Everyone knows that show; Shall We Dance. Everyone knows the Korean counterpart of it. Well…at least Korean people did. And of course, everyone knows that famous idols appear on that show to do some ballroom dancing like the Cha Cha, Samba, Salsa or (seems like their personal favourite) Tango.

 

Now, in my personal opinion, not every idol on the show can pull off a ballroom routine. I’ll give them an A for efforts considering they are pretty busy people but judging as a professional ballroom dancer, they could use some work…maybe a lot. Some need it more than others but most of the time it’s a doozy. Oh well, what can we do about it. After all, ballroom is more than meets the eye.

 

It’s not just about the routine; getting the steps right and all, it’s about the character the person plays or becomes. There has to be a mood set between the partners, chemistry; every step must convey the intended emotion in order to make the act convincing and therefore, the dance much more breathtaking and on-the-edge-of-your-seat for the viewers.

 

As most people may come to think at one point, a tango routine (if done well) can be so good it’s like on hardwood…without getting messy. That’s kind of an indicator for the dancers and choreographer that lets them know they’ve done their job well.

 

Of course, many people would know that doing the tango…(or really any ballroom dancing) is an intimate thing. There’s a lot of physical contact between partners; the touching of the thighs, hips, chest, and you know, things you wouldn’t normally do with a complete stranger but it’s all required to do a good tango routine. You can’t really be shy when it comes to it.

 

Unfortunately Korea just loves to see their beloved idols do daring tango routines; you know, bring out ‘another side to them’. So unfortunately for those who are shy and uncomfortable with getting intimate, it’d be harder than it should be. Well ladies and gentlemen, that’s how it’s going down.

 

Okay, so I’m not much of a professional, I still consider myself a rookie (being fairly young; just shy of 19) but I know what’s a good routine and what’s not and why. So that’s why I thought it’d be fun to take up this offer of choreographing and dancing with an idol on Shall We Dance Korea. I liked a challenge. But never have I really worked with a guy who’s a bit shaky about leading. As the book says in ballroom dancing: the male always must lead the female.

 

So meeting Lee Taemin as my partner, I knew it’s gonna be tough. Not that I have doubts for the guy, but he just kinda holds onto his rep a bit too tightly. Again, what can I really do about it? He’s an idol after all. Don’t want to be hatching scandals. But he was also shy so that’s another thing. Guess I really do have to bring out ‘another side’ of him.

 

After a formal greeting and introduction, I tell him to place his stuff off to the side so we can get started. As he does so, I size him up. I reach just up to his cheeks with my dancing heels on. I’ve heard he had experience in tango before so I was certain this would go smoothly. My routine isn’t particularly hard…at least in my eyes it isn’t. So I was confident to say the least.

 

That was before we started getting into the first few steps of the routine. What I thought was a simple routine to Libertango turns out to be a fair bit of a challenge.

 

“Taemin.” I said, stopping the music and stand at an arms length from him (not like I wasn’t in the first place).

 

“Ne?”

 

“You’ve tangoed before right?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“…I’m gonna be honest with you. You could’ve fooled me.” I start. “You’ve never handled a girl this way have you?”

 

His cheeks go a bit pink and he looks down shyly. “…Um…no…”

 

“You’re stiff.” I sigh. “I know you’re nervous and uncomfortable with this. But it’s getting a bit excessive and visible even though you try not to show it. It’s reflected in your steps though, and the audience will see it too.”

 

He looks down. “Sorry…”

 

I squeeze his hands reassuringly and smile. “It’s okay. We just need to work on it. Tango is a really hard dance but in any ballroom dancing, the male always leads. You shouldn’t be afraid to take control or even get aggressive with me. That’s what it’s all about.”

 

I let go of his hands and stand there, mulling over my thoughts. What to do…what to do…how to coax him out of his comfort zone without really ually harassing him. What’s important is for him to be comfortable leading…maybe even get a little possessive if that’s what it takes. I may have to change up my routine a bit too…

 

I heave my shoulders up and let them down with a sigh. Taemin watches me intently to see what I decide to do with our little problem. I meet his eyes and hold up a finger.

 

“You’re gonna have to trust me on this okay?”

 

“…Okay?”

 

“Tomorrow, what time do your schedules end?”

 

“Uh….10:30pm I think.”

 

“Come by this studio afterwards then.”

 

“Why so late?”

 

“Just trust me.”

 

As much as I hate to admit, it was back to square one with him. If I’m going to pull off a decent tango with Taemin then he needs to loosen up. This was pretty much the only way I can get him to do it.