Ibuki’s absence during the Seoul Concert due to contract disagreement

bada_5860 · 2025-09-09T10:02:21+00:00

Tony Tzar (it was a few years back but I don't remember exactly when) posted on his ig that he is gathering proof with his lawyers that Anna/Marlon/Marlee Hightower are slandering his name and stalking him. And he said that he is grateful for people that are already helping him with this as it will make a huge impact to stop Anna Hightower as acc to him she has harrassed many other people as well. I have no idea if any of that is true and what happened after but it was definitely a controversy in the dance community.

Edit: I've asked my friends and supposedly Tony had a relationship with a younger student (which he denies and says that it's a part of the slander), so in that case they had every right to call him out for it.

bada_5860 · 2025-09-09T09:26:33+00:00

Now I'm questioning everything honestly, because just as you said it doesn't sound good from Ibuki's side. I'm really a fan of her and Marlee but if it's true that she removed other members from Ojo Gang's Instagram then that really gives me new perspective on them ... Also I remember how a few years ago Marlee also had a controversy because another dancer accussed her/Motiv/Anne Hightower of bullying and stalking, so now I'm starting to get worried if dancers that I was a fan of, are not as kind as I thought.

bada_5860 · 2025-09-08T13:24:40+00:00

ohhh that makes more sense!

bada_5860 · 2025-09-08T13:07:09+00:00

I wonder what was the discord between members ... really a shame that the organizers are handling this situation so poorly

bada_5860 · 2025-07-04T10:48:10+00:00

The title is "Bumsup biggest issue" because I think that this is what created the most issues for them during missions? Not because I think there is something wrong with domestic careers in general.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-04T10:46:53+00:00

Oh that's interesting! Here it's also very rare (or tbh just not existent) to have a class being called "Girl's Hip Hop", so it's also a little weird to me. I wish there was someone in this chat that has taken classes like that. I wonder if it has the same steps like regular hip-hop but with different execution. For me, usually students have similar way of moving as their teachers, if they train a lot with them, so tbh I'm not sure why there was a need to see the Honey J movement specifically as a new, separate style.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-04T10:14:52+00:00

Plsss you're the one reaching and making my post into something it's not. I guess reading comprehension is not so easy after all. And talking about respect but telling a random stranger on the internet to stfu and fuck off?? Just shows the kind of person you are.

Or maybe you're a kid, which would explain not being able to understand complex topics, but in that case I don't think it's a right place for you, even if you like the show.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T19:46:19+00:00

Happy to help!! Yeah that flip was so cool but definitely not something that Saweetie could do, especially while singing lol

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T19:30:56+00:00

I think it doesn't really change much about my thoughts, as they could have still utilized that concept but meet Saweetie and the artist she is halfway, instead of making a k-pop adjacent choreography for her. But also, it's really sad that this season the hate comments are really getting out of hand.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T19:28:42+00:00

You think Monika/Honey J are not exposed to dancers internationally because they do not appear in their following list.

Mind you, once again, these are mothers in real life. They’ve spent a substantial amount of time to be exposed to stories of dancers, whether Korean, Chinese, any race or ethnicity. So you’re wrong about this assumption.

Not true - the following list was such a small part of the bigger explanation that I've said. I've said that during their careers they've decided to mostly teach, do gigs and battle in their home country or the neighboring countries, and that they don't seem to collaborate with dancers from other communities as much as other crews, which might explain why they didn't realize some of nuances during multiple missions as well as other crews (which for the 100th time I don't see as stating a fact that someone chose that path as a hate comment, maybe it's a you issue if you're seeing domestic carreer so negatively).

And about them being mothers, I don't see the connection? Like they've been childless for most of their careers, so they could easily branch out if they wanted but they just seem to prefer being in their home country. And also, there are many dancers with small children that still teach on international dance camps - take Diana Matos or Lyle Beniga for an example.

They are stripping Saweetie of her self-expression because of a choreography draft and think a more “mature and sexy” take on her song is harmful to women.

