The songs title is Shangri-La from VIXX and in chinese characters they means "paradise". The moonlight sonata is a reference as they want to connect their "moon" story line from previous stages. For this stage story line, I'm not pretty sure about it but the highlight is the part where from a bare branch blooms to beautiful flowers. And as you might want to know, only 5 members doing that part and they literally running behind camera to get in their next position. And ya only one member experience with modern dance, Hwall but he sadly left the team last year due to injuries. I would recommend you to react to their other road to kingdom performances, Danger (thieves concept) and Reveal (french revolution concept). The previous stages story line is connected well and their ideas for performances are very creative.
The blossoms are from a peach tree because the peach symbolises Shangri-La, the paradise. So I guess they just wanted to show with the blossoming of the peach tree that they're getting closer to paradise, until lastly when they step through the door they've finally reached it.
There was a comment on the original Full Ver. video but it has kinda gotten lost in the sea of str34ming comments so I'm not sure who to credit, but... The first shot of Younghoon with the bare tree references a tale of a man(?) who found Shangri La: 'paradise'. Within the tale, the man is warned if a petal of the peach blossom tree were to fall into the waters of Shangri La, many other men will be able to find their way to 'paradise', hinting that their intentions may not be pure(?). The man in the tale does not risk allowing the wrong people find Shangri La(?), but we see that Younghoon picks off a petal from the last flower remaining and drops it into the water. This is an act of rebellion against the original tale, and of desperation as the paradise Younghoon is in is no longer warm and abundant. In the next scene, we see the other members - the people Younghoon wants to follow the trail of petals so they can share paradise together. We are shown that Q and Eric are able to freely enter the gateway to and from Shangri La but Sunwoo cannot. The Boyz' plan to reunite with Younghoon in Shangri La is experiencing hardships and setbacks. But then The Boyz start to embody the peach petals, and eventually the blossom itself. (You could interpret the skirt-things as the petal trail itself leading the members to Younghoon, or that The Boyz are becoming more like Paradise themselves). The shadow art scene is showing Younghoon in Shangri La as the peach tree blooms once more. Younghoon takes a branch from the tree and it blooms as he travels back to the gateway. As another act of subversion from the original tale, Younghoon takes the now blossomed branch out of Shangri La where he and his members create their own paradise in a place they can all reside together. (The flower side of the door= Shangri La; the plain side=the normal world). Like I said, this was from a comment I read once so I may be misremembering a lot of the details and interpretations... but yeah, this performance is in reference of an Eastern tale that a lot of the East Asian public know about. This performance, to me, is saying: "It doesn't matter whether or not you reach paradise. As long as you are with the people you love, a paradise can be forged anywhere."
please react to the original shangri-la too! they used fans in their performance and i think it might be one of the best uses of props in a kpop song!! :))
Actually the more feminine side of men is appreciated in korea very much. They are very conservative but they don't mind men wearing make up or women clothing. Also a very feminine face is considered as very handsome too
The boyz posted extensive bts rehearsal content for this stage on their channel where they go into the concept for the stage a bit, and I recommend watching it if you're curious. Also it's just interesting to see a bit of what goes into a performance like that As an east asian studies nerd re: your comment on dance and femininity: I like to rant about this a lot so I've said it before, but it's important to consider that things that we see as feminine in the west are not always seen as feminine in Korea, either historically or in the modern. Ideal masculinity in pre-modern east asia included such things as academic excellence, flower arranging, knowledge of and ability to compose poetry, wearing fine clothes, and maintaining long hair and a well groomed appearance. Obviously things have changed with the times and with exposure to the western masculine ideal, but idols wearing beautiful clothes or having an artistic sensibility is not necessarily 'going against Korea's traditional gender norms' but rather, to some degree reflecting those norms. Having a well groomed appearance is still very much valued outside of kpop, even though the average Korean guy doesn't have pink hair or wear eyeshadow, and having an interest in excelling in the arts would not be considered strange. I can't comment on how that plays into the pursuit of specific dance styles themselves. I have a hunch that more classical dance styles might be more valued than something seemingly more accessible and popular like hip hop dance, because I know classical musicians (whether western or kugak) are far more esteemed than idols in Korea.
