grizz gets hot air balloned to death is that what I’m seeing

Oh it’s over okay

I want to cry.

It’s not as bad as I heard. Once you got used to the way things looked and just let things happen and say it might as well happen, it became a bit more enjoyable.

It’s still god awful though and let’s pray the furries never get ahold of it.

[maximura]

MVNALYSIS: GOD’S MENU by STRAY KIDS

Hello friends, seeing as 2020 is going down in flames anyways, there seems like no better time than to start my MV Analysis series, MVNALYSIS. Storytelling and cinematography are both important but the technical aspect is definitely more interesting to me. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’d know how often I yell about a good lighting scheme so this is just an extension of that.

There have been some great MVs this year but the one that really lit my fuse and prompted me to do this is God’s Menu by Stray Kids. If you haven’t seen it yet, go watch it first then come back. This is very long so if you’re not really interested in the technical aspects of music videos then I would definitely recommend scrolling past. 

1) The Cyberpunk-Anime Intro tracking shot. That flourescent-neon title card reminds me of cyberpunk aesthetic, especially if you’ve seen the trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. I really love title cards because they remind me of old movies and cartoons. To throw it up so nonchanlantly immediately sets the vibe and subconsciously triggers your mind to think about when you last saw something like that, be it a video game or anime or a movie. They use it a lot more often than other groups and I never noticed until I went back to watch a few of their videos for this post. 

The Intro to God’s Menu is both a sonic and visual assault. It’s so fcking good that I am almost sad I will never get to watch it again for the first time. 

That tracking shot for Changbin is just beautiful perfection because it has three levels of depth and a very controlled use of blocking. The deepest level is the chaos in the background, the main level is Changbin and the most superficial level is the one closest to the camera, with the marching band player. Interestingly, the movement and speed of each level progresses in descending order: the background is crazy busy, Changbin is moving through at a controlled pace and the marching band player is almost still, like a sign post to reiterate the depth of field. 

There are a few really famous and amazing tracking shots, so I’m just going to link them here if you are interested in camera work: Atonement (legendary tbh), 1917 (deserved the cinematography Oscar), Ava Adore (you can see the track they used for the whole video) and the Baby Driver introduction has one of the best tracking shots but I won’t link to it out of respect for people who might be triggered. 

Sometimes you watch something and you don’t know why it’s so cool. Well, this is why it’s so cool. This is why some MVs are so interesting to re-watch and why others have no re-watch value at all. 

2) Transitions and editing. Oh boy. The fcking transitions. Sometimes people think of them like a cheap trick in the vein of a horror movie jump scare but when you see a good transition, 'cheap’ should be the last word you think of. All the transitions are worth mentioning: Changbin seemingly changing the frame with his hand, Han’s mid-choreo transition and Hyunjin’s forced perspective to mimic the spotlight. I suppose they are are little flashy and tricked-out but it doesn’t change how cool they look. The video editer deserves all the credit for this one. 

It’s seems obvious but I can’t ignore the stop-motion DuDuDuDu editing either. It does exactly what the music does in that moment: it’s jarring and abrupt and literally like shots fired and bleeding red. Sometimes literal interpretations are cringey and don’t work but sometimes they work so well you wish everyone was on this level. 

A more subtle transition is one that I don’t see a lot of people talking about but it’s when the music shifts from the heavy rap to the smoother vocals. The first time it happens we went from the dark enclosed confines of Han’s kitchen rap to vast open air of the cars racing. The smooth flow of the vocals is echoed in the smooth silent roll of the car tires and then the smooth choreo from Bangchan with that bright God ray lens flare. It’s just like a smooth smooth smooth flow of water after total chaos and that’s exactly what the music is trying to do: the rap is a spicy meal, the vocals are a glass of cool water. Seriously, this MV is so well thought out and well planned. It’s like the director actually listened to the track. What a crazy notion, heh. 

