Nour Saadi

Nour Saadi: Dancer Meets K-Pop

By Gloria Kim

Nour Saadi is my good friend from McGill Faculty of Law. Out of the 175 new first year students at McGill, I was able to meet her on the first day of orientation because of her love for Korea. As soon as Rui Gao, another McGill law student, found out I was Korean, she told me there was someone I should meet. Of course she was referring to Nour, who loved just about anything Korean. When I met Nour, I was quite intrigued that she could speak Korean and that she could identify more K-pop bands than I could. I had heard of K-pop’s reach extending to Japan, China, and even the Philippines, but it was my first time meeting a non-Asian with a continued interest in my homeland.

I am thankful that this connection brought us together as I witnessed how K-pop became a channel through which Nour expressed her tremendous talent in dancing and language learning. Though we never got around to our plan of language exchanges (her French and my Korean), we developed a friendship over the years and enjoyed exchanging birthday cards written in Korean, as well as going out for Korean food.

I also attended annual concerts held by 2KSQUAD, a performance group in which Nour and Rui dance, and was blown away with the caliber of entertainment. Every detail of the concert was well planned out. As spectators lined up for the best seats of the evening, we were given gym bags with 2KSQUAD’s logo printed on it along with little goodies inside the bag. The theatre with the capacity of about two to three hundred people filled up, and for hours I was awestruck at the highly synchronized dance moves. About thirty performers were composed into various groups differing in number and gender throughout the evening to take care of a piece of the program. There were around a dozen discrete performances, which were seamlessly transitioned from one to the next. The energy and passion of the performers would flare up the crowd, and I was conviced 2KSQUAD had a fan base of its own. The usual sweet persona of Rui and Nour would turn into charismatic swag, and my heart would beat faster as their dance moves stirred up a desire to leap off my seat and join them on the stage. The dedication of the 2KSQUAD crew could not go unnoticed, but what impressed on me most was how much they enjoyed the music, dance, and time spent together practicing. 2KSQUAD continues to perform in Montreal and other Canadian cities and is a YouTube partner with CJ Entertainment through their DIATv network. This year, 2KSQUAD won a dance cover contest organized by 1theK (LOEN Entertainment).1

Below, you will find Nour’s answers to my questions on her love for Korea.

1. What is your connection to Korea?

I am passionate about Korean popular music and culture.

2. How did you become acquainted with Korean culture, and what has maintained your interest in Korea?

I discovered the Korean culture during my high school years. I have an older sister who introduced me to a Korean boy band group called “Super Junior M” and one of their songs “Super Girl”.2 I found the choreography to be very catchy, the dancers of the group skilled and I enjoyed the song! Their music video was also very aesthetically pleasing as well, and all of this made me want to look more into Super Junior, and the universe of “Kpop”. What has maintained my interest for Korea is the diversity of what its culture has to offer. For instance, getting into the music band “Super Junior” made me want to watch the variety shows in which they appeared, which also led me to discover Korean dramas, to want to try Korean food and even learn Korean (which makes it easier to then get the jokes!). There is a very warm side to the Korean culture, which is probably what attracts me the most and maintains my interest for it.

3. How has your love for Korea influenced your perspective, relationships, and/or life’s adventures?

My love for Korea has made me part of a community for which I am very grateful, and has pushed me to do what I can to bring members of that community closer together. Loving the Korean culture has also brought the best out of me. It made me co-organize a few years ago a flashmob in Montreal’s Chinatown for which I am still so proud of. 3 The flashmob brought together over 100 fans, something I never really thought I would be capable of doing. I also met during the flashmob people with whom I am still dancing today, in a group called 2KSQUAD. I have been dancing with 2KSQUAD members since 2014, and have had the chance to perform both in Montreal and Toronto – and once on the same stage as Nu’est ! 4

4. Have you visited Korea? If so, what are your thoughts?

Yes, I have visited Korea for the first time in May 2017 and spent a few days in Seoul, Ulsan and Busan. The street food is quite unique and delicious. Korean people are also very kind, a lot helped me figure out how the subway works and gave me compliments. I wish I had more time to explore Korea, and will definitely be back.

5. Final words in Korean.

세계와 한국 문화를 공유해 주셔서 너무 감사합니다. (Thank you very much for sharing Korean culture with the world).

Links to videos:

BTS(방탄소년단) – Run | Dance Cover by 2KSQUAD:

Jay Park (박재범) – Solo (Feat. Hoody) | Dance Cover by 2KSQUAD

Song Ji Eun (송지은) – Bobby Doll (바비돌) | Dance Cover by 2KSQUAD

GOT7 (갓세븐) – Hard Carry (하드캐리) | Dance Cover by 2KSQUAD

1. See video at 1:57: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwpaq03HMPQ.

2. Editor’s note: Music video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RePjMjmKtqI

3. Editor’s note: The video of the flashmob is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8q7RBsxUEU. Prior to the event, Nour also prepared and uploaded a tutorial for flashmob participants, which can be found at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu54q4_montreal-back-to-school-flashmob-officialmirrored-dance-tips_music.

4. Editor’s note: Nu’est is a Korean boy group.