mhhhm i heard that only 1 member has experience in modern dance....but that was hwall and he is the one that left the group so yea he wasn't part of this. im glad you brought up the whole femininity thing
The member from the beginning wasn’t really featured a lot in the dance this time around because he’s currently recovering from an injury!! But I’m glad they found a creative way to include him still :)
All performances by the boyz in road to kingdom were amazing. If you want to watch them: 1. Sword of victory 2. Danger 3. Reveal (catching fire) 4. Checkmate And look for the full version like here without the reactions of the idols
Ah the boyz road to kingdom stages are just amazing!!!!! (I don’t even follow them- yet) You should look at their other stages as well as ONF road to kingdom performances. As well as Golden Child’s road to kingdom performances (particularly T.O.P performance)
Hwall, their ex member majored in contemporary dance but sadly due to health issues he left. I never expected tbz to do something like this so I was very shocked and happy!
So the real Song name is Shangri-La, which is some kind of a paradise and ig thats just the whole story of the performance and also why they named it that...
in korean it has the same name tho, 도원경. so "almost a fantasy" relates to the meaning of that, which is a very beautiful place... almost like a fantasy place.
Omg please react to the rest of their performances in road to kingdom I BEG. They won the show against much more experienced groups with strong fanbases with an almost perfect score, meaning they won in practically every single evaluation including national votes, international votes, comeback sales, views in their performance videos (these ones), live voting and accumulated points. Getting them to first place in every round from the beginning of the show until the very end with only two exceptions, one of them being them getting 2nd place, and that was with this performance you're watching right now. Which means the boyz have even better performances than this one in the show, and that's saying a lot cause the way they orchestrated this entire thing is genius. You mentiones their use of props, well that's one of their biggest strengths when it comes to these performances, the usage of props, impressive stunts, an intricate attention to detail, complex choreographies, an outstanding versatility skill and a whole storyline that ties the performances to each other, beginning with their introduction performance "sword of victory" and ending with the final definitive punch that is "checkmate", where they use the chess metaphor to represent the win they would finally get minutes later, and the end of the storyline. Again, please react to their performances in rtk, in order. You'll be blown away Btw, no they don't have experience with contemporary dance at all! They also had around 10 days to create and learn this whole thing. Not only that, but in this round specifically they had to perform twice, the same day. So in those 10 days they prepared two different god tier performances. Another thing lol, they're not really a hip hop based group. Their music is focused more in vocals and pop
for the classical music they used moonlight sonata/The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor "Quasi una fantasia", by Beethoven!! it was used because their other performances were linked to the moonlight so used that so the concept still was relevant is this performance too. Also The Boyz are more K-pop group than hip hop (to my understanding)
If I remember correctly, this is the first time of The Boyz performing a contemporary dance style. It might not be performed correctly, but I can tell that they worked so hard to pull it off. Hearing a kind comment from you makes me so proud of them. Thank you so much. Orz To be honest, I didn't understand much about the lyrics either (since I didn't search for the meaning yet) but the song title in Korean means 'paradise', so The Boyz wants to play with that concept (FYI. the song is not originally by The Boyz. It is Vixx's, but The Boyz was assigned in the competition, so they rearranged it and created a performance.) Moreover, in the previous round of the competition, The Boyz has created some storyline by leaving a message about 'Moonlight' in each show. So they came up with moonlight sonata + paradise concept. The highlighted part of this stage which is a flower is slightly blooming and become a full-bloom in the end, I assumed that it related to The Boyz like they tried to convey a message that they are also growing gradually beautifully and will become full-bloom like those flowers in the future. PS. I would like to recommend this video, they are talking about how to create this performance and all the stories. There is an English subtitle as well. (Their idea is so cool uwu) --> ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SAUPIHRtGzM.html