3) Robot Camera. If you’re not sure which part I mean, it’s basically during Han’s rap, Felix’s 5 Star Michelin part and the subtle camera tilt for the group choreo. You can see it in action in their ‘Making Of’ video. You’ve probably seen this used before, most notably on Jungkook for DNA but I think it was made really popular in music MVs when Kendrick Lamar did it for Humble. Everyone is using it now but I still love it. No human can film with that precision and it’s seriously cool use of tech. I like that they didn’t overuse it though because it would’ve felt too repetitive. Restraint? In Kpop? Hell really has frozen over today. 

4) The colour and lighting. It’s generally really well lit and coloured but the most remarkable thing to point out here is that God’s Menu has only four sets. It feels like it has some meat and depth to it because they used those four sets to their full capacities. In contrast, I think I counted 9 sets for GOT7′s ‘Not By The Moon’ and let’s be honest, they were all kind of wasted. 

The scrapyard set is used four times with four different lighting schemes and you barely notice how repetitive it is because they all look so different. The garage scene is my favourite example of good depth of field because they’re in a tiny confined area for choreo but it doesn’t actually feel tiny or confined because of the huge open grandstand in the background. 

Also. It’s rad how the video goes from day to night. I didn’t even notice until the third or fourth re-watch. 

5) Kendrick Lamar. I just wanted to spend a little time on this point because I hear and see his influence on God’s Menu. Obviously, Kendrick doesn’t have a patent or copyright on use of RoboCams but the main backing track is very Humble-esque and the DuDuDu reminds me of old KL. It’s a little grating tbh but the producer at least showed some restraint with it. Any more of the DDD part and it would’ve been too obnoxious to listen to. 

6) Styling. I really love these black outfits because they look like a cross between a karate uniform/dobok and black chef aprons. I wasn’t really sure why they went with the racetrack imagery but there is something about this entire MV that reminds me of anime/manga...and then I remembered that Initial D existed. If you’ve never heard of Initial D until now? You’re welcome. 

Oh and Hyunjin’s hair. Damm. 

7) Bias: Okay, I’m Australian and I used to live in Sydney so part of me has always been invested in Chris and Felix. But. I have to be straight with you all, that tag-team of Changbin and Han is insane. Insane, I tell you! I wish I could hear that rap intro again for the very first time. It’s like when I heard Mingi’s rap in Wonderland for the first time. Some things are just inexplicable. 

8) Conclusion: This is one of the best MVs JYPE has ever made and it’s not even story driven. The modern tech and insane editing is truly next level and I hope people appreciate the work that went into it instead of just seeing it as another flashy kpop video with no substance just because it’s not “deep and meaningful”. 

[those-pink-specs]

The mystery continues ... (or slightly more than three things about KEXP ... Klámstrákur edition)

Remember when I was inventing conspiracy theories around this picture?

Well it’s still a bit of a mystery isn’t it? because we didn’t see this bit.

I think that when this was happening we were looking at this instead:

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m not grateful for the lovely clear sound and vision in this recording. It’s wonderful to have it at last.

It’s just that it did seem that we got quite a bit of this:

and, you know, this:

During Klámstrákur of all things!

Oh I’m sure it’s artful an’ all, and I don’t like to complain, it’s just that I was rather hoping to finally get to see it clearly and up reasonably close, because I want to see expressions and details and -- you know -- the choreo because it’s part of the art and storytelling

But, when I watched through it again this afternoon, it kind of seemed a bit choppy and hard to follow, and there were all these bits missing because we’d be looking randomly at boots or the back of someone’s head.

And then there’s the slightly odd fact that they chopped out heaps of choreo, but left in Klemens’s slight wardrobe malfunction, and Matthías chucking his wardrobe into a corner ...

I’m guessing that the lovely and talented people of KEXP don’t usually have to deal with full-blown performance art? Or perhaps we’ve been horribly spoiled?

Anyone else have views on this?

