Check out more D$Q performances here.
On Feb. 9, members of SIS Dance Club, better known as D$Q, made their way to Hongdae B-Boy Theater after school to participate in the 3rd annual Specialized Institution Freestyle Session (SIFS). Established in 2007, SIFS is an opportunity for dancers in specialized high schools or international schools to socialize and show off their skills in rap and dance. In total, four schools—Daewon Foreign Language High School, Seoul Global High School, Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, and SIS—showed up at the event.
“We had previously participated in SIFS Vol. 2, and now it is our second time,” said Janice Roh (11), D$Q executive member. “Last year, we had so much fun preparing. The entire squad was so hyped because we were stepping out of our familiar bubble of international schools such as KIS or SFS and interacting with completely new dance crews. I am very happy that we are doing it again this year.”
The session began with a series of rap performances by amateur rappers from other schools. Even though these performers were ordinary high school students pursuing rap only as a hobby, they demonstrated a high level of showmanship. The audience also responded enthusiastically by getting up from their seats and grooving to the beat.
“My friends and I went to Hongdae after school to cheer on our dance club members,” Sunhee Bae (11) said. “When we entered the venue, there already were rappers up onstage and there was a big crowd rapping along. I was surprised at how energetic both these performers and audience members were; it was almost like being at a hip-hop concert.”
D$Q of SIS mainly participated in the latter half of the event, the dancing performances. Starting off with “Havana” by Camila Cabello, members of D$Q, such as Gloria Park (12), Haanbi Kim (11), Janice Roh (11) and Jinkyu Han (10) and more, took turns dancing along to four more songs, including “HUMBLE.” by Kendrick Lamar and “Peek-A-Boo” by Red Velvet. After a short break, they continued a dance sequence of four more songs, ending off with an original “Birthday Remix” choreography by Sunny Oh (12) and Lynette Kim (10).
“To prepare for this event, we had to use any and all free time we had,” said Haanbi Kim (11), dance club member. “We met during office hours and activity period, and even rented a dance practice room during the weekends so that we could squeeze in some extra time for practice. I think all that time we put in to this performance really paid off, and I’m very happy about that.”
As a dance number requires a level of synchronization among the movements of dancers onstage, D$Q members carry the burden of not only having to memorize choreography individually, but also practicing together. During this process, it is inevitable that bonds are created and strengthened among members.
“I’ve been part of dance club for three years now, and every year, I feel that the team chemistry is only getting better and better. Because the returning members already have experience working with each other, integrating new freshmen into the club is now much easier. We are currently practicing for our next big performance, which will be at Seoul Foreign School (SFS) on March 14. Every practice feels very comfortable and enjoyable, and I’m sure that with the growing chemistry, we will do even better at SFS.”