Lie Dance Analysis Part 2

Written by: Chim

Original publish date: January 2018

Hi all!  Here is the second installment of the “Lie” dance analysis.  Hope you all enjoyed the first one.  I’m not kidding, Park Jimin is a marvel!  So, let’s just get into this, shall we?

The last analysis ended as Jimin was trying to rise up, reaching, while the backup dancers were pulling him back down.  The lyrics were “Save me”, which seem very fitting for the movement and the expression on his face.  It has to be mentioned that every part of Jimin expresses the music.  It’s not just his body as a whole, but individual parts, from his hands in the perfect placement, to his propensity to land in fifth position, and lastly, he expresses the emotion through his facial expressions.  When the music or lyrics are painful, sad, or distressing, his very being expresses it and you can read it on his face, and in his eyes.  When the music is upbeat, fun or exciting, he matches his energy to that theme as well.  One of the many reasons his charisma and stage presence are so powerful.  

After “Save me”, he hits a powerful point of the choreography.  There are three counts.  Each beat asks for him to throw one of his arms in order to proceed to the chorus.  These three counts are executed so well, prior to the actual chorus, it builds the momentum so when the chorus does actually hit, the audience is that much more ahead.

Notice also how he doesn’t look just out to the audience.  I do not know for sure what the choreo called for, but the way he looks up really demands attention from those watching.  There is a power there.  The authority that he exudes on stage is exemplary.

 

From one video, at this point, I was going to skip to the chorus, however when I found another video, I’m glad that I didn’t.  From the Wings Tour in Seoul, there is a great view of much of his movement and lines.  His lines!  Outstanding.  This whole section is full of Jimin’s amazing body lines.  Just in case you’re not quite sure what lines are, a dancer’s line is best described as the “outline of a dancer’s body” when a position is hit.  Having a good line is mandatory when at the advanced or professional level and boy is Jimin pulling out all the stops.  

Now, moving on to the chorus.  Honestly, this part of the choreo always blew my mind.  The reason for this is because it seems haphazard in a sense. 

When he heads upstage, he does two hops facing back, then on the last hop, he does a turn toward downstage.  Then he does three hops downstage, all while his leg is in what resembles “attitude derrière”.  This position is accomplished by raising the leg back, keeping the hip down, yet raising the knee to be parallel with the floor, and the ankle follows suit.  

Since my personal training is in Russian ballet, the ankle/foot is raised slightly as not to keep the continuous line.  

Now, this being a “back attitude”, this is what I am using to explain the positioning of Jimin’s leg. Though not “technically” attitude, it’s the closest positioning I could think of.  The positioning is there, meaning there is turnout and he’s not just lifting the bottom of his leg and leaving it parallel.

Continuing on, we encounter another difference between Jimin and the backup dancers.  Again, I am not privy to the actual choreo, however, there is a marked difference here.  The backup dancers are all in second position parallel.  This is consistent, however Jimin is closer to first.

The next position that I noticed was the one below.  Five guys on stage and all are in a different body position.  The backup dancers are all looking front while Jimin has his face angled upward.  This serves him really well for a few reasons.  It fits incredibly well with the mood of the song, he catches the lighting perfectly, and when he moved his head down for the next move it is that much more impactful. 

Now, I always noticed that Jimin will often slide his foot through during certain movements, ending in a nice turned out position. Notice how he slides his foot through here into an impressive turnout.  Coupling that with various other routines where I have seen it, including this screenshot, I am now convinced that Jimin has an insane turnout.  I’ll have to keep an eye out for more evidence on this, but so far it’s looking pretty conclusive. 

He is also quite flexible, able to accomplish a second/center split, so that shows that he is built with the range in his hips to have more flexibility.  The ability to attain a second split has less to do with flexibility and more to do with the build of the pelvis and hips.  Don’t get me wrong, flexibility is mandatory, but if your bones are in the way… there is only so much you can do.  

Another impactful moment of the dance is just two beats where he kneels down and punches toward the floor.  This movement is done with such emotion, it’s impossible to ignore what is happening on the stage at the moment.

Meanwhile, other dancers are coming on to the stage and it’s about to get real.  A backup dancer provides Jimin with a blindfold of all things, which he puts over his eyes.  When he comes back up from behind the other dancers, he stumbles around like he’s trying to figure out his surroundings, only to be steadied by two of the other dancers. The fact that Jimin willingly and successfully dances with a blindfold on (in other dances as well) definitely raises the bar for all other dancers.  