[eastasianfeelings]

falling into the sky: chapter five — move

← chapter four: share  //  chapter six: fanfiction →

Summary: Your dance crew is backing up 5Vixx’s comeback. You happen to have a big crush on Ken. It’s kind of not an ideal situation for you, but your dance crew and the rest of Vixx make up for it.

Words: 3.1k

Warnings: none

*

The next day finds you, Hyeomi, Ahwon and Daesuk in the studio room where the auditions are being held, huddling around the table to compare notes.

“So do we know why Changyeon-hyung’s not hosting the auditions?” Daesuk asks.

“I asked Jaeeun-ssaem,” Hyeomi says. “She said it’s to remove subjectivity from the process, so they can make a decision faster because of the compressed timeline.”

“By ‘make a decision faster’,” you speculate, “she basically just means he’s too picky, right?”

“That makes sense,” Ahwon agrees. “Do we know why Ken and Hyuk were fighting over Y/N-eonni?”

You snap your head around. “Eh?”

Daesuk cocks his head. “Were they fighting?”

“Oh, yeah. They both wanted to be her dance partner, or something like that,” Hyeomi shares readily.

“Really?” Daesuk looks round at you with raised eyebrows. “What kind of situation is this, Y/N-ah?”

“Look, I don’t really know,” you say, scrunching up your nose. “Hyuk just asked if he could keep learning the back-up choreography with me and Changyeon and Jaeeun, and that got Ken’s attention for some reason.”

“Hyuk wants to learn the back-up choreography?” Ahwon’s eyebrows rise too. “Why?”

“Does he actually want to be your partner?” Hyeomi speculates.

“No, no.” You blow out a breath. “He’s just interested in the dance, I’m pretty sure.”

“I guess,” Ahwon says, a bit more skeptically.

“At the very least, I don’t think he was trying to stir up trouble with Ken on purpose.” You shrug.

“I don’t know, eonni, this kind of sounds like the start of a fanfiction,” Hyeomi says with a grin.

You snort in some water; Daesuk pats your back as you cough. “Fanfiction? Seriously, Hyeomi-yah?”

“Look who’s talking,” Ahwon says shrewdly, narrowing her eyes at Hyeomi. “You rode in with Jaeeun-ssaem again yesterday, didn’t you?”

You whip around. Looks like it’s true, based on Hyeomi’s expression. “Yah, Byeon Hyeomi.” Slowly a smile takes over your face. “What is this, exactly?”

“Nothing,” she says, in a tremendously unconvincing tone.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing,” you retort. “It sounds kind of like…”

“Forbidden love!” Daesuk says.

“Age difference!” Ahwon says.

“Student-teacher relationship!” you say.

Hyeomi jumps to her feet and shushes you all with flailing arms. “Yah, you guys! What if she walked in right now?”

You’re laughing at this point. “Hyeomi-yah, I’m happy for you.”

“You need to tell us all the details, you know,” Ahwon says.

“I will! After! Just—don’t say anything to Jaeeun-ssaem for now, okay?” Hyeomi beseeches.

Daesuk zips his lips as you and Ahwon nod. Just in time, too: the back door to the studio opens and Jaeeun walks in.

You all quickly seat yourselves along the table, leaving the middle chair open for Jaeeun. She’s looking at some papers in her hands as she walks over, which gives you time to compose yourselves.

“Hey kids.” She looks up with a smile and starts distributing the papers among the four of you. “Here are the eleven candidates’ resumes, give them a read.”

“What are they auditioning with, ssaem?” Ahwon asks.

“We gave them five boy groups to pick songs from, plus one partner dance. Speaking of—” Jaeeun turns to you. “Y/N-ah, you know the choreography to Taemin’s ‘Move’, right?”

“…Yes,” you say slowly. “Are you about to ask me to—”

“Dance with the candidates?” She flashes a smile and sits down neatly in the middle chair.