Okay so I am not completely sure about the story but I have read quite a few theories and here is what I think the story is about. At the beginning Younghoon(guy next to dead tree), is in Paradise (Shangri-La, as the original is titled), but he is without his members (wilting flower represents how the paradise is not perfect because he is alone). Then we switch away from him (he actually doesn't dance at all in this, his parts are just story). We see all the other members dancing and a door appears, one side "regular" and one side covered in flowers. This is the door to paradise. Some of the members are able to pass through the door, but others cannot. This is seen when Sunwoo (red-haired rapper) pounds on the door after another member goes through and literally stands on top of it because he wants in, yet it won't open. There's a whole myth/legend about flower petals in some stream that leads to Shangri-La, but to drop petals in the stream is taboo (for some reason) and at the end of Sunwoo's rap he says something like "I break this taboo". Then the members become the petals I guess and they attempt to build their own paradise. Cut back to Younghoon who is still in paradise and he gathers a bunch of petals and blooms a tree from them, then he takes a branch from that tree and brings it into the real world and hands it to his members. They grow the branch together until it blooms and prove to Younghoon that they have created their own paradise just like he wanted and then he passes through the door (from the flower side to the regular side) and meets his members underneath the fully blossomed tree in a paradise of their own making... I think
i love your video! I would recommend you their second performance "Danger" where they actually highlight their dance as a group w/o any back up dancers ^^
yay!! glad you're checking road to kingdom out!! some of my other favorite performances are Photo (verivery), Danger (the boyz), Reveal (the boyz), shine/spring snow (pentagon), TOP (golden child), and it's raining (onf)!!! personally i feel like these kind of shows really showcases the creativity of these groups, so they always dance in styles different from their usual style, which i appreciate so much! plus the thought that goes into all of these performances is crazy, they play a lot with the camera and creative props as well since it isn't a typical stage setting! i have so much fun watching and i'm glad you find it interesting too!!!
Thank you for reacting to The Boyz! They have more performances in Road To Kingdom and they are really good! I'd recommend Reveal (Catching Fire)! It's mindblowing!
literally all of their performances on rtk are so amazing and that's what made me fall in love with them so fast like i literally felt myself gasping every time ❤️ they are just so good at painting pictures in dance that stay in your mind like when they did the flower thing here and also moments in their other performances that i really don't want to spoil now haha
I am an westerner, and I see Kpop entertainment like a mini-Broadway play. Each Kpop group comeback has a concept, and the dance and costumes showcase that. This stage is beautiful, but it has less impact when taken out of the context of the entire RTK journey. The Boyz` choreographer had this bigger image in mind, and it started from the first stage (The Sword of Victory) until the last one (Checkmate). And it showcased beautifully that The Boyz can deliver any concept, that they are ALL good dancers, that they have a few all-rounders (cue stuntman Sunwoo, that has the position of main rapper :) ), that they can do hard-hitting hiphop, showy Broadway musical or etheral contemporary soft music. I am not a DeoBi (their fandom name) but I do admire their skills and especially their teamwork. I wish them all the luck on their KINGDOM journey!
K-pop tends to care a lot less about gender roles. Many Guy groups have worn skirts, crop tops, and other more "feminine things" like Bts and Ace along with others. Plus in k-pop, make-up and fashion are a big part of it.
the kpop industry really went all out when it comes to give audience an excelent performance.. and talking about budget, i think you should react to the boyz performance on MAMA 2020.. this one you can't just skip it!