 

As a dancer, you rely on your surroundings and your senses of where other dancers are on the stage or even in class. Side note, bumping into another dancer in class is considered socially unacceptable.  Therefore you quickly get a feel for your surroundings using all your senses.  However, how do you regain your bearings after a turn or when jumping up from a floor position when you cannot see to orient yourself?  

Jimin has such a strong sense of his placement on stage, the direction he is facing and even the height of his jumps that he has successfully accomplished a feat that is so difficult, people initially wondered if his blindfold was actually opaque.  However, it was proven that the blindfold he used during the MAMA 2016 dance was in fact a real blindfold, completely covering his eyes and he was dancing relying on his other senses only. 

While the other dancers are on stage with him, the power and strong demand for attention is extraordinary.  Jimin continues with his impressive lines while talented backup dancers fill the stage with even more energy.  

Next, making his way upstage, the other dancers crowd around him, only to lift him over their heads, while he is still singing, with his head back.  That last part doesn’t compute for me, however I’ll move on since singing isn’t my strong suit. 

The end, though, after the other dancers have left, Jimin falls to his knees, but he doesn’t stop there.  He leans forward and puts his head on the stage.  This brings his body lower than being in a sad or meek state.  It brings it to an emotionally broken state.  Decisions to do things like that are organic.  They are the result of being caught in the moment of the dance and what has happened up to that point. The decision to submit that much further to the emotion is done without question.  

The passion, emotion and technical foundation that Jimin brings to this dance are so far above and beyond what most dancers are capable of, the case is sealed.  Someone who can dance well, has the technical foundation, but lacks passion while on stage, will never demand the type of respect or admiration required to hold the audience and command the stage during a solo, nor will they display that “it” factor.  They may be technically on a god-like level, but people are not robots and although, from a technical standpoint, seeing someone dance with that type of perfection can be interesting, it can also get boring.  Yet, if you get someone with less technical know how, but is filled with passion, I can promise, you will see a huge difference and most likely you will be drawn to the dancer emoting the passion, intensity and emotional vulnerability that we can all relate to.

Our Jimin has all the needed components to not only make him a great dancer that demands respect; it makes him an artist who puts his emotions on the line by showing vulnerability, and allowing millions to see a glimpse into who he is as a person as he opens his soul to all of us when he dances.  

Lie Dance Analysis Part 1

Written by: Chim

Original publish date: January, 2018

Jimin’s solo, “Lie”. Wow...he doesn’t play! What an amazing dance. Jimin’s passion and ability really shine through on this one. I’ll start from the top and attach a video or gif of each section to illustrate what I mean in case my words fail me.

*Disclaimer: Much of what I’m going to talk about is abstract combined with technical observations. Essentially it’s somewhat like trying to describe the “It” factor. It’s practically impossible, which is why it’s called “It”. In case you're not familiar with the It factor - do you know exactly why you are drawn to someone on stage or why an actor just demands attention while performing? Aside from training, there is something that you can’t put your finger on. Something that is different from most of the population and that quality is indescribable. That’s what I’m trying to describe, so I apologize if it gets too abstract.

Impossible + attempt to do something anyway = @JiminUncut

From the very top, while he is waiting for the music to start, you can see he’s already in character. He has already decided, prepared, and is ready to allow the audience to experience this song in physical form; however, I’m 99.9% sure that it is subconscious.

He stands there, head down, not moving, however his energy is already evident. By that, I mean that you can practically feel what he is experiencing and going to portray. Jimin digs deep into himself and allows the audience to become part of his experience. This is one of the many reasons why people are so taken by his dance. He doesn’t just dance for you, he becomes a physical element of the music for you to see.

When he begins with the head roll, he extends his head as far as his neck will allow. Performing elements as simple as this is a temptation for some dancers to throw away. However, Jimin, as he does with all moves, performs this above and beyond.

Now, look at the gif and screenshot below.

If you notice the dancer to Jimin’s left, our right, he’s great, yet notice the difference in his presentation as opposed to Jimin’s. His legs look different from Jimin’s. Why? He is on what’s called “forced arch”. Forced arch is when you plié slightly, with only your knees while at the same time, going up on relevé (the action when a dancer rises up and seemingly is standing “on their toes” in a demi-pointe or fully en pointe). It’s unclear if the choreography actually called for this, however let’s take a look at Jimin’s placement. His feet are parallel and his knees are perfectly aligned over his feet. This is very important since if your knees do not end up directly over your feet as Jimin is showing, you run the risk of injury.

In the next screenshot, you can see how the other dancers are leaning into their right foot. That’s where all of their weight is. Looks great and there is nothing wrong with what they are doing; however, look at Jimin’s body positioning.