“Ssaaeem,” you whine. Hyeomi, Ahwon and Daesuk are snickering. “Why couldn’t you have told me earlier?”

“Then you don’t want to?” Jaeeun asks innocently.

“No, but now I’m worried I’ll forget something.” You let out a groan and slump on the tabletop. Being put on the spot is not your favourite thing in the world.

“Hey, we did like five million repeats of ‘Move’ when it first came out,” Ahwon reminds you.

“Yeah,” Daesuk agrees, “it’s got to be burned into our muscle proteins by now.”

“It’s chemistry that I’m looking for,” Jaeeun tells you. “So just take it easy, okay?”

“Don’t worry, eonni, if you make a mistake and the other dancer gets mad, he’s out of contention right away,” Hyeomi assures you.

“Thanks, Hyeomi-yah,” you sigh.

Jaeeun’s phone rings. “Hello? Oh, okay, send the first one in.” She hangs up and looks around at you. “All right, we’re starting.”

You sit up and watch the room’s front door open to admit the first candidate.

He introduces himself, then chooses GOT7’s “Calling My Name” as his solo. A good choice, in your opinion; the dance focuses more on elegance and precision compared to the aggressive and powerful boy group choreographies popular these days. And Vixx has never been aggressive, exactly.

Unfortunately, it’s the most soulless dance you’ve seen in a while. Jaeeun doesn’t ask him to do the partner dance; she just thanks him after two minutes and points him out the door.

As soon as he’s gone, she shuffles his resume to the back of her pile. “That was an easy no,” she says drily.

“Was he even looking at us?” Daesuk wonders aloud.

“More like staring right through us.” Ahwon shakes her head.

Jaeeun nods. “No sense of emotion. Accurate technically, but no storytelling.”

“See, eonni, you’re only going to dance with the actual good ones,” Hyeomi says to you brightly.

“Hmph.”

The next one dances to Infinite’s “The Eye”, a choreography you know Jaeeun likes, and isn’t soulless about it. You’re not really surprised when she looks down the table to you after two minutes and nods her head.

Looking back to the dancer, she says, “Next we’ll ask you to perform Taemin’s ‘Move’ as a duet, with Y/N-ssi.”

You walk over to stand next to him, give him a polite “Hello” and face the table.

“We’ll start at the first chorus,” Jaeeun says, and promptly plays the music.

As the last few beats of the prechorus lead into the refrain, you let yourself sink into the calmly slithering vibe of the song. The lack of mirror in front of you is a different sensation; it’s been a long while since you haven’t critically observed your every move while dancing. There’s some kind of satisfaction in knowing your partner’s being watched, not you.

You’re just moving into the second pre-chorus when the back door opens with an emphatic thud.

Your partner jumps, which in turn nearly breaks your concentration. But years of practice keep you going into the next step as you suppress the urge to check who’s just entered the room. As a back-up dancer, your job is to dance, no matter what happens during a performance.

Haltingly, the guy manages to swing back into the choreo just as the second chorus hits. You have to adjust your spacing to make sure his hand doesn’t smack you as the two of you travel. Right after that, the music stops.

Both of you straighten to look toward Jaeeun. “Thank you,” she says to the guy, a clear dismissal.

As he makes his exit, you whisk back your flyaway hairs, glance around at the newcomers, and nearly have a heart attack.

Hyuk and Ken are now standing behind your seat.

“What’d you think?” Jaeeun draws your attention back to her.

“Well,” you say slowly, “he wasn’t bad.”

“That means on to the next!” Hyeomi says.

“I agree,” Ken inserts confidently. “That guy fell way out of sync with Y/N-noona at one point.” He leans forward, places his hands on the back of your vacant chair and directs a smile at you. “We can do better than that, right, noona?”

“They were out of sync because you decided to run into the room during the middle of the song, hyung,” Hyuk snorts. Ken ignores him and just keeps smiling at you.

Banmal and handkerchiefs. You can do this, you tell yourself as you cautiously approach the table again.

