While idols are in the practise rooms perfecting each dance move and later impressing the audience on stage, K-Pop fans in Sydney are learning the same moves and going out to the city to film dance cover videos.

In Sydney’s Darling Square, Amelia and Michella from K-Pop dance cover group, Horizon, were filming their cover for VIVIZ’s ‘Pull Up’. Horizon were formed in 2017 under the University of New South Wales’ K-Pop Society but now that most of their members have graduated from their degrees, they are independent of the university. 

Nearby in Dancers’ Alley at the ICC, Tiffany and Kai Li from K-Pop dance cover group, Orbit, met up with their other group members for a practise session. Similar to Horizon, Orbit were formed in 2019 under The University of Sydney’s Korean Cultural Appreciation Society (now Korean International Culture Society). They also became independent of the university a while after its establishment.

K-Pop dance cover groups have members from all different backgrounds in life and journeys with K-Pop. Some may have fallen into the charms of K-Pop in recent years but some are long-time fans whose interest began at a young age.

Amelia is one of these long-time fans. Her love for K-Pop began in 2009 and says,

One of my Korean friends showed it to me in primary school and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is amazing’
Amelia

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The energy and choreography of second generation groups such as SHINee and SUPER JUNIOR are also what drew them in. As Tiffany says, 

The production value of a lot of the music videos are really high and I feel like the energy really feels very different from western artists… it’s just such a different vibe.

She goes on to explain that SHINee’s TaeMin, arguably one of 2nd generation K-Pop’s best dancers, is one of the idols that inspired her to start dancing. 

He’s just so good at his craft. It’s not just him being good at the technical side of dancing but him as a performer, he really knows how to capture someone’s attention and the details he puts into the dance are just really nice to look at and good to learn from.

As fans, watching their favourite idols performing captivating choreography and consistently honing their craft of dance has motivated them to experience it themselves as well. Having already had a background in dance, learning K-Pop dances was not completely unfamiliar to them.

I used to do ballet when I was in primary school but I stopped doing it in junior high school.
Michella

Kai Li also took up dancing from primary school until high school, trying all different styles from Chinese dance (traditional and modern), ballet and hip-hop. 

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The more that they had fun learning K-Pop dance, the larger that the hobby grew in scale. They enjoyed it so much that the idea of joining a dance group with other people seemed like the natural thing to do. 

When Amelia joined Sydney’s K-Pop dance cover scene in 2014, she found that making crews was common amongst K-Pop fans in her city which sparked an interest to make her own crew with some of her friends. She then later joined Horizon in 2019.

Although it is a fun hobby, performing cover dances as a group requires time and energy from the members who already lead busy lives with their studies or full time work. About three to four weeks are spent preparing for each cover with the frequency of practise sessions varying depending on the members’ availability. There may also be rushed projects that are fast tracked to be completed within a week or there may even be preparations for multiple covers happening simultaneously. 

Life doesn’t stop for these dancers with studies, work and other commitments demanding their time and energy as well. What is initially a hobby can become stressful and lead to burnout so the members have mutually agreed that their studies and work are their main priorities.

We don’t try to force it (preparing for covers) if it’s really hard for the members.
Tiffany

We just do it when we want to because it’s more like a hobby than a heavy commitment. That’s how we want it to be. Just for fun.
Kai Li

Apart from getting to actively do what they love, being part of a group over an extended period of time has resulted in gaining close friends that they otherwise would not have found.

Tiffany and Kai Li both agreed that the members are bound to become close with the amount of time they spend together.

Even if your personalities are really different… you connect through dance and share so many experiences together.
Tiffany

It’s a different kind of friendship.
Kai Li

The time and effort invested in creating something and being able to share the sense of elation of achieving a common goal is what has formed special friendships within the group.

There’s more to it than just being friends and hanging out because we share so much time together where we’re focusing on a project. It’s such a valuable thing to do together and see it come to fruition in the end.
Tiffany

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As much as a shared love of dance has helped overcome individual differences when getting to know each other, it has also helped newcomers to Sydney feel settled down by creating a sense of belonging.

Michella, who is originally from Indonesia, moved to Sydney at the end of 2019. For anyone, the move to another city or country can be nervewracking and trying to socialise in a new place can be difficult. However, Michella made close friends within the group and being connected in a group where the members have the same interest in K-Pop is significant to her.

After I joined Horizon, I met some friends and got to know a lot of people in the community.

