The Palo Alto High School K-Pop club will perform at the Foster City Lunar New Year Celebration this Sunday, an event that is free and open to the public.
This performance will be the second show for the group this semester, with their first being an appearance at Paly Quadglobe last month.
According to senior and club co-president Chloe Hong, the club will dance to a mashup of songs, including Red Flavor by Red Velvet, Don’t Wanna Cry by Seventeen and Gashina by Sunmi. As co-president, Hong organizes and helps choreograph dances.
“We do one [a mashup] every year that’s supposed to be representative of this year’s K-Pop hits blended with one to two classics,” Hong said.
The group has been preparing for performances such as this one since first semester, during which they met once a week to learn the choreography. However, the second semester commitment has increased as members polish up their dance moves.
“Performing groups also meet every day at lunch and every flex in order to practice,” Hong said.
Hong said that the goal of this performance is to have fun and put on a good show for their spectators.
“The goal is always to have fun … but [this time the goal is] also [to] pull off something not too shabby in front of 500 people,” Hong said.
Along with performances, the club also hosts a YouTube channel to showcase their work.
“Filming music videos for our YouTube channel is always fun and we’re hoping to do more of that this year as well,” Hong said.
Since the club formed her freshman year, it has grown from “a handful of friends” to 20 to 25 members, Hong said. The club has increased its number of shows as well, with “upwards of seven performances” scheduled for this semester, which will include an appearance at Paly next month.
According to Hong, K-Pop club provides a supportive environment for anyone who wants to dance or appreciates K-Pop—and it is still open to new members.
“K-Pop Club is a fun, inclusive open club that aims to appreciate and bring people together through learning K-Pop and other contemporary/hip hop dances,” Hong said.
Members need no prior dance experience to join; Hong herself has never had any formal dance experience.
“The whole premise is we have a lot of people who have never formally done dance [before], me included, but everyone can join in,” Hong said. “Everyone can have fun and have their moment on stage or get comfortable in [on] it if they usually don’t like being in front of people.”
Hong encourages students to check out the club, which meets at lunch on Thursdays in the dance studio.
“Try it out and bring friends,” Hong said. “It’s fun and it’s one of the best things I did in high school.”
