To have BTS in the current position that they are in today, there is no denying that its choreography and performance is one of the indispensable parts of BTS’s history. Lee Byung Eun, BIGHIT MUSIC’s performance director, has been working with the members for a long time and took the tenth debut anniversary to reflect on how far they have come.
Lee has participated in performances of all stage-related songs such as albums, concerts, contents, and award ceremonies, as well as major songs such as “Butter,” “Dynamite,” “Boy With Luv,” and more. He recently held an interview with Ilgan Sports and talked about the past, present, and future of BTS’s performances.
He stated, “The BTS members have reached this position with more effort and practice than anyone else over the past ten years. I am happy to be able to be together in that moment of glory, and I hope that such moments will continue. I will also run towards the 20th anniversary together.”
K-Pop idol groups, including BTS, present live stages to fans. Besides the song itself, the performance is one of the most important factors in popularity in the current music market. This is because it is the part that can best show off their style and character. From the beginning of their debut, BTS gained great popularity with sophisticated choreography and in-sync dance moves. It is also a part of their growth as a world-class group.
Director Lee stated, “In the early days of their debut, they put a lot of effort into showing a stage full of energy, just like a rookie should. The members were also well aware of the importance of this and practiced and perfected the choreography with the details, starting over from the beginning if even the smallest movement was wrong.”
Out of all the songs, Lee chose “I Need U,” “ON,” And “Run BTS” as the best choreography of BTS. All three songs were staged with dozens and sometimes with 100 or more performance team members to enhance visual perfection.
Over the course of ten years, there have been many changes in BTS’s music. It started out based on hip-hop, but now they sing songs with a lot of pop elements mixed with familiar melodies, targeting the global market. You can see the colorful musicality through “Butter,” “Dynamite,” “and “Yet To Come.” Lee also stated, “As the years go by, BTS’ musical spectrum broadens, and they become a team that is not limited to one genre. As a result, the choreography also changed in many areas.”
He explained, “Rather than dancing tightly like in the past, we are trying to compose a relaxed performance to match the melody, except for the point choreography, so that each member can appeal to each other’s charms a little more.”
He also revealed that it takes one to two months to plan the choreography alone as he strives to pair the best dance moves with the best music.
As an artist who debuted ten years ago, each person’s color is distinct, and we try to create choreography that matches that color. I work while discussing with the members what suits each of them.
— Lee Byung Eun, Performance Director
At the same time, he also mentioned the choreography characteristics of each member. He commented, “When preparing the stage, RM tends to do solid preparation and review, so it is characterized by a sense of stability in play. Jin is sensitive to choreography in a standard and accurate way, so he practices very well before going on stage. Suga expresses hip and swag gestures and moods well, while J-Hope has a solid street dance base and a wide spectrum of genres, so he knows how to use various emotional elements. Jimin’s choreography is very fluid and textured, so even when he does hip choreography, he exudes a bit of an alluring charm. V quickly learns the choreography and expresses his style well with ad-libs. For Jungkook, he has an innately developed physical, so he can play with a sense of stability while overflowing with energy.”
To wrap up the interview, he stated, “When preparing for the stage, the members put their soul into practice more than ever. After painstakingly preparing for those stages, I am really happy and proud when we receive good results. BTS will continue to be artists who sincerely put their thoughts and messages into songs. I think there will be more musical attempts and changes too. The performance will also be produced to be expressed in a more BTS style.”
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