“Come sit.” Ken pulls your chair back a little and then waits.

…Is he planning on pushing you in?? Gingerly, you turn your back to him and perch yourself on the edge of the seat. Then you’re muffling a surprised noise as he slides the chair forward with surprising strength, tucking you right into the table.

Beside you, Daesuk looks like he might be giggling to himself. Thank goodness Jaeeun’s paying more attention to the resumes than Ken’s antics or your nervous reactions. “Okay, next,” she calls out.

The front door opens for the third candidate. You’re surprised when he chooses Vixx’s “Fantasy”; you’re not sure you’d have the gumption to perform an idol’s own song right in front of them. But it turns out that he’s not bad at all.

At the two-minute mark Jaeeun calls a stop and nods at you. “Y/N-ssi.”

You move to stand. But suddenly Ken speaks, from right behind you—with shock, you realize that he’s had his hands on the back of your chair this whole time.

“Jaeeun-ssaem,” he says lightly, “was Vixx’s ‘Fantasy’ one of the audition choices?”

Jaeeun raises an eyebrow. “Yes, Vixx was one of the options.”

The candidate looks toward Ken, and you can see the moment when he realizes that he’s talking to an actual Vixx member. “Er—I wanted to show my respect and admiration for Vixx-seonbaenim,” he blurts, and sinks into a deep bow. “To express how much I would like to work with you.”

“Hm.” That’s not exactly an approving noise from Ken.

You look to Jaeeun. She’s frowning at Ken, but nods to you again. “Y/N-ssi, if you would.”

When you push back at the table, though, your chair doesn’t move.

Automatically, you push harder. The table actually inches forward.

Confused, you twist in place to find Ken’s forearms tensed and locked, his grip keeping your chair in place as he stares at the dancer.

“Er.” You look up, up, into his face. “Excuse me.”

“Hyung,” Hyuk speaks up.

Ken blinks and looks down. “Ah.” But instead of letting go, he glances first down the table.

You follow his gaze to see Jaeeun’s frown dialed up a notch. “Ken-ssi.”

“…Yes.” He unlocks his death grip around the back of the chair and steps away enough to let you stand.

The candidate seems very nervous by the time you get to him, and you can’t blame him; Jaeeun’s face is completely blank, your teammates seem to be whispering among themselves, Hyuk’s leaning against the wall looking bored and Ken’s expression is… well, foreboding, almost. You do your best to give the guy a reassuring nod before facing the table.

“You’ll be dancing the choreography to ‘Move’ by Taemin as a duet with Y/N-ssi here,” Jaeeun says. She barely waits for the dancer’s responding nod before snapping her fingers to cue the music.

To his credit, the guy doesn’t dance like he’s nervous; he slides right into the choreography with you as the first chorus starts to play. He also doesn’t shy away from looking at you when the choreo allows for or calls for it, which means the spacing between the two of you is solid and you’re in no danger of being whacked by an errant limb.

Jaeeun lets you finish the second chorus before stopping the music. “Thank you,” she says to the dancer, more politely than before, and nods him out.

As soon as the door closes behind the candidate, Hyeomi says, “He wasn’t bad!”

“He wasn’t really looking at us, though,” Daesuk says.

“But he looked good with Y/N-eonni,” Ahwon says, “he picked up her vibe and made it feel more like a duet.”

“Her vibe?” Ken echoes. He’s now leaning against the wall next to Hyuk with his arms crossed.

Your whole crew looks at him.

A little defensively, he shrugs. “I mean, being able to dance in the same style as someone else is kind of basic, isn’t it?”

“Dancing in the same style is different from having chemistry,” Jaeeun says briskly as her pen moves over the guy’s resume.

“Are you saying that he had chemistry with Y/N-noona?” Ken lifts his arm to point accusingly at the door.

“Ken-hyung, calm down.” Hyuk swats Ken’s arm down. “Ssaem’s going to make us leave if you keep being annoying.”