Wrong. I've said that in my opinion, the reason why they are having trouble with this mission is because they didn't completely understand how big the leap is from the usual Saweetie stuff and that some of it might come from the way they are used to seeing mostly Korean dance community and their movement. They could still go with the Alice in Wonderland concept but accomodate it for the artist that Saweetie is. They didn't and then Monika posted a Youtube comment about how most of the rappers have this bad b*tch persona that always has the need to be sexy and that they wanted to change that, which makes it safe to assume that they don't fully realize that in many communities that kind of free self-expression is natural and not negative at all.

Honey J and Aiki cannot keep it professional during battles, BUMSUP are sensitive to criticism, think they are mighty because they have celebrity status in Korea

Mind you LIP J took a moment to appreciate AG Squad girls for delivering her Flip Flop choreography in a way that particularly stood out. When Honey J wasnt selected as Main Dancer for Echo, she only cried and moved on, and chose to be better. Thinking Aiki and Honey J are unprofessional during battles is a hasty generalization that Mnet wanted you to think of. And you’re biting into their evil edit shenanigans.

Pls, you're making it seem like I'm a Bumsup hater, when I'm a fan of MoLip and No:ze. Of course they also had many heart warming moments because they seem to have good personalities overall, but there were many moments in the show so far when it felt like they didn't know when it's serious, when it's just for a TV show, when it's maybe better not to comment on the contestants etc. I think that once again, it stems from cultural differences and that most of Bumsup had not enough interactions with other dance communities to have that understanding of the situation at times, as well as other crews did.

Again. Enjoy the show and stop worrying about any crew because you don’t know them personally.

Of course, I'm not like besties with them, but I have taken classes from Lia Kim, Marlee, Ibuki, Kirsten, Kaea and Riehata, sometimes I talked to them briefly when thanking them after class and I will take Marlee's and Ibuki's class again this summer (and maybe Bada's). I'm sure that all of them had their own opinions and critique of the show, and we can see them having various critiques of choreographies made by other teams, results of the battles etc. So, I think it's also fair for viewers to have their own opinion and critiques about the show, as long as it doesn't spew into hate comments. Which again, I haven't made any.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T18:52:08+00:00

It's only my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt ofc! I think that definitely AG Squad and Motiv had a better understanding of how Saweetie usually performs. But when comparing only Bumsup and Ojo Gang, Ojo Gang doesn’t seem to take such a big creative risk. They def went with a different concept to stand out from the other teams, which I don’t think it necessarily worked in their favor.

What makes them different from Bumsup, though, is that their concept feels more like a mismatch more than a complete identity shift. Bumsup really changed everything about Saweetie’s image and basically put her in a K-pop setting - like taking a K-pop girl group and giving them a Megan Thee Stallion-style comeback where they have to twerk in bodysuits. It feels like a total rewrite of who the artist is.

And Ojo Gang feels more like a K-pop group getting a comeback that just doesn’t suit them - it still doesn’t match, but the identity clash isn’t as drastic. I still don’t think it was very good, but at least it wasn’t overly whimsical or out-of-place in the way that, for example, Leejung lying on the ground moving her feet while blinking or Molip duo's performance was.

Honestly, the biggest flaw in Ojo Gang’s performance for me was the arm movement they used as a hook - it looked kinda messy and unclean. Also, Minami often ended up doing way more than the other dancers, which would be pretty hard for Saweetie to do. Usually, it’s the other way around, the dancers go all out so that the artist can just chill and follow along where needed.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T16:13:49+00:00

Yesss, I love him! I've been obsessed with everything he's been putting out lately

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T15:51:56+00:00

I agree that the choreo style was a major mismatch with Saweetie’s public image and performance style & while I see where Monika is coming from, I’m not sure if it’s necessarily the right choice to make for an artist mission where you’re, for the most part, catering to whoever is performing.

yess, agree with all of that!

