translation by jypwhispers | PLEASE TAKE OUT WITH CREDIT
Shall it be said that idol music without performance is a bread without bean-filling? Idol music is a kind of conceptual music with the 3 beats - song, visual and performance, matched to be shown. Among those, performance is as if the important element that accomplish the peak of music shown, the core of the kpop hallyu fever. It is also said that a well made choreography point tows the popularity of the song. Whenever an idol comes back, the pouring amount of dance cover videos made and uploaded onto youtube as well shows how crucial performance is. That is why the role of choreographer becomes bigger. Here we meet the choreographer sweat for a 3-minute stage performance behind idol groups.
What does it mean to work with someone more than 20 years? Just looking at the way they look at each other, you can see the warm trust they have for each other. That is just like the relationship between JYP Entertainment (JYP below)'s head of choreography team, Park Namyoung and Park Jinoyung. Head of choreography team, Park Namyoung began his life as a dancer since his 2nd year in high school and is now a choreographer who keeps in step with Park Jinyoung for more than 20 years. He was in charge of most of the choreography of JYP Entertainment. It would not be wrong to say that he leads the JYP style performance. JYP is the training school of idols like Rain, 2PM, Miss A, GOT7, Twice, etc, and is a company that exhibits unique presence in performancs.Choreographer Park Namyoung was certain of his trust on JYP. For the first question, when answering about JYP, it was a 'family', and during the last question, he also described JYP as 'family'. With even a solid answer as 'As long as JYP doesn't throw me away, I will always stay in JYP", his affection for JYP can be found everywhere in his answers. Shall it be said that the secret key for JYP to keep creating stars is the gluey trust and faith from the staff who are like a family?
Q. You've been with JYP for a long time. What is the strength of JYP?
Park Namyoung (PNY below) : It might as well due to the fact that I've been working here for some time, it's also because it's like a family. It's a place that I stay in more than my home, and I spend more time here than with my family. I came to JYP in 2003, and has been working with Park Jinouung for 20 years.
Q. How do you practice choreography with Park Jinyoung?
PNY : Park Jinyoung has many thoughts himself. He gives references on how he wants it to be first. As I made the first creation, he will make additional edition. He adds the movement he wants to do.
Q. The popularity of TWICE's "Ohh-aah" is high now. In which part did you spent most time?
PNY : Definitely being pretty. I worked very hard to let the kids appear prettily. I spent the most time on this as up till now, the choreography of all JYP girl groups are powerful so there were many head movement. Even if it's pretty, when the performance ends, their hair always end up all tangled up. There's no use no matter how pretty you look if your face is all covered by your hair as the song finishes, right? This time we used the head as less as possible. Although the body is always used, we made it that the face/head was not often used.
Q. When you create the choreography, of what do you worry the most?
PNY : Though the song has to be good in the first place, I work hard on creating a choreography that suits the singer. No matter how good the choreography is, no matter how nice the music is, if it' does not match the singer, I think it's useless. First of all, when I began to create the choreography, I listen to the song a lot. If I do that, it just comes to me. As I listen to 2PM's new song, I imagine if this would be an advantage for those friends and how would it be to make these friends look cool.
Q. As a dance teacher, what is the charm of TWICE?
PNY : First of all, TWICE has been at the stage of working hard. Jungyeon has a boyish visual but she's really girly. As contrast, she's lively. You can see how distinctive she is in the music video or on the stage. Tzuyu is a giant baby. Her appearance does not look like a maknae but she acts like one. She is young so she is always cute. People would think Dahyun is a noisy girl after watching the eagle dance but she has many talents. She also has a coy side of her usually. Jihyo came when she's an elementary school student. She works hard as the leader. It's also because her training period was long, she works very hard. I'm very amazed that the kid that I had been looking at since she's in elementary school has now became a woman And the Monami line. As the 3 of them are foreigners, honestly I try to talk (to make understanding) easier, but it's sometimes difficult. For Sana, she looks young in the music video but she has a mature side too, while Momo is more childish. It might be how shy Mina is, there're more to be shown from her. I got to know Nayeon since she was young, she's amicable and nice like a young sister. Chaeyoung is a kid with many good ambitions. She always strives for the better, and though she looks cool, in reality she's friendly. All of TWICE have good ambitition, but they want to understand themselves first and is working hard.
Q. You meet a lot of trainees. When you look at the successful members, what kind of tip do you have?
PNY : Though there might be tip, there are times that it's different. But the common point is that the way they look is different. The kids who become successful don't avoid my eyes when they practice. During practices, I either look at the members at the back through the mirror or stand in front to check them, the sturdy kids who practice really hard don't look away even when our eyes meet.
Q. What do you think is the requirement for idols to be successful?
PNY : There are a lot of idols with great abilities. Ability is the first requirement. There are many kids who want to become singer without the ability. There were not a lot of idols back in the day, but now there're too many and when it comes to singers, people would think they definitely can dance and sing. Nowadays they judge. Does this kid sing well, does he/she dance well. Recently if you don't have the ability, they don't want to know you. Apart from appearance.
Q. How did you get to meet Park Jinyoung?
PNY : I was just the maknae of a dance team in the beginning. When I was in year 2 in high school, my friend first started as a dancer for a singer called 'Untitled' and that's how I naturally began to work. After that, I entered a dance company called 'Team Mania', one of the people there is now the vice president of JYP Entertainment. That team was created for Park Jinyoung and I was the maknae.