“I’m not being annoying,” Ken says, but lowers his arm.

At that, Jaeeun lifts her head and levels him with a stare. “You are, Jaehwan-ah, so tone it down.”

“…Sorry, ssaem.” There’s a sullen pout on his face that makes you want to stare too long at his lips.

“Y/N-ah?” Jaeeun pulls your attention to her. “What did you think?”

“I thought he was going to be nervous, but he didn’t dance like he was,” you say. “How much experience is there on his resume?”

“A lot of short-term contracts,” Daesuk says as he skims it. “Oh, he’s done a few music show festivals.”

“That’s good,” Ahwon notes.

“Put him on the shortlist?” Hyeomi says.

Jaeeun nods. “Yeah, I think so.” She sets aside his resume and waves you back to your seat. “At least that’s one.”

You hurriedly seat yourself before Ken can think to try pushing you in again. Then you nearly jump a foot in the air when he decides to lean over your shoulder and ask quietly:

“You liked him?”

That’s not his breath you’re feeling on your cheek, is it? “Um, well. He was pretty good.”

“But we can raise our standards, right? We want the best.”

“I don’t think you should talk, hyung,” comes Hyuk’s dry voice.

The faint breath disappears as Ken straightens with a sniff. “How rude.”

“Stop bothering Y/N-ah or I’ll kick you out,” Jaeeun threatens. “Next!”

The fourth dancer dances SHINee’s “I Want You”, which is a song your crew has practiced as well, so you’re a bit biased in liking it. Jaeeun looks more skeptical, but allows the guy a minute to dance “Move” with you.

After he leaves, she turns and asks for opinions again. “What did you think?”

“I think if someone dances ‘Noona, You’re So Pretty’, we should hire them on the spot,” Daesuk says.

You return to your seat and give him a high-five. “Seconded.”

“Thirded!” Hyeomi and Ahwon say at the same time.

Jaeeun huffs out a laugh. “That means we’re not hiring this guy, right?”

“Why?” Ken asks with interest, peering around Hyuk at you all. “Why ‘Noona, You’re So Pretty’?”

“It’s our song,” Daesuk says simply.

“Oh?” Ken looks to you to elaborate.

“It’s one song we all love,” you explain to him. “Both the music and the choreography.”

“Ah.” He nods.

“Ken-hyung can’t relate,” Hyuk says playfully, “he doesn’t know any of SHINee-sepnbaenim’s choreography. They’re all too hard for him.”

“Yah!” Ken rounds on him. “Why are you being so rude today?!”

“Is it rude to tell the truth?” Hyuk just grins.

“Ssaem,” Ken whines, “can’t you throw Hyuk out?”

Jaeeun doesn’t even bother answering. “Next!”

The fifth candidate introduces himself, hits a stance in front of the table with eyes closed in concentration… and then TVXQ’s “Mirotic” starts playing.

With strained patience, Jaeeun waits for a lull in the song to cut him off. “Excuse me. Excuse me.”

“Oh—yes?”

“You do realize that TVXQ was not one of the options for this audition?”

“Oh. There were options??”

Needless to say, he leaves very shortly after that.

“How’d he get on the shortlist?” Ahwon asks delicately.

Jaeeun grunts. “A referral.”

“From who? Changyeon-hyung?” Daesuk grins.

The sixth candidate dances to Winner’s “Really Really”. The group isn’t one of your favourites, so maybe you’re biased in not liking it this time. Daesuk, Ahwon and Hyeomi also have varying degrees of distaste evident on their faces. You’re happy when Jaeeun dismisses the guy without asking you to dance with him.

“Ssaem, you chose Winner as one of the options?” you ask her after the door closes.

“Yeah,” Jaeeun says. “‘Really Really’ is a weak pick, though.” She stretches and looks at the clock. “Shall we take a break? We’re ahead of schedule.”