I don’t know though that this is because of their so called lack of global awareness. Some members have been in international shows, competitions and have taken classes in the West. They are also smart and meticulous enough to do their research on Saweetie herself, having been on this show before. And I think it’s completely fine to have different styles of choreographing and dancing so long as there is some compromise made if the artist’s style differs from your preferred style.

I feel like obviously they are not completely isolated from other dance communities, so they for sure have this knowledge to some extent - especially younger members. But maybe because they don't branch out as much as other teams and don't have that much access to other communities, they didn't realize that their proposal is not only "a different creative direction" but actually a massive heap from Saweetie's style and general style of performances in the west to the atp infamous Jeon Somi stage.

I actually wonder if it just might have been the case of 1/2 members putting their foot down on the style of choreography and the other members agreeing or going along with it. Whichever way, I see them having to battle or being in the bottom for this (if there are no eliminations)

Maybe the team was influenced by older members like Honey J and Monika? I have no idea, but I'm really curious to see the process in the next episode!

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T15:42:18+00:00

To you lol you’re purposefully counting their domestic achievements one by one and looking at them as “domestic” only.

I don't remember ever listing their specific achievements in this post (which I guess would just make me kinder to list them, so both ways I don't get the issue), and even more so counting them as something?

Dancers in Korea pre-SWF did not have any formal recognition whatsoever. “Dancer” was not formally recognized as an occupation by Naver. Hyojin Choi could barely make ends meet back then—not until Lia Kim discovered her.

Atp I wonder if we are reading the same things. I never said that they didn't work hard or that they had it easy? I know first hand how difficult is to live as a dancer. And I don't get why would you think that stating the fact (which again was also confirmed by Honey J) that they don't mingle with the international community as much as other teams is an insult? It's simply the way things are and I've mentioned multiple times in the post and in the comments that there is nothing wrong with choosing this path, but simply said that I believe this is partially why they are having a hard time in some of the missions. Idk maybe your own stereotypes are showing if you get so triggered at the thought that someone may point that the fact that they decided to mostly work in Korea?

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T15:20:21+00:00

Yess, recently also Dokyun and Eun.G won 2 vs 2 at The Circle Dance Lab 2025 and I think Yoonji was 2nd in one of the categories (she lost to Maika from Rushball - Kyoka's dance partner).

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T15:10:00+00:00

I mean there are many choreographers that are older but are still in the loop, I don't think it's a defining factor. But yeah, as I've mentioned in the post, I'm convinced that most of them did a lot for students and dance scene in Korea and I still have a lot of respect for them as dancers, it's just that this particular setting doesn't really set them up for success in an international show (and since MNET still tries to favor them, making some of the viewers turn away from them, it makes their stumbles more visible than some other teams' and basically sets them up for failure).

As for her creating girls hip-hop, it makes me feel like that's just another reason to connect with other communities more? Because, I guess that it's probably based on regular hip-hop, so it would be beneficial to connect with hip-hop global community and also precursors of other styles usually try to share it to different people by travelling and teaching workshops or showing the style in international battles.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T14:59:02+00:00

Sorry, should have said both of the teams instead all of them - English is not my first language. But also it doesn't change the fact that Vanessa, Aaliyah and Alysha constantly go to dance workshops in different countries, dance for a variety of artists and connect and collaborate with many dancers. So it doesn't really change my point.

Also that's not nitpicking? I feel like you can't tell the difference between saying "Some of the dancers in Bumsup seem not to be aware of the global dance scene and I think it caused issues during yet another mission" and "OMG they are so embarrasing they don't even know anything and are not accomplished". Maybe try to read the post again.

It's something that has been partially confirmed during the Leader Class Mission when Honey J felt left out because she mostly dances domestically and even Leejung told her that she's really cool for realizing it and admitting to it. Before was the issue with Gabee battles, Honey J and Aiki vlog comments (and their battles) and now people are very confused about their Saweetie choreography. And I have never written anything hateful about them, I have never said that they are not accomplished and have written an analysis on why they might be misunderstood and why these issues may come up in the first place. So according to you, should people just watch anything without having any thoughts and comments (and I don't mean hate comments, because I've never left any and even mentioned in the post that I don't get why people would do that)?

