Shin's Groove: Jeju dance studio offers fun, affordable classes
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Shin's Groove: Jeju dance studio offers fun, affordable classes
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I had wanted to take a dance class since I moved to Jeju, but had held back from enrolling after learning that most studios would require me to attend classes five days a week. I wanted to dance, but not that much.

So, when I saw the posting for dance classes twice a week on the Yahoo! group RhymesWithJeju, I was in. My friend and I first tried the 6 p.m. K-pop (dancing to Korean pop music) class. Though we had a lot of fun, and the teacher was great, the class was populated entirely by elementary school students and didn’t give us the exercise we were craving.

We then switched to the 7 p.m. Tae Bo class, which, though not exactly dance, is still accompanied by loud music and heavy beats. Tae Bo is a combination of taekwondo, boxing, and aerobics that involves rapid punching and kicking sequences. Though I felt a bit like I was in an infomercial from the ’90s, I enjoyed the high energy and left feeling tired and satisfied.

In addition to Tae Bo and K-pop, the studio offers classes in bellydance and hip-hop/jazz. In January, they will begin offering a “club dance” class.

    
 
Around 70 students attend classes each day to learn from Jeju Dance Korea’s four teachers.

Friendly, energetic, and eager to practice their English, they are the best things about the studio. They immediately made my friend and I feel right at home, offering us Jeju oranges and chatting with us.

The owner, Kim Hyung Suk, opened the studio eight months ago because she wanted to introduce the residents of Jeju to bellydance and hip-hop, both of which she teaches. She has been teaching dance for 10 years and goes to Seoul every weekend to attend hip-hop dance classes. She also goes to dance competitions several times a year.

Her studio has not yet been as successful as she’d hoped, but she realizes that “it takes time and hard work to be successful.” She’s definitely taking care of the hard work part, as she is at the studio from 6 a.m. until midnight most days. When I asked her if she was exhausted, she answered, “No, because I really love dance.”

And, she is hopeful for the future. She said that, “Now, more than ever, people are interested in dance in Korea.” She welcomes foreigners in her classes and hopes that more will start attending.
I also spoke with Kim Min Gyeong and Yang Soo Yeon, who teach K-pop, bellydance, and hip-hop/jazz.
Kim enjoys dance because it is “healthy, interesting, and fun,” and Yang added that when she dances, her “stress goes away.”

No matter what the reason for your interest in dancing, if you are interested in classes you should make your way over to Dance Korea Jeju. With its convenient Shin Jeju location, flexible pricing and scheduling, as well as awesome staff, there’s no better place to shake your groove thing on the island.


Dance Korea Jeju

Address: 904-3 Nohyeong-dong, Jeju City
Phone: 064-748-0516
Cyworld.com/dancekoreajeju

Class Schedule (Monday - Friday)
Bellydance: 8-9 a.m., 10-11 a.m., 3-4 p.m., 8-9 p.m.
Tae-Bo: 9-10 a.m., 7-8 p.m., 9-10 p.m.
K-Pop: 11 a.m.-12 p.m., 4-5 p.m., 6-7 p.m, 2-3 p.m.(Saturday)
Hip-hop/Jazz: 6-7 a.m., 2-3 p.m., 10-11 p.m.

Cost (per class)
One month - 2 days/week: 50,000 won, 5 days/week:100,000 won, 2 classes x 5 days/week: 150,000 won
Three months - 250,000 won
Six months - 450,000 won
One year - 720,000 won  <Jeju Weekly>

<Susan Shain  contributor@jejuweekly.comomJeju Weekly All rights reserved>


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