Dancer J-Black recently expressed his deep admiration for producer Lee Soo-man’s extraordinary choreography directing capabilities.
On the November 5 episode of the YouTube channel ‘Studio Wagle Wagle’s show ‘Don’t Worry Be Haetnim’, J-Black and his wife Marie appeared as guests. During the broadcast, J-Black shared the behind-the-scenes story of creating the choreography for A2O LITE’s ‘NEON’ and recalled his collaboration process with Lee Soo-man.
Don asked about how the talked-about choreography came to be, mentioning that he had already heard the anecdote. J-Black recalled, “There was no request at all. I had actually given up thinking my style didn’t match K-pop.” During that time, however, he received a contact through Lee Soo-man asking for help with the choreography for a group composed of Chinese and Japanese members.
At the time, J-Black was suffering from a severe back injury that made even walking difficult. He initially told them it was impossible, but asked for about a month to receive treatment. Fortunately, the production team agreed to wait. J-Black shared that he was able to participate in the choreography after rehabilitation, praising the members’ talents by saying, “The conclusion is they did well. They have natural talent. Aijing did really well.”>
J-Black also expressed satisfaction with the harmony between the choreography and the costumes. He explained, “The choreography had a cyborg-like feel. I didn’t know about the costumes at all, but they were a perfect match,” noting how well their ideas aligned.
Above all, what truly surprised J-Black was Lee Soo-man’s directing skills. J-Black marveled, “When Teacher Lee Soo-man taught the choreography, he thought about the key points perfectly. I got goosebumps.” Regarding the viral kicking move, he explained, “That wasn’t our choreography. It was a freestyle part.” He added, “Originally, it was a spinning freestyle, but Aijing did it in a way that executed a turn. Teacher Lee Soo-man then fixed that for the broadcast version.”>
Expressing his amazement at Lee Soo-man’s sense, he noted, “He isn’t someone who dances, yet he pulled that off, which surprised me.” Hearing this, Don also admired Lee’s choice, saying, “That’s incredible. J-Black didn’t usually do broadcast choreography, and for him to pinpoint it and insist on doing it is also amazing.” J-Black confessed that he was still curious why he was chosen, noting, “I was hurt, but they kept saying they would wait for me. I want to ask Teacher Lee Soo-man why he did that.”>
Earlier in October, Girls’ Generation member Sunny posted a video on her SNS commemorating A2O LITE’s debut track ‘NEON’ topping a terrestrial music broadcast for the first time, showing the choreography practice room. The video captured Lee Soo-man directly explaining movements to the members in the practice room. He detailed the choreography by extending his hands and even demonstrated a kicking move by lifting his leg high, drawing considerable attention.
Lee Soo-man is the founder of SM Entertainment and Sunny’s uncle. Having led K-pop production for a long time, his direct demonstration of choreography, combined with the actual choreographer J-Black expressing awe at his directing skills, has drawn significant public interest.
