Perhaps as a counterpoint to a particularly rough global news cycle and ensuing pessimism, this year’s best K-pop dances have leaned into playful creativity and exuberant theatricality. Our writers Qing and Siena chat about their thrilling favorites…and their many, many honorable mentions!
Qing: Can I just let out a (silent) existential scream at how hard it was to get to just three picks? Why did I ever, in the course of running 16 Mid- and End-of-Year reviews, think this was a good rule to set?
Now that that’s out of my system, I’m excited to get into our discussion. They look so different on the surface, but I can already see common threads in the moods and styles of our picks.
It’s not the first time we’ve done a Dance list; what were you looking out for this time, and has anything changed for you?
Siena: My first time making a dance list for Seoulbeats was for an end-of-Year article, where you’re allowed five picks… so imagine my shock and horror next go-around when I learned mid-year reviews are limited to three! Since you suffer alongside us, I shan’t hold it against you, rulemaker (mostly!).
I’m also excited by the combined power of our lists. As for criteria, my foundational factors remain pretty unchanged: exceptional creativity, execution, and musicality. However, as dance in K-pop continues to push the bounds of athleticism—sometimes artistically, but sometimes in ‘difficulty for difficulty’s sake’ mode—musicality has loomed large for me. I’m drawn to choreographies that are in tune (pun intended!) with their song, complimenting and enhancing musical features.
Of course, jaw-dropping athleticism and musicality aren’t mutually exclusive, as is the case with my third pick, BoyNextDoor’s “I Feel Good.” There are some jumps and fancy footwork here that make me dizzy just looking at them. However, what “I Feel Good” does expertly is balancing hard and soft moments in a way that suits the cheeky track to a tea. “I Feel Good” is the kind of choreography that makes me like the song itself more.
This dance narrowly beat out NCT Wish’s “Poppop” for its spot, but it did so by virtue of its creativity (versus “Poppop,” which has flashes of brilliance, but doesn’t take enough advantage of its ‘popping’ concept). There are some really fun formations in “I Feel Good,” with the microphone design in the first chorus a personal favorite. One quibble is that the first half of “I Feel Good” has more standout moments than the second part, affecting the dance’s overall impact. Nevertheless, it’s a not-so-easy, breezy delight of a choreography.
Qing, how did you approach your picks?
Qing: You know, I’ve always found K-pop very responsive to the times. Not just in following trends, but also in creating emotional shifts that push back against larger cultural moods.
While going through this year’s dances, I found some of the strongest picks in upbeat choreography that really lean into joy, opening up precious pockets of delight and comfort in these heavy times. We can analyse the technical prowess of choreographies as much as we want, but what makes a dance great–and not just good–is how it makes you feel.
BoyNextDoor made my longlist, but BSS‘ irreverent yet intricate “CBZ (Prime Time)” took things to another level. Everyone looks like they are just silly dancing, but lots of thoughtful detail went into creating this campy, tacky “political campaigning” mood.
The choreography makes full use of the backup dancers: they hype up BSS, make a show of their entrance, jump and freeze in silly poses in the air. The point gestures are memorable: there’s a pledge pose befitting the propaganda theme; the members cover their ears when singing about nagging; and the part where they pull up their baggy jeans just completes the scruffy vibe of their BSS persona.
There are Easter eggs for fans–they work in their diamond formation as always–but my favourite touch is how BSS weave in the moves of this dancing grandpa who went viral on social media in 2022. It captures the essence of “Prime Time”‘s beauty in blurring the lines between young and old, to simply advocate for youthfulness as a mindset.
Siena: I hadn’t thought about the mood factor before, but you’re absolutely right! A lot of 2025’s best choreography is also its most fun.
For example, Seulgi’s “Baby, Not Baby” might seem like stereotypical girl crush material at first glance, but it has a playfulness that makes it special—and again, perfectly matches the song itself. There’s something quirky yet fierce about many of the moves. Simultaneously, the choreography is expertly constructed. Like with “Prime Time,” there are great details embedded in the backup dancers’ formations and ripples. The dance also has fantastic momentum, with a good old-fashioned climactic dance break to end with a bang.
Despite all these attributes, “Baby, Not Baby” had stiff competition from other standout solo female choreographies when I was making my list (Hi Jennie! Hi Jisoo!). What launched “Baby, Not Baby” over the top was my favorite aspect of the whole dance: the superb execution, in part because of how tailor-made the choreography is to suit Seulgi’s particular skills. The dance’s sharpness, isolations, and unique shapes all play directly into Seulgi’s hands and frankly, she’s never looked more like the lauded main dancer she is. In K-pop, songs and choreographies are often passed around until they land, almost by accident, with their final owners. Sometimes, those are happy accidents, but it’s always a treat to see something that feels uniquely suited to its artist. “Baby, Not Baby” is just that.
You also have a fantastic female solo choreo on your list, Kwon Eunbi’s “Hello Stranger.” I adored that whole comeback; what made it your top pick?