Q. You began as maknae and has stayed till now.
PNY : The team was really good. There are many well-known dance team now but I thought the color of our team suited me, For certain, they were friend who're like family to me.
Q. What's the strength of Park Jinyoung?
PNY : He's really thoroughgoing. In both respects of planning and working, there are a lot of things to be learnt from him. The people under him would have difficult times sometimes too. I could not understand why he works like that in the past, somehow I begin to work like him. The method Park Jinyoung treats the people under him is like a textbook. I witnessed that a lot and learnt much from it. I also received a lot of influences on dancing from him too. Park Jinyoung once told me that "You are a blessed existence to yourself. I can't remember the exact wording but since I've lived through the digital generation and the generation before that, he said that it's a blessing that there's such a place to work at. He said as we know the things in the past, the things after that and the things nowadays, so it's easy to adapt. I am also blessed that I got to learn his dances in the past, got to inform him about the dances nowadays and got to be in harmony with him.
Q. You are also in charged of JYP's girl groups' choreography, was there any difficult time when you create choreography for female?
PNY : I only created female choreography back in the days. Ha ha. Back then it's not as subdivided as now and men also created much female choreography. It was a time like that. It is probably because of the fact that I created a lot of female choreography that it helps me a lot now. There are female dongsaengs in our choreography team now though. Women understand women's body well and their curves are beautiful. Now I don't interfere much by just giving many suggestions. I'm now in charge of 90% of Park Jinyoung's and 2PM's choreography.
Q. Is there a choreography that you made that you cherish the most?
PNY : They are all treasured choreography. Out of all of them, I remember the first one the most. The first choreography that got number 1 was PSY's "Bird". I created that choreography. The first choreography that received a daesang [T/N: Grand Prize Award] was 2PM's "Heartbeat". They are two choreography that I created completely on my own. There was no ending stage that was the same for "Heartbeat". There are 30~40 versions. If you look at TWICE's choreography, you can see that they have different choreography every week. It's a choreography that I spent much time on.
Q. If so, which choreography do you feel it's pity the most?
PNY : 2PM's "I'll Be Back" released in 2010 came to my mind. The choreography of "I will be back" was shuffle dance, and shuffle dance had been placed in "I Hate you" and "Tired of Waiting" since 2009. A year right after shuffle dance was placed in "I will be back', shuffle dance became popular. Before that nobody knew shuffle dance. "I will be back" was one of the most tiring dance for 2PM but back then it was not called shuffle dance but was known as "rabbit dance" instead. It just ended as a "rabbit dance" and exactly a year after that, shuffle dance got popular. All the singers did shuffle dance the next year. 2PM sometimes tell me that "it was too early". It was a pity that it was just ended as "rabbit dance".
Q. You've been a dance for 20 years. There must've been difficult times, what do you do when that happens?
PNY : I just have to work more. It's inevitable. Because if I released my hand, it would be all late. I have to do it when I can do it, right? I don't have special method on managing my health but I do stretching everyday.
Q. There must be times when you feel proud too.
PNY : It is very rewarding when standing on stage. I also feel proud when there is number 1 won. I feel proud as I stand on the stage and the audience watch and cheer for my dongsaengs staged that I made.
Q. Hasn't the point of view for dancer became better compared to the past?
PNY : The way the public think of us has changed a lot but it's still insufficient. I still got to hear that I "dance and such" last time when there was a relatives gathering. It seems that the general acknowledgement for dancing is still not that good.
Q. Still, there should be times when you feel that JYP is equipped with such choreography system and that the world has improved.
PNY : I do think like that sometimes. That I should've been born slightly later. Ha ha. Nowadays there are dance majors in universities and one can get into universities through dancing too. There have been many tournaments as well. I do feel jealous of the young kids who dance now. Because they can enjoy the things that I couldn't enjoy through dancing now.
Q. There are a lot of hoobaes who want to become a dancer too, please give them some suggestion.
PNY : I hope they don't treat dancer itself as something easy.There are a lot of people who came here after seeing how splendid it is to be on stage and said "I came here as I want to be on broadcast, why am I only practicing?". It'd be great if they don't easily step into this just by seeing how glamorous it looks. If one really wants to become a dancer, it is good to find yourself first. Don't look for what's trending. Recently dance is not standardized so it is good to go with one's own style.
Q. If you have any wish for the public watching?
PNY : It'd be great if they don't give us judgement. It'd be great if they treat dancing as cute, as we don't dance strangely because we want to dance strangely. Rather than seeing what's right or wrong, it'd be great if they just enjoy it. There are many people who look at artistic talent as if it's a documentary.
Q. Is there any plan for Park Namyoung choreography yourself?
PNY : I want to be a choreographer as long as I can be. I want to raise the kids under me even as I turn older. I really like JYP who doesn't throw me away. He's my family.
Q. Why do you like dancing?
PNY : It's exciting. Just because it's exciting. I don't think of anything when I dance. There's no thought like "What do I do tomorrow?" when I dance. It's called as "impersonal state", is it? I am not crazy to dance, it's just the excitement the moment I dance. As I am the main character/lead role/ protagonist.
Q. Lastly, what is dance for choreographer Park Namyoung?
PNY : It's just me. I dance for more than the half of my life. It's my existence, myself.
Sign up here with your email
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon