NANA’s life revolves around dancing. Time and time again, NANA has danced with confidence for the world to see on Weverse, TikTok and her Dance Practice series. Now, every Tuesday, she can be seen giving radiant performances on Mnet’s global girl group reality series Queendom Puzzle. As if to live up to her status as the phenomenal dancer her castmates see her as, she was given the title of MVP by a panel of experts, and a performance she had her hand in directing won first place. For NANA, dance has been a constant in her whole life—something she takes seriously and her passion for which is unwavering. We asked her what it is about dancing that makes it so enjoyable that she’s made it her whole world.

Performing at school talent shows

NANA: I’ve just been completely engrossed in dance since the day I was born. My parents said I loved dancing to music even when I was one or two years old. And then, when I was five, I danced at the school talent show. I also enjoyed singing around the same time. I was in the dance club in my school years and went to competitions almost every year. The teachers knew how good we were and how much passion we had and asked us if we wanted to compete, so we gathered up that passion and performed in competitions for teens and even ones where teens and adults competed alongside each other. I didn’t even realize I was nervous—I just had a blast the whole time. I think we placed in the top tier or won first place every time. And then, when I was 15 years old, I finally decided to make this my career. That was the first time I decided it was time for me to learn to become a pro.

Trainee days

NANA: It was really hard learning how to dance all over again when I first became a trainee. I had lots of quirks and  habits when I danced. For example, I was only good at isolating in one part, and I could never keep my hands still. After all that time just dancing however it suited me, I must have made a lot of mistakes. So my instructor filmed me dancing, reviewed it and went over it in microscopic detail. I didn’t waste a single day and I was up all night practicing. Thanks to all that, I got rid of eight or nine of my bad habits for every 10 I had and now it’s better for the people watching me. (laughs) That training process was hard but, at the same time, it’s been interesting to break free from my own limits. The most fun I had was writing choreography for a Western pop song. It was so fun how all the trainees put on matching outfits and danced together for one cohesive performance.

The role of the dance leader

NANA: Even now, I practice every day for every performance on Queendom Puzzle. If something’s not right, I review everything and run through it again quickly, but intensely. These days I feel like the most important things are making the right facial expressions and getting into the flow of the performance to draw in viewers. But it’s really hard to do. The moves I can get down right away while practicing, so what I always think about and work on are other things, like the look in my eyes. I’m the so-called dance leader of woo!ah!, so I’ve been overseeing everyone’s dance moves for every one of our albums since before the group even debuted. (laughs) I’m usually the silly one and the one who’s always laughing and joking around. But when it’s time to get on stage I want everyone to look professional, so I work with each of them individually. When we dance together as a group, we actually count the beat out loud to try and get everyone perfectly in sync. I find that whole process really fun, actually. I feel so proud that the members like it when I teach them and take my advice.

NANA’s practice routine

NANA: The darker it is when I practice, the better. I always turn all the lights way down, whether the song’s bright and cheery or intense and serious, because I like seeing  myself really get into the mood of it. Whether you’re just practicing or about to go up on stage, I think it’s extremely important to have that feeling. And I need to feel as light as possible. If I’m still feeling full from a meal I had before, it doesn’t matter how much I like the dance—the energy just won’t come across. That’s why I run around a bunch. I run around the practice studio a few times before practicing and I feel way better, and I can practice much better since my body feels lighter. I never skip that part of my routine.

​NANA’s respect for other dancers

NANA: When I receive lessons from professional dancers, I can see a lot of areas where I need to improve. Taking lessons from people who specialize in certain genres has been an especially eye-opening experience. There are so many genres out there but I think hip hop is a particularly good way to demonstrate the more gritty side of me with some elements of surprise as well . My strong suit is feminine style of dancing but people will probably be surprised when they see me dancing to new jack swing and voguing. When I first learned how to vogue from my dance instructor LOVE RAN, I had to completely alter my way of thinking in order to absorb the lessons. There are famous dancers on Mnet’s Street Woman Fighter and they look completely different from one genre to the next. That was really fun to watch. Making choreography is all about following your instincts to the music, and it was so cool seeing all the different interpretations from my teachers. I feel like I improved as soon as I picked up NAIN and Root’s vibes. I’m trying not to think, ‘this isn’t my genre so I shouldn’t do it,’ and instead think, ‘if I get good at that genre too, then I can become a better artist.’ I’m trying to learn as much as I can.

The language of dance

NANA: What’s great about dancing is that it’s a great stress reliever, as you can express something within you that can’t be expressed through words alone. Sometimes I express what I am feeling at the moment through dance. It’s my secret weapon for expressing myself—an integral part of me that’s always with me.

Cover dances

NANA: I think there’s something special about every choreography. The most important thing is not just to copy its movements but to make that special something your own while you practice. Even though it’s the same dance, everyone’s style is different, so I don’t think it’s possible to copy it exactly. When I practice, I’m most focused on how to make it look a little more Intuitive and specific in my own way. Our president, Kim Gyusang, was a famous dancer and choreographer, and he’s talked a lot about that barely perceptible difference in intuition, too. The same movement can look entirely different depending on how you use your heels, your head, the angles, and the look in your eyes. I gave a lot of thought to when I should shake and where to place emphasis when I danced to “Rush Hour” in that boy group dance medley video, too. I think I got a lot of attention from that. (laughs)

​Queendom Puzzle

NANA: My strength is in putting on a performance with flawless execution of the basics and having the power to support it. So when I was practicing for the “up–down battle,” I thought our fans, wow!, would expect that power from me yet again. They seemed to like that choreography because it feels completely opposite from my outward appearance. So I worked through those kinds of details a lot. In the verse for “MOVE,” I started out with popping to demonstrate that I have a lot of strength and power in me, but that I can also control it and use it sparingly to do other types of moves.  I made the dance break really energetic but wanted to use big movements to build up the tension. There are moves where I really hone my power, moves where I do a big body roll, and moves executed in minute detail. I wanted to give people a lot of different things to see. I wanted to show off to people I’m capable of doing all kinds of things.

Sources of inspiration

NANA: I always watch a lot of videos of non-Korean artists and Rihanna’s halftime show was a big inspiration to me lately. Even the way she walks is totally unique. Everyone was talking about that one part of her choreography. It’s sensational. You can tell she’s a true artist. And naturally I really like JENNIE’s song “SOLO.” I feel like I learned a lot from her fashion choices and her overall vibe in that video. The way she dances and the sound of her vocals are exactly the kind of artist I dream of becoming, so it’s been a big influence on me. I don’t want to be put in a box so I try to watch a lot of other artists and make it into my own. Outside of that, I have been going to musicals and exhibitions with my parents ever since I was young. I get a lot of inspiration from those too. I was inspired by Wednesday before so I worked some ideas into the performance of “Nxde” on Queendom Puzzle. It’s profound, and eerie, and I thought it would be a good fit for summer.

Freestyling

NANA: I never practice when I’m going to freestyle. Sometimes I just think of some hand gestures while dancing along to a song. It changes every day based on my clothes, my makeup, my hair and how I’m feeling. For example, I’ll do a hair flip, or spin around—I make use of every part of my body because I like trying out new things. It takes more than just a small change of expression on my face for me to be satisfied. That’s why you can see me whirling my ponytail around in the video of our performance of “Catch the Stars” for Inkigayo. I did that spontaneously so the label was really surprised. I remember they complimented me. (laughs) If I’m in a ponytail, I’m going to spin it around. (laughs) We follow our instincts all the time when coming up with choreography ideas for woo!ah! songs. For example, there was an idea for “Catch the Stars” to make it look like we’re really running, so we added things throughout the performance to really make it shine.

​Playing around on TikTok

NANA: I love TikTok. I’m on it whenever I have time. (laughs) I also come up with a lot of ideas while watching TikTok videos. So many people are good at making different facial expressions and just good at TikTok in general, so I get a lot of inspiration from it. When it comes to TikTok, you only have an instant, or less than an instant—0.1 seconds—to capture everyone’s attention, so I think it’s better not to do anything big and just do a little wink or some simple moves, or anything else that’s fun and attention-grabbing. You can’t plan out a TikTok in detail. I think it’s really important that you draw on whatever comes naturally to you. And it’s important to capture the playfulness of the moment, so I think it’s best to do it in a single take. Even little hiccups you make when shooting them actually end up making it look cuter. Everyone has their own approach, but I use rough takes and keep it real. I think I look best when I’m just having fun, enjoying myself.

NANA’s dream

NANA: I admire any artist who can hold my attention from start to finish, so that’s the kind of person I’m trying to become. My excitement comes out naturally when I’m dancing. I hope the people watching me feel that same excitement—just forget everything and get completely immersed in the feeling—throughout the three minutes I’m performing too. It doesn’t matter what genre it is or what the mood’s like. After that, I want to develop something creative about myself that will make people want to copy me. I want to put on the kind of performance that everyone can relate to. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that I make something I can call my own. Right now I’m walking the stepping stones I need to in order to get there, and my ultimate goal is to get people to feel what my genre, my style and my vibe are all about. I believe in my own abilities—always.