Qing: The sheer drama of it all. “Hello Stranger” is packed with surprising choices that are purposeful and powerful, like the backup dancers raising Eunbi at the start (dramatic, but not surprising), but then keeping her in the far background (the twist).
The formations continue creating depths of field, drawing our eyes to the back of the stage even when Eunbi takes centre stage. It’s a visual effect that perfectly underscores the lyrics of ensnaring a stranger who has caught Eunbi’s eye.
This wouldn’t be the first song that fashions Eunbi into a siren; like 2022’s “Underwater“, “Hello Stranger” makes use of very fluid movements. Whether it’s the crew slide-stepping between formations, or circling their arms in slow-motion as though they are submerged in water, there’s a distinctly aquatic feel to the choreography.
The large dance crew also took me aback; solo artists usually work with half the number of dancers Eunbi has. The choice doesn’t just up the theatricality; it’s also a bold declaration that Eunbi can hold her own and shine.
And the fact that Eunbi’s performance is inseparable from that of her backup dancers’, and yet the dance feels so her–seductive, classy, sharp and soft? It’s true choreography mastery.
We’ve spoken at length about dances that feel tailor-made to their artists, but Le Sserafim‘s “Come Over” is a pivot for the “cool girl” group. What helped it to top your list?
Siena: One of Le Sserafim’s biggest strengths is how they’ve maintained their cool girl concept but explored it in myriad ways: cool girl in many fonts, if you will! To that end, “Come Over” is cool girl with a retro twist. I could go on about this song for ages—wildly catchy, superb styling, and all this for a b-side—but its choreography truly is the cherry on top.
For just over two breathless minutes, Le Sserafim never stop bopping and grooving to the beat. Every move is synchronized with some aspect of the song’s production (the last little snap-snap pose gets me every time). The dance also incorporates retro moves to the right degree, nailing homage without ever becoming caricature. Though indeed different from the group’s prior dance output, “Come Over” still feels uniquely suited to them thanks to its playful theatricality; even in an industry renowned for high performance skills, Le Sserafim stand out for their showmanship.
In keeping with our theme of joyful dances, “Come Over” is witty, light on its feet (literally!) and downright fabulous. From the moment I saw it earlier this year, I knew this one was a keeper, and even when put face-to-face with the rest of 2025’s best, it couldn’t be beat for me.
Qing, your last pick is also a stylistic outlier on our lists. What drew you to WEi’s “Not Enough?”
Qing: For all the styles and moods we see in K-pop dances, there’s one that we don’t see very often: tender melancholy. Regret and longing permeate the lyrics of “Not Enough”, and we see these feelings expressed in the choreography: fluid lines, soft arm and body movements that create circles.
The dance takes its time, cresting at the end of the first verse only to fall back again into slowness, visually telling the story of a broken-hearted lover who gets pulled back again and again into the past.
A lot of fine details that draw out the lyrics are threaded through the choreography: the members flick their hands to the side when singing “So long”, and in the chorus (“You can take my heart / I want you even if [you] erase me”) they lift imaginary hearts out of their chests, making sharp sweeps to mirror the act of erasure.
Amongst 2025’s strong crop of dances so far, such storied choreography is surprisingly rare. So while WEi’s execution falls short of most of my longlist (understandably so, if their nearly two-year hiatus is an indication of being under-resourced), the emotive detail and attention to the song’s narrative lifts “Not Enough” up.
Speaking of strong contenders, aside from “Poppop” (which you slipped in early on, ha), were there other dances that very nearly, almost made the cut?
Siena: There are always more dances to discuss… that’s why I’ve mastered the art of sneaking them into my replies!
We started this conversation in early June, so I mostly looked at pre-June comebacks for my list. However, a latecomer favorite is Izna’s “Beep,” a charming and deceptively athletic choreography that calls to mind Twice’s early hits. & in the growing vein of ‘is this K-pop?,’ I want to shout out Katseye’s dances for both “Gnarly” and “Gabriela:” the playfully booty-popping dance for “Gnarly” was a huge part of making that polarizing track a viral hit and I love the ballroom-influenced point choreography in “Gabriela.”
Qing, what are your honorable mentions?
Qing: I love Tempest’s joyous “Unfreeze“; it’s dynamic yet light, perfectly reflecting the playfulness of the song. It makes me remember early Astro, which is really bittersweet.
And then there’s The Wind‘s “Only One“, which has a first-generation K-pop, old-school charm to it (think H.O.T‘s “Candy” and TVXQ‘s “Balloons“). They’ve been marching to the steady beat of their own drum since debut, and I love that they’re sticking with what makes them special, away from trends. It’s a lovely reminder that even in tapping into the familiar, unique artistic expression can always be found.
Will the rest of 2025 bring us more emotional, witty, and dramatic dances? Or will new trends rise up and dominate? Only time will tell…but we will definitely be tuning in!
(Instagram, YouTube[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Images via Around Us Entertainment, HYBE, Oui Entertainment, Source Music, WakeOne, Woolim Entertainment.)
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