A housewife in her late 40s tries K-POP dance for the first time. I went to learn the choreography for BTS's 'RUN BTS'

Ever since I fell down the rabbit hole of BTS, I've been captivated by their intense yet beautiful synchronized dancing.

Jimin's beautiful dancing, in particular, is so dazzling to me—someone who loves dance and is currently learning flamenco—that I've completely fallen for his graceful movements, right down to the smallest details.

I've been watching analysis videos by former dancers, studying them intensely to understand exactly what makes his movements so beautiful.

BTS's dances are known for being particularly fast and difficult, so when I watch slow-motion breakdowns, I can confirm how much attention Jimin pays to even the smallest details despite the lightning-fast choreography, which just makes me fall for them even more.

As I kept doing this, I started to think that I wanted to try dancing their choreography, even if just a little bit.

However, between my part-time job, my side hustle in writing, weekly flamenco lessons, machine Pilates, and my base responsibilities as a housewife and mother, adding K-POP dance to the mix felt physically impossible.

I've wanted to learn K-POP dance, but it's physically demanding and relies heavily on stamina, so I hesitated, wondering if it was really something I should be taking up as I get older.

It's a full-body workout, and while it's great in terms of exercise, stretching, and flexibility, I thought it might be better suited for younger people if I were to take it up as a hobby.

The flamenco I'm currently learning doesn't have a fixed choreography; it's a highly improvisational art form, so if my feet don't move, I can just create a dance that works with that. While I want to continue with the profound art of flamenco as a lifelong hobby, I still find myself thinking about K-POP constantly.

To resolve this inner conflict, I spent a long time looking for a studio that offered single-session lessons focusing only on the chorus of a song.

And I found one!

I had been searching for a while without any luck, but then I stumbled upon a dance school in Motomachi, Yokohama.

They had a class where you didn't need to be a member; you could just drop in as a guest for a single session to learn the chorus choreography for various K-POP songs.

This is it. This is exactly what I was looking for.

The hurdle of attending weekly classes is too high, but if it's just a one-time thing, I can go on a day that works for me, so I can manage even if it's a bit far.

I know it would be fun to practice and learn their entire dance, but rather than wanting to dance it perfectly, I just want to share in the joy of dancing their routines. I know how difficult they are, and I figured the chorus alone would be challenging enough, so a chorus-only lesson seemed just right.

I immediately checked my schedule and the song list, and signed up for a single-session class that taught the chorus of 'RUN BTS'.

Even though I take flamenco, I know nothing about the basics of hip-hop or K-POP, but since it was a single-session class, I figured it would probably be fine for a beginner, so I just jumped right in.

After signing up, I started to worry if other people in my age group—middle-aged women—would be there. But then I remembered that when I first searched on Google for 'late 40s K-POP dance school,' results came up, and I had a feeling that many housewives would be interested in learning BTS, so I decided to go for it on my own.

Yokohama Motomachi, which I hadn't visited in a while, was bustling with people for the Charming Sale.

The studio was listed as being in Yokohama Motomachi, but when I went from the Motomachi-Chukagai station on the Toyoko Line, it was actually much closer from the JR Ishikawacho station. It was in the basement of a building that houses a Pola, and the entrance was clean and appeared to have relatively new facilities.

A bright and energetic staff member greeted me at the reception, and when I got cold feet and asked, 'Is it okay for a middle-aged beginner like me?', she said, 'It's totally fine!!! Please enjoy yourself!', which made me feel relieved. I'm surprisingly chicken.

Participants gradually gathered, and the studio opened. When I entered, there were fewer than 10 people. There were only two girls who looked like they were in middle or high school, but the rest were around my age—housewives in their late 30s to late 40s—which made me feel at ease.

And since the song was by BTS, I assumed most of them were ARMY (BTS fans). The place was filled with people who were 'just as I expected,' wearing T-shirts featuring the tattoo that my favorite member Jimin has, or holding merchandise of their own favorite members, so even though it was my first time, I felt comfortable.

With that, the time came and the lesson started.

It was an 80-minute one-shot deal to learn the choreography for the chorus of that complex 'RUN BTS'. We did a thorough warm-up, and then the choreography started right away.

It said beginners were welcome, and I thought I had at least a little bit of dance background, but since we had to complete the choreography within a limited time, it progressed quite quickly, which made me panic.

Also, hip-hop style dance uses your whole body and involves intense steps, so the physical exhaustion is incredible.

They repeated it many times and went slowly, so it was easy to remember, but because of the repetition, I gradually started to get out of breath. The mask was suffocating.

While gulping down the tea I brought, I became desperate to master the chorus choreography within this time frame.

At first, I was worried about the people around me, but there was no time for that. Since it was a one-time lesson, I had to focus and work hard, or there wouldn't be a next time.

So I took it extremely seriously, and by the halfway point, I was already out of breath.

I was happy to be able to do this choreography that really works Jimin's core. But when I do it myself, it really doesn't look clean. I don't expect to be able to do it after just one try, and of course, BTS practices the choreography thoroughly, so it's only natural, but...

I truly respect them for being able to dance such intense choreography throughout their concerts.

I learned the chorus of 'RUN BTS' that so many people are challenging, and in my head, it feels like I've got it down. I'm tired to death, but I'm happy. My excitement is rising. I'm going to do my best.

After finishing the choreography, the 80 minutes flew by. At the end, we danced the day's choreography all the way through, and it seems those who wanted to could record a video for themselves.

Of course, I recorded it as a memento. It was a memorable day where I danced the same choreography as BTS.

At the end, I was exhausted but mustered all my strength to dance it through. When it was over, I was so tired that my legs were shaking and I could barely climb the stairs.

I was more exhausted than I imagined, so I thought I wouldn't need to do it again for a while. However, I was so tired I couldn't walk, and when I watched the video of myself dancing that I had just filmed while taking a break at a cafe, it looked much less cool than I had imagined in my head, and a feeling of 'I want to do more' welled up inside me.

Even though I was so tired, they say you forget the heat once it passes, and I gave a bitter smile at how quickly I forgot.

I think the joy of being able to dance like Bangtan outweighed the exhaustion.

It uses different muscles than flamenco, it's a full-body workout that helps build stamina, so I decided to invite my ARMY friends and go to a single-session class again next month.

The place I went to was K-Pop Otoya. I live in Kanagawa, so I went to the Motomachi school, but they have several schools in Tokyo as well. They choreograph not just BTS, but various K-POP songs, so if you are interested, please take a look.

As someone who loves dance, these days I feel that 'doing it together' rather than just watching my bias is a two-birds-one-stone way to support them, as it builds stamina and serves as exercise.

Thank you for reading again today!

Here is the follow-up story where I didn't stop at BTS and finally challenged the little devils, LE SSERAFIM.

I will deliver your thoughts with writing that 'resonates with the heart'!
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