His weight is on his right foot, just as the others, but he has shifted his hips over his knee, moving his center to allow for additional movement. The other dancers are unable to move in any additional way as they are tied into the position they are in because all of their weight is planted there.

Jimin has already decided and planned for the next move, preparing his body on the move before. Because he is in this position, he is able to move his hips forward with less energy than the others would have to exert should they want to accomplish the same movement Jimin did.

The following shows how much energy Jimin can put into a simple extension of his arm. Due to his previous training, his posturing is up, energy is focused upward, that is until his arm comes forward. He reserves a certain amount of that energy to flow through his arm and out into the performance.

Can you see the difference between Jimin and the dancer behind him? Now, the dancer behind him is obviously very good or he would not have been chosen to dance on stage alongside Jimin, so I’m not hating on him in the least. What I’m doing is showing the difference in body positions and how they each read to the audience. They are doing the same move. The gentleman at the back is contracted over, tucking his core toward his spine. I personally love this position in many pieces because it lowers your center of gravity and you can do some funky stuff while in this posture. It’s great for the “Broken down doll” creepy type of dance which I’m partial to, yet… I digress.  (I do want to add though, if you include the forced arch that I mentioned earlier with this posture, then you have an awesome dancer ball that can spring into action at any moment, or can look creepy as all get out with one movement.  One of the many reasons why I love that positioning.)

Jimin on the other hand, look at his body position. His left shoulder is pulled back, opening him to the audience; his posture is held up as opposed to contracted over. Due to this, the movement of his arm is able to be read as more powerful because his body is positioned in a more powerful stance. Therefore when he exerts the extra energy to move emotion, for lack of a better word, through his arm, it is that much stronger.

Sometimes the smallest things can add flavor and effect. In the screenshot below, look at the head tilt. It’s in keeping with the theme and does not affect the choreography, but it's one more factor that shows Jimin embraces the music and is presenting it back.

Another thing that Jimin has mastered is a bold combination of his contemporary roots with hip hop and popping. While we look at “Lie”, there are several parts where this is evident. Watch as he claws his way through a body wave, broken up by dimestops. It has all the emotion and tension associated with contemporary dance combined with the sharp techniques of street dancing. It is a perfect marriage of both styles that creates a unique and bold part of the dance.

Next, I’m wondering if what I’m going to point out is noticeable just from the pic below. It may only be obvious to me because I have been watching the video. All of the dancers are relatively in the same position. Their weight is centered over the middle of the body, left leg is somewhat in forced arch and they are angled stage right (all except the dancer on stage right who is angled in towards Jimin).

Out of all the dancers on stage, regardless of position or costumes, who do you want to look at? Most likely it’s Jimin. Why? This is what I was talking about with expressing your intent and focusing your energy forward. Jimin has a knack for pushing his energy forward into the audience. In turn, the audience is taken with him through the music he is expressing.

It is then followed by the overhead arm wave at warp speed. Now, to get your arms to move that quickly and precisely is something that a dancer on the top of his game is able to pull off. I admit the first time I saw that, I honestly thought the film was sped up. The precision and control he shows when he does that at such a high speed is very indicative of him as a dancer, but sometimes can be missed for being straight amazing. 

At approximately 0:37, his body positioning is again more open as opposed to the other dancers'. Their shoulders are up as opposed to Jimin’s which are down. This is also interesting. How does he look both up and down at the same time? Do you see what I’m talking about? He’s looking down at the stage, yet his rib cage is angled upward, allowing him to be able to catch the light with the right side of his face, even while he is looking down. Impressive, right?

Something that "smaller" movements can help a dancer do is conserve energy - they help them regain or reserve energy for the rest of the dance. One of the backup dancers seems to have taken advantage of this when Jimin was doing the next move in the routine.

Compare the energy of Jimin and the backup dancer on stage left (our right). The gentleman does the move and it is technically fine, however, do you see the lower energy level? This could very well be to reserve energy for the next part of the song. That does happen relatively often and a great percentage of the time, it goes unnoticed.

The next move that I wanted to discuss, which will be the last in this portion of “Lie,” is this moment when Jimin’s reaching up. It's stilted, broken up as he hits each beat of music.

His facial expression is very telling of the lyrics at that point. He is reaching up with a desire to reach whatever he is aiming for. Then he gets pulled back by the other dancers. What are the lyrics at that point? Just two words, “Save me”.

There is so much more that I want to say, but I feel like if you have read to this point, you deserve a break. So, I’ll conclude Part 1 of the dance analysis for Jimin’s “Lie”. Part 2 to come.

Thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed this portion of the analysis.