Bodily Articulation through K-pop in Latin America. Audiovisual Narratives, Aesthetics, and Creative Reproduction

Abstract

K-pop cover dance is one of the key activities within Hayllu culture in Latin America.This paper examines the video performances of the ten finalist groups of the ‘CoverDance bts’ contest, a K-pop dance competition performing the choreographies ofexclusively bts songs, which was organized in 2021 by the Korean Cultural Center(Buenos Aires) for participants from Latin American countries. The research focuseson the corporal expressions in the videos that go beyond a mere reproduction ofmovements behind a camera, including aesthetic-creative qualities, and considersdance performances as a multisensory articulation, which are also socio-culturalnarratives, and I interpret as urban corpographies. To achieve a broader understanding,I apply a specific methodology as I engage the videos based on a multi-sensory andembodied analysis, arguing that the meaning of dance goes beyond mere visualaspects.