Cary Dance Studio Brings K-Pop to the Triangle
Cary, NC – K-Pop (Korean pop music) is a multi-billion dollar industry in South Korea and as the catchy music and vibrant presentation gets more popular across the rest of the world, a Cary-based dance studio is bringing these styles and more to local dancers.
K-Pop Dance Groups
DIA Urban Dance started a year and a half ago, teaching modern popular dance from hip-hop to K-Pop to popping and locking and more.
K-Pop dance is heavily influenced by hip-hop and urban dance, said DIA founder and owner Jessica Suo, but it’s more connected to the music that made it popular.
“K-Pop is performed with large groups and each groups their own songs and dances that go along with it. All these songs have their choreography, so we teach groups of students how to cover and follow these same dances,” Suo said. “It’s very popular with high schoolers and teenagers. Most of them love the music and love the dances.”
Suo said their classes – with classes for teenagers and adults on Saturdays and children on Sundays – are filled with culturally diverse students but K-Pop is popular across all demographics.
“We have students who have traveled to Chicago and California to see these groups live,” Suo said. “When I first opened the class, I was not sure if it would be popular. But we’ve had students come from as far as Greensboro.”
Suo said DIA’s K-Pop classes make it unique in the state but they also attract dancers for their other styles.
“With our hip-hop dance, we teach original choreography, and we invite dancers and teachers in from all around the Triangle,” she said.
Dance Showcase
The studio does not have a permanent location, instead keeping its fans and students updated about weekend classes through Facebook and Instagram.
“We use social media to connect people, and every week we post new classes,” Suo said.
DIA’s dancers and students have performed at festivals and competitions around the area, including the Dragon Boat Festival at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheater, and this weekend, they are hosting their own K-Pop Dance Showcase at Burning Coal Theatre in Downtown Raleigh.
“We have 16 dance groups performing, out of 25 that auditioned,” Suo said. “We’ll also have a local Korean rap group playing there.”
While K-Pop and modern Korean music and culture are getting more and more popular, Suo said fans don’t have many outlets to express this passion.
“There’s nothing in the area to celebrate K-Pop right now,” she said. “This even is purely for this dance community.”
Details about DIA Urban Dance and their weekly classes is online.
Story by Michael Papich. Photos courtesy of DIA Urban Dance.
