MONSTA X 'MAGIC' Choreography Practice: An Intense Process of Modifying Movements and Aligning Formations

MONSTA X poured sweat in the practice room to complete the choreography for their new song 'MAGIC'. In the choreography practice process conducted ahead of their comeback, intense deliberation continued regarding modifying the details of movements and aligning the formations between members.

"With the body rather than the arms" — Detail modifications to bring out the texture of the choreography

The part most intensively addressed during the practice process was bringing out the 'feeling' of the movements. Regarding the subtle movements that determine the flow of the choreography, the members constantly exchanged feedback. In particular, there was active discussion regarding the method of using the entire body to convey weight, rather than movements that only use the arms.

In certain sections, the process of adjusting the intensity of the movements was notable. In one movement, the opinion was raised that they should "feel like dancing with the body rather than dancing with the arms," and even when performing hand movements, they strove to bring out the texture of the choreography by emphasizing the feeling of "tossing the hands freely." Additionally, they focused on controlling the tempo of the movements by sharing that a "smooth feeling" and a "feeling of swinging and releasing" must coexist. For certain movements, they emphasized a "piercing feeling" to give a "linear" sensation, or finely checked the movements in sections where "twists" are heavily included.

Sophisticated coordination of formation changes and movement paths

The process of matching the members' positions and movement paths, which change according to the song's composition, was also not easy. The members finely coordinated whether to move in place or move in a specific direction in accordance with the flow of the song. In particular, in sections where the formation spreads outward or crosses over centered around the center, they repeated the movements several times for the naturalness of the movement.

During movement path transitions, opinions such as "it is good to move out refreshingly" or "the feeling of crossing front and back must be brought out" were exchanged. The members refined the movement paths precisely by matching their footsteps and hand positions when moving, so that the formation would not be disrupted. Especially in sections where a specific member takes the lead, they were seen finely adjusting the movement speed and direction to balance the overall formation. They repeated "moving in place" to establish positions, or coordinated opinions among members to balance between "everyone moving out together" and the "feeling of crossing."

Repetition and immersion to increase perfection

The practice went beyond simply learning the movements and led to a process of becoming completely immersed in the atmosphere of the song. Recognizing that certain beats or turn movements of the choreography were faster than expected, repetitive practice continued to ensure they did not miss them. Their serious attitude toward the comeback was revealed in the way they encouraged each other, saying, "Let's go step by step."

Toward the end of the practice, they checked the overall flow of the choreography and confirmed the connectivity of the movements. The members focused on embodying the message of the song by identifying points to release or add strength so that the movements could connect naturally without breaking. In particular, if they judged that they "cannot quite catch it to stick to the last beat," they modified the movements, and they immersed themselves every moment to increase the perfection of the song while maintaining the "feeling of dancing with the body."

Source: MONSTA X (YouTube)