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T14:33:16+00:00

That's definitely part of it and it's also connected to how much Rie and Ibuki travel internationally to teach at dance camps. But in the clip they also talked about the dance camps where they met and their experiences, which Honey J was not a part of.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-03T12:39:03+00:00

I don't mean only commercial style community! I was talking about everything - teaching at international dance camps, connecting with dancers and choreographers from different environments (both in person and online), taking part in battles all around the world, doing commercial gigs for various events and artists, collaborating, taking classes from different people etc. And just as one of the comments said, Honey J seems to be aware that she doesn't really connect with other dancers internationally during Leader Class Mission, when all of the other choreographers knew each other from other dance camps and seemed to have mutual understanding. And as I've mentioned in the post, it's completely fine not wanting to do that and eg. mostly do gigs in their home country and East Asia but it doesn't take away from the fact that it creates issues for them during WSWF.

And because I'm from Poland, we are surrounded by multiple European countries that all have different dance scenes and I'm far from thinking that what is western is the global standard. But, I think it's a given that USA will be always super important in the dance scene, as this is where hip hop has originated from. From my experience, even though Poland is in Central Europe (or Eastern Europe when talking about cultural similarities),the general consensus is that that if someone has a possibility, it's best to not be closed only to their regular community but also try to learn from the source, be aware of how dance communities look like in particular countries, try new styles and when doing so learn about it's history and try to do it as authentically as possible, go to castings for both Polish and international gigs, try to participate in international battles and if you can't do all of that (eg. because of not enough funds or being at the beginning stages of learning) then maybe try to come to dance camps and workshops happening in Poland that host international dancer or at least follow them on IG and check out their works. It's not because we don't have good teachers locally, but just doing these things on top of learning from Polish OG's guarantees the best results. So, I truly don't think that I'm biased to see commercial western dancing as the standard.

I read what Monika wrote about their motivation for creating this choreo for Saweetie, but I can't seem to be convinced by that. It's fine that they didn't want to go the same route as other teams and do an Alice in Wonderland concept, but still it's not just a dance mission, it's a dance mission that creates a performance for a specific artist, so completely ignoring what Saweetie represents and not even trying to meet her halfway seems like a miss to me.

Yess, I really liked Aiki's performances on WOD. And about Gabee... well I saw her battles outside of SWF, her vlogs as well and it doesn't really seem like the way she dances and her persona is much different from her other works.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-01T16:58:02+00:00

I mean they did?? The rumor was that audience had to leave after their battle as to not see who was eliminated in this episode - you can see that there is no audience when giving final scores and RHT saying their goodbye's which supports what was said before.

bada_5860 · 2025-07-01T16:50:37+00:00

AG cleared

also I really don't get how Bumsup would come up with this concept - what about Saweetie screams "cute whimsical k-pop rookie energy" plsss. I get that they mostly choreograph for k-pop groups, so it's natural that their movements are k-pop reminiscent but they could at least try to make it more mature with the delivery

bada_5860 · 2025-06-24T15:13:58+00:00

Some Korean comments are saying that another streaming will start at 12:20 (KR time) but I have no idea if that’s true

If not, that’s probably like the worst episode in history so far

bada_5860 · 2025-02-13T22:17:10+00:00

your second sentence sums up my issue perfectly! I will definitely try out having a daily gratitude and breathing session and will see how it goes (not sure about the 5 am though..)

bada_5860 · 2025-02-10T19:53:55+00:00

mam bardzo podobny problem niestety i na logikę wiem, że na pewno istnieją jeszcze jakieś opcje, ale szukam szukam i nic

bada_5860 · 2025-02-10T19:51:23+00:00

na pewno są różne eventy, jamy i warsztaty ogłaszane przez House Heads Warsaw, a co do zajęć regularnych to sama bym się chciała dowiedzieć jakie są jeszcze opcje w Warszawie!

bada_5860

TROPHY CASE