Ballet Versus K-Pop: What Makes Them Similar And Different, According To LE SSERAFIM's Ballerina Kazuha

LE SSERAFIM‘s Kazuha is one of the only ballerinas in K-Pop. She took it seriously ever since she was a child, training in Russia and the United Kingdom before being accepted into the prestigious Dutch National Ballet Academy.

LE SSERAFIM’s Kazuha

In December of 2021, she was recruited by the CEO of Source Music to join their newest girl group. She debuted a few months later as LE SSERAFIM’s rapper and dancer.

In an interview with Weverse Magazine, Kazuha noted the main difference between ballet and K-Pop. In the former, there is less focus on her facial expressions.

I think the two are completely different. For example, when it comes to photoshoots, the photo you take for a ballet profile picture is just used for auditions, so you take it like a passport photo, where the only thing that matters is that you can see your face.

— Kazuha

K-Pop, however, demands that she faces the camera head-on.

But it’s different when you have to do something like an idol profile photo. You have to put on so many different facial expressions. I keep worrying about my facial expression, so I practice alone in the mirror a lot, too.

— Kazuha

Fans are also often situated close to the stages that K-Pop idols perform in. Besides this, there are things like fancams, “ending fairy” moments, and more which made Kazuha “pay close attention” to her expressions.

And, unlike when idols perform, ballet isn’t filmed that often. The stage is pretty far from the audience, so they can’t really see details like your facial expression. So up until now I was more focused on my movements than on my face. But seeing as K-pop is always filmed and has so many close-ups, I realized I better pay close attention to what my face is doing from now on.

— Kazuha

At the same time, there are some similarities between ballet and K-Pop, the main one being the importance of a strong set of basic skills. In order to dance any choreography cleanly, one must first be a master of the fundamentals.

You have to move your body a bit differently, but I think it’s similar in that you have to be good at the basics. You have to be good at the basics to do ballet, and it’s important to be good at the fundamentals in K-pop choreography, too. Actually, when I was first learning K-pop dances, it was completely new to me, so it was difficult. I tried to stay true to the basics as I was learning it.

— Kazuha