ASU K-pop club makes online dance possible

As the only K-pop based club on campus, the KoDe club at Arizona State University has been able to bond students’ passion for the Korean pop music phenomenon through dance.

The KoDe club is a performance and dance based group formed in 2013 on the ASU campus that any student can join. Their mission is to create a welcoming community for students of any level of dance experience.

The rise of Korean pop music in the United States has become quite the sensation. According to the Billboard website, “K-pop has now edged closer than ever to the mainstream.”

While the K-pop movement is gaining speed, the KoDe club has found a way to keep their members involved even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The KoDe club is continuing to push through the struggles of coronavirus restrictions by regularly meeting over zoom to learn dance combinations to chart-topping Korean pop hits, and build on their online presence.

KoDe choreographer, Amanda Li, has been able to find alternative outlets to spread the KoDe message online. Collaborations with other organizations have been made in Tik Tok videos posted by the club, and dance tutorials of theirs have been posted on YouTube.

Li and the other leaders of the club are hoping to plan a fundraising social in the Spring 2021 semester. Until then, their online content has been propelling their presence on campus.

Tik Tok and Instagram have been pivotal outlets for the club to post their dance tutorials in order to keep their upbeat club on the map.

The KoDe Instagram dance challenges are a good way for the members of the club to show off their own personalities, said Cammy Salazar, Secretary of KoDe.

Pre-COVID-19, the club members who chose to go through an audition process got to participate in performances that expanded from ASU events to around the Phoenix metro area, according to KoDe president, Anahi Montes Lima. The performances would consist of the upbeat combinations rehearsed in club meetings.

Being a K-pop fan herself, Lima has been able to foster other students’ love for the genre. Her leadership style has been to uphold the sole reason the members come together to dance to their favorite K-pop bops.

Their creativity based club has a “KoDe of Conduct'' posted on the KoDe Instagram account that requires their members “to come with a positive attitude.” This way, the KoDe club operates simply on inclusion and positivity, while simultaneously raising awareness for their art in a judgement free zone.

Lima also included why it is so beneficial to have so many more people accepting the genre itself in recent times.

Although the members of the club are already fans, Lima mentions how the language barrier is relevant to why some listeners might not be an admirer of the style.

“People will enjoy listening to Despacito which is in Spanish but won't give "Bomb Bomb" from Kard or "Home" from BTS a chance because they can't understand,” Lima said.

The unity of cultures and countries also plays a significant role in embracing K-pop, and upholding the progressive environment of the club, according to Li. The fanbase of K-pop superfans is a huge platform. However, the uniqueness of the dance element of KoDe is what sets it apart.

“I see the spread of K-pop acting as the beginning of a connection between languages and cultures,” Li said.

The members bond over the music, and encourage each other no matter their level of difficulty in dance.