Ballet is one of the most popular and elegant dance forms there is. Did you know that some of your favorite idols used to be ballerinas before debuting in K-pop? Keep on reading for all the details.
1. LE SSERAFIM Kazuha
LE SSERAFIM member Kazuha started ballet when she was just three years old! The idol attended the Hashimoto Sachiyo Ballet School in Osaka and trained at the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow.
She was a professional ballerina, having studied the dance for 15 years. Throughout her career, Kazuha won several domestic and junior ballet competitions. From 2020 to 2021, Kazuha lived in Amsterdam, The Netherland, to pursue a degree at the Dutch National Ballet Academy.
Though she is no longer a professional ballerina, the idol uses her skills. Her flexibility comes in handy for LE SSERAFIM's choreographies. As a result, she is often referred to as "LE SSERAFIM's Swan."
2. WJSN Cheng Xiao
Cheng Xiao is known as WJSN's "Queen of the Sugarplum Fairies" due to her extensive dance background. While she is known to have done Chinese traditional dances as a child, she also did ballet. This helped hone her flexibility.
The idol has shown her skills several times. In 2016, she was in a modern dance and ballet team with BTS's Jimin, Yein (former Lovelyz), TWICE's Mina, and Momo. The group performed at the 2016 SBS Gayo Daejun.
In 2017, she appeared in the ballet variety show "Swan Club." She danced a ballet version of Sunmi's "Gashina."
3. TWICE Mina
Before moving to South Korea, Mina was an experienced ballet dancer. She started training at a young age and, before becoming a K-pop trainee, had been practicing the dance for eleven years,
During an episode of "IDDP" in 2021, Mina revealed she quit ballet while fighting with her parents. At the time, she wanted to learn other dances. Her parents initially disagreed with her decision to quit, which made Mina ask, "Should I do ballet until I die?"
Though she quit ballet, her years of experience still shine. Fans say that due to her background in the dance, even her fingertips are elegant!
4. ENHYPEN Ni-ki
Though Ni-ki is just 16 years old, he has years of dance experience under his belt.
Ni-ki began learning to dance at a young age, taking lessons in Japan. As a child, he learned how to dance ballet and jazz. Though the idol has not fully divulged into his career as a ballerina, he has shown off his skills.
He is ENHYPEN's main dancer and is often regarded as their best dancer. During his time on "I-LAND," he was also named the best dancer. On the show, the Japanese idol showed his pirouettes while practicing.
5. EXO Kai
Kai started training in ballet while in third grade. The idol was inspired to learn the dance after watching "The Nutcracker." After that, the idol loved ballet so much that he even considered majoring in ballet at an art school.
He soon expanded his genres, learning jazz dancing in fourth grade.
Though he wanted to specialize in ballet, his audition with SM Entertainment was on the same day as his school interview. His father urged him to go to the audition, promising to buy him a Nintendo console if he passed. Kai passed the auditions, and the rest is history!
6. (G)I-DLE Soyeon
While in elementary school, Soyeon studied ballet. In her third year of elementary school, Soyeon entered and won several ballet competitions.
However, she did not pursue ballet for long. After seeing BIGBANG perform, Soyeon decided to quit ballet and pursue a career in music. She auditioned in 20 to 30 auditions as an elementary school student but failed them.
She pursued rapping and soon received callbacks from companies. Finally, she signed with CUBE Entertainment and is now the leader of (G)I-DLE!
7. ASTRO Rocky
Rocky started taking dancing lessons when he was just four years old! However, he did not initially specialize in ballet.
The idol first attended a dance academy when he was young. Rocky enjoyed learning at the dance academy so much that he took all the lessons he was allowed to. This includes hip-hop, girl's hip-hop, yoga, and dance sport.
He started learning ballet when he was twelve while working for the musical "Billy Elliot." It was there he learned how to do pirouettes. He has continued learning since then, honing his skills.
Is your favorite idol a ballerina? Tell us in the comments below!
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Written by Alexa Lewis