Hyeomi jumps up. “Ssaem, is it okay if I plug my phone into the player to charge?”

“Sure, Hyeomi-yah.”

But as soon as Hyeomi’s phone is connected to the sound system, the familiar strains of SHINee’s debut fill the room.

“Yeah!” Daesuk whoops and hops out of his chair. “Y/N-ah, Ahwon-ah, let’s go!”

Jaeeun lets out an exasperated laugh as the four of you bounce around the dance floor. “Why?”

“C’mon, doesn’t watching Y/N-eonni dance make you want to dance too?” Hyeomi says brightly as she does a Taemin spin.

“Noonan neomu yeppeoseo,” Daesuk sings along at the top of his lungs.

“Namjadeuli gaman andwo,” Hyeomi continues, pointing your way.

Ahwon joins the other two dancing around you. “Heundeullineun geunyeoui mam sashil algo isseo~!”

Laughing, you swat at them. You know your voice would crack if you tried to sing that loudly while dancing.

Suddenly, Ken’s clear honey voice continues the song:

“Geunyeoege sarangeun hansunganoe neukkimil ppun…”

You look round to see him watching you all, lips curved as he sings:

“Mwola haedo naegen salmui everything~”

Before you can melt on the spot, you’re distracted by Hyuk jumping in and joining the choreo in the pre-chorus. It’s quite a sight to see someone his height and build perform the very athletic choreography, and the sweet grin on his face is just the cherry on top.

“All right, all right,” Jaeeun says, waving both her arms. “Hyuk-ah, if you pull a muscle during these auditions, your manager’s going to kill me.”

“No way, he won’t,” Hyuk protests even as Hyeomi turns off the music.

Jaeeun looks to you. “You want to grab water, Y/N-ah? You’ll probably be dancing some more.”

“Yeah, I will,” you agree. You grab your empty water bottle from the table and head for the back door of the studio.

When you step outside, a glance down the hallway shows a few people still waiting their turn to audition by the front door. You’re about to turn away and head for the water fountain when something—someone—catches your eye.

A hint of familiarity.

The person lifts their head at that moment, and you get a good eyeful of their face.

What—

Are you, maybe, actually in a fanfiction? Because that’s the boy you crushed on throughout the entirety of high school, standing in line to audition for a spot on your dance crew.

You’re frozen to the spot, trying to figure out what to do and how big of a deal this is, when the back door opens right next to you and your current crush walks out.

“Noona?” Ken tilts his head at you, eyes wide.

You look at him. You think: I am totally, unquestionably, undoubtedly, 100% definitely in a fanfiction.

*

← chapter four: share  //  chapter six: fanfiction →

[dwtspd]

DWTS 25 Week 7: This is Halloween

Once a year, regardless of our favourite pro, regardless of whether we believe the show is rigged, regardless of whether we think the choreography value of this show is going down, we all gather to watch a certain episode of Dancing with the Stars because of...Sasha Farber. What would we do without our in house prankster?

The best prank moments this year are:

Nikki thinking the scarecrow is Frankie

Sasha knocking stuff over as he tries to jump Frankie, who is carrying some foam thingy under his arm as if he is going to the pool

Terrell not reacting to the interview jumpscare

Terrell doing karate chops at the bat

Mark running from the bat

Drew’s “It’s gonna hit you” when Emma swings the bat, right before it actually hits her in the face

I could watch a whole hour and a half of this, but there are dances. And team dances. And another opportunity to do a Descendants number on the show wasted.