If you're interested in The Boyz, I recommend watching D.D.D. (dance dance dance). It's a fun summer song with such a good choreography. I like other their songs better but that choreo is my favourite
ahhh the original song's group, vixx, actually has a classically trained member (N/Cha Hakyeon) and he's done some really awesome dances!!! you should really check out his performances + vixx dances too because they really started the trend of theatrical performances/dancing in kpop :)))
I haven't seen anyone comment this yet, but this was shot in a long stage with multiple cameras! This was all one take! I'm curious; in your opinion, did they do a decent job at capturing the dance (camera/videography-wise)? If not, what parts do you think could be improved? Also, during that part with the blooming twig, there were actually only 4 members, so each member had to appear on camera twice conveyor belt-style lmao
Lots of people already commented on that but here goes my explanation as well: As it has already been said, this is their interpretation of the song Shangri-la by VIXX. As they prepared this cover for the show the boys came up with their own concept and ideas for the performance themselves (so I'm a proud stan). Shangri-la, in Chinese characters mean paradise where the peaches blossom (something like that), so their idea was to create a performance where they're searching for said paradise, hence the dried up tree in the beginning and then the dry branch blossoming as the stage progresses until they can finally reach paradise in the end. The Moonlight sonata actually ties up to the other performances that they had previously done on this show, as the moon was a recurring reference. They also said in the show that Beethoven was a composer whose music didn't fit into the molds of his time, he never followed the expected patterns with his music and, just like him, the boys also wanted to break from the form pattern that was expected of them, and hence their dance break being at the beginning of the performance instead of closer to the end as it's usually done in kpop (don't know if you noticed that).
Thank you so much for reacting to this. Btw the guy at the beginning is injured so he didn't do the more difficult part of the choreography. Could you react to more stages of them please? It would be great!
You should react to their dance cover of Boy by SNSD and Lupin by Kara as well as What is love by Twice. They really do the covers respectfully bringing out more of the feminine vibe.
I'm late because I just recently started watching Road to Kingdom and didn't want to spoil the performance for myself, but now that I've seen it, I'm here! The performance is a cover of Shangri-La by VIXX although they made it completely their own. I'd recommend you react to the original dance too, as it happens to be one of my favorite choreographies as well as songs ever in kpop, just so you'd see how different the performance by The Boyz was. I've got two more things I hope get you interested: - they have 6 members and almost never hide a member - they use fans as a prop and the sound of them opening is super satisfying ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0ZcmWd6GypU.html Also I'd like to recommend two other dances for you to react to: 1. Dream in a Dream by Ten (from NCT) There's two versions of the dance, a lot of them are the same but not entirely, so I'd suggest you watch both of them ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UZVQWVrVYfY.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aKDKDuDPgls.html (
can you do some reaction to their girl group cover dances? they're really good. there's dance practice for "the boys" "lupin". and they've also done live twice's "what is love?" and "cheer up".
you should also watch the boyz’s other performances, danger and reveal (catching fire). these performances connected to each other. and also you should watch their final live performance checkmate!! they won rtk
Maybe you could check out the original song/performance Shangri-La by VIXX, please? :) There is a remix stage version from the end of year mbc music festival from 2017. It is absolutely gorgeous and they got to perform this for the olympic committee in korea!
This whole performance gave me goosebumps. Can you maybe react to The8 Falling down, Dino's danceology sicko mode, hyunjin when the party's over, cignature assa or wayv turn back time?
Please react to Golden Child's new comeback song "ONE(Lucid Dream)"~~~ Golden child did participate in Road to Kingdom with Shinhwa's T.O.P. cover stage and their own song Wannabe with paganini~~
Could you also check out ONF’s The We Must Love dance practice (it has a marionette concept) and their It’s Raining dance practice (a Michael Jackson concept)? Love your vids xx💕
PLEASE REACT TO THE8 FALLING DOWN! IT'S A CHINESE SONG WITH A MODERN COREOGRAPHY PLEAAAAAAAAAAAASE!! HE MADE THE COREO WITH THE DANCE TEACHER IN THE VIDEO SO PLEASE REACT TO THE SONG :((((
