| The cast members of Mnet's new dance competition show "Hit the Stage" pose at a press meeting, July 22. From left are hosts Jun Hyun-moo and Lee Soo-geun and idol dancers U-Kwon, Taemin, Hyoyeon, Ten, Shownu, Bora, Hoya and Momo. / Courtesy of CJ E&M |
By Kim Jae-heun
"Hit the Stage," Mnet's new dance competition show, premiers today, bringing eight dancers from the top K-pop groups for a battle on the stage.
"K-pop and hallyu went global and they are popular these days and I wondered why dance is excluded," said chief producer Lee Eung-gu during the press meeting at 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, western Seoul, last Friday. "Psy's music became popular because of the dance. So we decided to make a dance show."
In the series' first lineup, the idol dancers vary in experience from Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation with nearly nine years of experience to Ten from NCT of S.M. Entertainment who debuted only three month ago. The other dancers are Taemin of SHINee, Bora of SISTAR, Hoya of Infinite, U-kwon of Block B, Shownu of MONSTA X and Momo from TWICE.
Program director Choi Jung-nam revealed that some of the cast members in the first lineup will remain on the stage for subsequent episodes and some will be replaced by new dancers from different K-pop groups. To judge the competition fairly and not according to the idol's popularity as a K-pop group member, Choi sought out a diverse audience with expertise in dancing.
In every episode, dancers form a group with reputed dance crews, such as Prepix, Monster Woo Fam and Purplow, and will prepare performances according to a given concept. Today's theme is "devil."
The participants are not limited to performing only K-pop dance, but can perform various other genres that they have not had a chance to show on TV before.
"I was a dancer before joining SISTAR. But after joining the group, I had no chance to dance genres that I've enjoyed before and I have forgotten them, which disappointed me a lot.
"Through Hit the Stage, I looked back at what I used to dance and I will be showing off various dance genres here," said Bora.
Hyoyeon agreed that she will be able to show off a performance that reflects a lot of new ideas in dance moves based on her nine years of experience in K-pop.
For younger idol dancers, participating in the dance series is an opportunity to compete against experienced rivals and improve their dancing and stage presence.
The show picks the best performer in every episode and most idols predicted Hyoyeon as the potential winner. Momo said she grew up watching Hyoyeon dance and she was actually impressed after witnessing her rehearsal while shooting the first episode. U-Kwon agreed that Hyoyeon is especially comfortable on the stage. Taemin said the Girls' Generation main dancer will win the first episode.
Choi said the series is different from previous dance survival shows like "Dancing 9" because it's a collaboration project between K-pop stars and a dance crew.
"They are given about a month to practice. The show brings the best dance performances and I can assure the quality of the stage," said Choi.
Hit the Stage will air every Wednesday on Mnet.