Victoria and Val - Viennese Waltz Val calling out Jordan and Lindsey’s dance experience? Scared, Val? Btw, Jordan is more of a gymnast. This song is kinda overrated. Victoria did really well. Their hold got a bit loose in one of the turns, but this is still one of her best dances. 9-9-9 T27

Jordan and Lindsay - Paso Doble Yes Jordan call out Len. I love the choreography. The breakdown parts transited nicely into the pure paso sections, the formations were great, the mood was all out. 10-10-10 T30

Nikki and Artem - Jive Artem likes kitten videos??? These two have great chemistry. Not only does he make Nikki enjoy the process, Nikki also makes Artem smile a lot. Okay, I didn’t notice the nametag. I like the theme. Nikki was sharp and had great footwork. I do agree with Len it wasn’t as energetic as one would expect for a jive. 8-8-8 T24

Vanessa and Maks - Paso Doble So Maks was kidnapped by the walking dead during rehearsal and has been turned into a zombie. The smoke machine was overused in the front. Vanessa’s arms were very flimsy, she didn’t quite hit her spanish lines, and looked like she lost balance a lot of times. 8-8-8 T24

LOL that Swiffer floor wipe ad is a gem.

Terrell and Cheryl - Tango oooh watch out, Terrell looks like he has a good shot of catching up with the pack. He was clean, he had great posture, his butt was tucked in. The head flicks, oh wow. The little lyrical broadway-ish part at the beginning with the troupe was also well done. 8-8-9 T25 I would have given one more 9.

Mark and Lindsey - Paso Doble Their makeup are over the top, so nothing new for Mark. Knowing her rib injury, Lindsey was very obviously holding back on arcing her back during the spanish lines. The choreo was ON POINT. The KNEE WALKS. 9-9-9 T27

Frankie and Witney - Contemporary Oh. My. God. I am at a loss for words. The storytelling was amazing. The set up with Frankie behind the window with the lighting set the scene so well. The camera direction was perfect. Frankie lended himself into the sinister character so well. The choreography I felt featured Witney more than Frankie, and his black costume made him disappear sometimes. An A+ production nevertheless. 10-10-10 T30

Drew and Emma - Charleston I feel like the props got in the way and blocked them a lot. Drew managed to keep on time and deserves commendation. So the fall wasn’t purposeful? 9-9-9 T27

Kelly Monaco looks like she hasn’t aged. Hey Corbin!

And now for the team dances. Terrell and Drew were the team captains, something different from what they usually do making the highest scorers pick teams. I want to know how the teams were picked. How did Jordan and Lindsey end of on the same team??

Team Monster Mash: Terrell, Jordan, Lindsey and Nikki Cute concept, interesting use of the corn plants. The part where Terrell was jumping up and down like he was trying to see over the others even though he is taller than all of them was hilarious. I have to say I expected more from a team that has Cheryl, Mark and Lindsay all choreographing. The moving corn plants were really distracting at times, but they also created some cool effects at times, like when Mark and Jordan ran into each other. There was a part where Terrell looked like he went off time. Jordan and Lindsay’s pirouettes are awesome. 8-8-8 T24

Team Phantom of the ballroom: Drew, Frankie, Vanessa and Victoria hahaha at Frankie being the nervous wreck. Loved his intro, though. I think he was the most in character. I think this group had a better song and they rose up to the occasion. I don’t think it’s the best team dance ever, though. I found it very boring, although it was very well performed. Drew and Vanessa looked liked they stumbled when they were dancing together. Victoria and Val’s part didn’t even have any dancing. I thought tango was a very good choice, but I felt that paso doble didn’t really fit. The music was too slow, not intense enough, and the poofy skirts restricted the girls from stepping fiercely into the floor, so the paso parts felt very lackadaisical. 10-10-10 T30

Overall verdict: Monster Mash was more exciting and ambitious, but Phantom was more cohesive and cleaner even though they had a very basic number. I would say Team Phantom wins, but they were completely overscored. The disparity should not be this big. It should only be one or two points.

In jeopardy: Terell, Nikki, Vanessa, Drew.

Drew and Terrell are safe. And plot twist...both Nikki and Vanessa are eliminated. Apparently all the pros were told there would only be one elimination this week. 

Next week, trio dancers with former contestants! I think it’s a really good idea. Already looking forward to Frankie/Witney/Alfonso.