On April 13, the Drexel K-Pop Club hosted its second annual DKPC Countdown showcase at Drexel’s Main Building auditorium.
“This is a lot grander and a lot bigger than our usual performances,” said Sanna Varadhan, a fourth-year psychology major and the DKPC vice president and dance director. “[It’s] a whole two-and-a-half-hour performance with DKPC showcasing all the stuff we’ve been working on over the year.”
The DKPC Countdown also served as a venue for dance groups to perform and spotlight the massive K-Pop fandom presence in the Greater Philadelphia Area.
“We wanted to do something a little bit different because last year was our first year really ever hosting a showcase, and we wanted to invite as many groups as possible from all areas of Philly and really showcase what they’re about and the dance styles they like to participate in,” said Nia Lewis, a fourth-year communication major and the DKPC event coordinator.
The showcase featured Penn K-Beats, UPenn’s K-Pop cover dance group; Temple Cherry Bombs, Temple University’s K-Pop cover dance group; NXTUS and Karat Dance Group, Philladelphia-based dance groups; and Question Dance Crew, a South Jersey-based K-Pop cover dance group.
“We also have a few groups from Drexel, including the Japanese Undergraduate Student Association (JUSA), Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), and Filipino Intercultural Society of Drexel University (FISDU), performing their traditional dances as well,” Lewis added.
Together, these groups performed a total of 39 songs. The DKPC also made sure there were precise audio transitions between each song.
According to Micah Lee, a third-year music industry major and the DKPC Countdown audio chair, “For the audio, each group sends in their audio cuts for the different songs they use, and with editing software, I put the different audio tracks together, in order for them to transition smoothly and so the audio will sound great on stage.”
The dance cover groups that attended the DKPC Countdown used this venue as a safe and non-judgmental space to give their members more performing experience, as opposed to dancing at a competition or in public.
According to Samantha Ewton, a third-year marketing major at Temple University and the Temple Cherry Bombs’ head dance coordinator, “A lot of the events we go to are usually like outdoor events like our random play dances or smaller performances, but this one was higher production, which was definitely more fun.”
Diamond Green, a Question Dance Crew member, adds, “This is our first big performance ever, [because] we formed last year, but now we are being more active since we have more people.”
“It’s the first time we are actually doing a ‘performance’ performance before we are doing competitions,” said Shu Lin, NXTUS’s leader.
“Most of NXTUS is made up of students plus people who are working adults, so it’s definitely hard to gather everyone together, but we made sure we have enough practice before coming here,” Lin adds.
The DKPC was kind enough to open its doors a second time for all forms of local K-pop-focused talent to be showcased at the DKPC Countdown and provide solidarity for all K-pop fans at Drexel through a performance reciprocating one’s love for this art.
“To me personally, it’s something really important, [because] I am president this year, [and] this was my idea, and my planning from beginning to end, so kind of seeing it come to life, will be very cool to see how everyone enjoys it,” said Jordan Belfield, a fifth-year business analytics major and the DKPC president.
This article is part of a column dedicated to supporting underrepresented Asian student organizations on Drexel University’s campus.