08 Oct
Dance, Dance, Dance
In America, dance took up a majority of my free-time. Whether it was taking dance classes or teaching them, my home away from home was in the studio. I already knew Seoul had an extensive dance scene from being a K-pop fan and watching shows like “Street Woman Fighter”, so I was super excited to take dance classes in the big city. Whether you are into dance like me, have thought about giving it a shot, or are just looking for a fun way to get more exercise, here’s some info to take dance classes in Korea!
Seoul has an insane amount of dance studios to choose from at affordable prices! One class is about 30,000 Won, but you can purchase packages for a cheaper amount per class. Arguably the most popular dance studio in Korea is 1MILLION Dance Studio. You have most likely seen their videos on social media before. Here is one of my favorites.
Although I wanted to take a 1MILLION class at first, going to a large studio like that is a little scary. On top of this, the studio is a little far from my house. After doing some more research on studios in Gangnam, I found OMG Dance Studio (@omg_dance_studio on Instagram). This studio still had some great choreography and was super close to my house. On top of this, it was much smaller and far less intimidating for me. I wanted to dip my toes into the dance scene before fully diving in. The only downside was signing up for classes seemed very confusing.
Signing Up
1MILLION has a super easy way to sign up for classes. They use their own app to purchase classes and the app comes in many different languages. Unfortunately, most other dance studios in Seoul use a Google Form to sign up for classes.
The Google Form is only in Korean and will have a bank transfer number for you to reserve your spot in the class. Since I did not have a bank account at the time, I decided to take a shot in the dark and send a DM to OMG Dance Studio’s Instagram account.
TIP: If you are nervous they won’t understand English, don’t be afraid to use Papago or ChatGPT to craft your message.
Getting Down
After taking a couple classes at OMG I felt ready to try out 1MILLION. My friend Erin invited me to join her, so it was not as scary as going alone. I knew 1MILLION was a popular studio, but I had no idea how big the actual building would be. There are multiple floors and the urban/modern architecture is to die for. The class was PACKED! The studio is huge and there was almost no free space. The teacher ended up needing to teach on an elevated surface for everyone to be able to see him.
TIP: Get to popular studios EARLY! 15 minutes early at a minimum. This will ensure you snag a good spot to learn the choreography.
Dancing in Korea is a great way to express my creativity, get a nice workout in, and meet tons of new people. Don’t be afraid to jump out of your comfort zone and take some dance classes during your free time in Seoul!
Gabe White, Marketing Assistant
Gabriel (Gabe) White is a soon to be English teacher in South Korea. He is a Korean, Puerto Rican-American from the Richmond, Virginia area and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. Being involved in student organizations like Filipino Americans Coming Together at VCU (FACT@VCU) and VCU Globe during his college years, Gabe learned just how much he enjoys experiencing new cultures. In his free time, Gabe loves teaching local dance classes, spending quality time with his loved ones, exploring new cities, and watching nostalgic movies.