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.