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Aspect Dance Team performs to \u201cFocus\u201d\u00a0by Hearts2Hearts during the dance competition at the K-pop Knight event hosted by CAB on Monday in the\u00a0Cape Florida Ballroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maria Fernanda Valente Pereira<\/p>\n
Music filled the Cape Florida Ballroom Monday night as students jumped into synchronized choreography, cheering and dancing along at UCF\u2019s K-pop Knight event.<\/p>\n
Hosted by the Campus Activities Board<\/a>\u00a0in collaboration with LGBTQ+ Services<\/a>, the event brought together students through K-pop\u2013themed activities, including a dance competition, photo card decorating, phone charm making and free boba tea.<\/p>\n Sara Benyamine, junior mechanical engineering major, is the special events director for CAB and\u00a0said the event was designed to create a space where students could connect through a shared interest.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted them to feel like they had a community and that they found other people that are like them,\u201d Benyamine said. \u201cThe energy here tonight was just amazing. It\u2019s everything I was hoping for.\u201d<\/p>\n Benyamine, who said she has been a K-pop fan since high school, said the idea for the event came from her own experience with the genre and a desire to bring that energy to campus.<\/p>\n Students dance\u00a0in the\u00a0Cape Florida Ballroom on Monday during\u00a0the K-pop Knight event\u00a0hosted by CAB.<\/p>\n Maria Fernanda Valente Pereira<\/p>\n Throughout the night, students participated in a Random Play Dance and a dance competition, where multiple teams performed choreographed routines. Unfazed<\/a> Dance Crew won first place with a performance to \u201cHurricane\u201d by Badvillain, while the\u00a0Aspect<\/a> Dance Team placed second with a routine to \u201cFocus\u201d by Hearts2Hearts.<\/p>\n For many performers, the event was both an opportunity to showcase their work and connect with others.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe started out as a really small team, but now we\u2019re over 20 people,\u201d said Jornice Vales, senior integrated business major\u00a0and member of the Unfazed Dance Crew. \u201cIt\u2019s an outlet for us. You kind of enter the studio and you\u2019re not stressed about your life, you\u2019re just focused on the dance.\u201d<\/p>\n Naomi Sternberg, junior\u00a0elementary education major,\u00a0is a member of the Shining Knights dance group and was a judge for the competition. She said events like this reflect the growing popularity of K-pop while maintaining a sense of community.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember when it used to be like nobody liked it [K-pop] and you really had to latch on to the people that you knew,\u201d Sternberg said. \u201cThere\u2019s still that sense of finding camaraderie in a shared topic like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Students in attendance said the event helped break stereotypes around K-pop and allowed them to openly express their interests.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s nice that people realize there are other people that like what I like,\u201d said Ana Sofia Londono, sophomore math major and member of the Aspect dance team and club. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be scared to show what you like.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfazed Dance Crew performing \u201cHurricane\u201d\u00a0by Badvillain during\u00a0the dance competition at the K-pop Knight\u00a0event hosted by CAB on Monday in the\u00a0Cape Florida Ballroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maria Fernanda Valente Pereira <\/p>\n Organizers and attendees alike said the genre\u2019s growing appeal stems from its diversity in sound and performance.<\/p>\n Michael King, speech-language pathology graduate student and member of the Unfazed Dance Crew, said K-pop\u2019s growing popularity comes from its variety.<\/p>\n \u201cK-pop is not just one type of music,\u201d King said. \u201cIt\u2019s really something for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n As students continued dancing and cheering throughout the night, the event highlighted how shared interests, from music to performance, can foster connection on campus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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