Not only has a shared love for K-Pop dance led to camaraderie and rapport within the group, it has also formed a wider dance community with other K-Pop dance cover groups from across Sydney.

Many members of different dance cover groups know each other and, at times, outsource across groups. When a group doesn’t have enough dancers to match the amount of members in the song they are covering, they outsource as many members as needed from groups in which they have friends. Horizon members have been outsourced by other groups to join them on a project.

K-Pop dance cover groups also deliberately collaborate in one-off projects with one another. They may have friends in those groups or may have their own members in those groups as it is common that K-Pop cover dancers are part of more than one group. 

The formation of the wider dance community in Sydney has been facilitated by Dancers’ Alley at the ICC in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. 

As the name suggests, Dancers’ Alley is an alleyway of passionate dancers practising routines and developing their dance skills. It is a modern outdoor space equipped with mirrored walls and is free for all kinds of dancers to gather. Dancers get to surround themselves with people also engaging in the art form, either of different or same genres. Having a common place for dancers enables them to draw inspiration from what they see going around them. It also lifts their energy simply by the atmosphere of everyone doing the same thing. 

As Orbit were arriving at Dancers’ Alley for the start of their practise session, many groups had already been dancing throughout the day and one group were filming a routine to check their progress so far. In the meantime, people walking by the ICC took interest in the alleyway of dance crews. Many took photos and videos or simply took a minute to appreciate the groups working together. 

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Dancers can also communicate with each other and socialise. 

You see them day in, day out on this alley so you start kind of knowing people.
Kai Li

If we do see other groups, like other friends around, we just go up to them during breaks and say hi.
Tiffany

K-Pop dance cover groups perform in public for the "K-Pop In Public" videos which make up the core of their work. Almost everyone interested in K-Pop is aware of the plethora of "K-Pop In Public" videos where fans take to key locations in their city to dance and spread K-Pop around. Even in Sydney, individual dancers are brought together into groups out of a common passion for K-Pop dance and bring life and art to the city. The activities of these groups are all centred in Sydney’s hot spots. 

The ICC, the key place where their practise sessions are held, is located in the heart of Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is a harbourside residential, commercial and recreational area in Sydney and is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. 

When it’s time to film their cover in a "K-Pop In Public" video, the main locations they head towards include Pitt Street Mall, Darling Harbour and Chinatown. With their vibrant and eye-catching performances, they turn Sydney’s hot spots into their stage and entice passersby, some of whom take a quick look as they go about their day and some who stay to watch until the end of the song. By doing so, dance cover groups expose the public to a music genre they may not have heard of before.

As Horizon filmed their latest cover in Darling Square on a Sunday afternoon, many families, couples and individuals were sitting on the tables and benches outside The Exchange enjoying a relaxing afternoon. As the Horizon members took their positions to begin filming their cover, many people turned heads and passersbys stopped to watch behind the camera and record on their phones.

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The devotion of these groups has also brought them to showcase their talent in K-Pop dance cover competitions. 

Orbit have participated in a few competitions and placed 2nd in both the 2022 "IMI KPOP LIVE Competition" and the 2019 "JK Ent Sydney Superstar" competition. They are also currently busy preparing for more competitions coming up in the next couple of months.

Horizon have also placed 1st and 2nd in various competitions. 

They have also worked with the Sydney Opera House and performed ‘No Air’ by THE BOYZ as part of a series titled “Shortwave” which focuses on early career Australian artists in digital performance. As part of their work with them, Horizon were permitted into areas of the Opera House that are normally closed off to the general public and performed their cover. By working with such a large institution, they were able to take their skills to the next level while promoting Korean pop culture to a wide audience.

It was really interesting to experience the back end of what it takes to produce something for commercial use.
Amelia

It was a very big opportunity for us to have. It was a fun project as well.
Michella

These dancers started their K-Pop dance journeys as fans fascinated by the energy and remarkable artistry of idols. This fascination expanded and now they’re doing their bit to continue getting the sound and taste of K-Pop out in the world. Making the city their stage and bringing the fun and vibrancy of K-Pop to Sydney is their way of contributing to K-Pop’s popularity as a fan but also to live out their own passions for dance. 

Special thanks to Horizon and Orbit for their time and the chance to interview them. 

Check out each of their latest cover dances below.

Check out their socials below and keep up with their amazing ongoing work.

Horizon: Instagram / Facebook / YouTube

Orbit: Instagram / Facebook / YouTube