By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Nuran Sami from Egypt

Dancing prodigy and the innovative mastermind behind your favorite K-pop dances, Tony Testa is crafting a vivid manifestation of legendary artistry that is here to stay. The harmonious moves with which you syncopate your heartbeats while watching or jamming to your beloved Western or Korean pop tunes are carefully invented with flair by a man who's never satisfied with offering less than perfection.

Testa's passion and virtuosity led him to share the stage or choreograph for and work closely with Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Ariana Grande, Kylie Minogue, Demi Lovato and Janet Jackson, among others. Testa, who's highly trained in many dance categories, such as tap dance and contemporary dance, has also worked with Versace, Sketchers, Toyota, Disney, Nickelodeon and the Grammy's, too, to name just a few.

On his career expansion in Korea, Testa, has been picked by SM Entertainment to train its artists. Accordingly, he has worked with NCT, TVXQ, Shinee, Girls' Generation and EXO.

He's reputed to have exquisite and aesthetically-pleasing choreographies that demand insanely tremendous effort, balance and consistency, which only a group like EXO can pull off when they are assigned to someone who wholeheartedly shares their same concentration, vision and passion.

If you're a K-pop fan, you have possibly witnessed one of the decade's defining and iconic dances, which is EXO's famous human-tree in their music video for "Wolf," which Testa choreographed for the group, alongside dances from their other title track "Overdose." Testa was also the art director for EXO's concert tour "The Lost Planet” back in 2014.

In a crossover at an artistic and social level, Testa is an enthusiast of giving and helping the growth of others through creativity, as he supports numerous causes and non-profit organizations. Besides this, he led a brilliant and sentimental performance after his speech for TEDx to bring awareness of over-fishing. On this, Testa says to Korea.net that, "In between projects, I very much enjoy sharing dance in non-profit settings. There is nothing more humbling and fulfilling than showing thanks with the gift of dance."

Moreover, he teaches classes at the NYCDA and at Monster of Hip Hop.

Testa reunited with EXO on their concert tour for “The EXOr’dium” in Los Angeles last year, and posed for an adorable picture. I was honored to have an insightful conversation with the artist about his career, projects and memorable interactions with EXO.



- Can you take us through the process of coming up with a dance for an onstage performance, like a tour? Are there certain aspects or theatrical elements to consider?
When coming up with a dance, it's absolutely vital to consider all of the different elements that surround it. One must consider all factors of how it is presented. This includes wardrobe, lighting, props, special effects, sound, stage, and much more. This process is usually a grand collaboration with many other departments and artists.

- Is there a challenge that can ruin a certain determined part of the dance, and which demands you change it?
Things only become ruined when the creator isn’t able to see unforeseen circumstances as gifts in disguise.

- How long did you work with Michael Jackson, for example? Can you talk about the dance routine that Jackson called the "drill”?
I worked with Jackson as an assistant choreographer for the creation period of "This Is It.” The drill was the only new piece of choreography he was to perform. It was a great gift that Jackson's lead choreographer, Travis Payne, was generous enough to give me a choreographic voice for the "drill.” In the end, the final choreography was made by Travis, Jackson and myself.

- You went touring with Aaron Carter at 16-years-old as your first major gig. As a teenager, what did that mean to you?
It was such a fun project. I was so honored to work with Brian Friedman and to dance with my friends. It was another sign that LA was the next right move for me at that time.

- Do you think any professional dancer is capable of choreographing?
Actually, anyone who is alive is capable of choreographing. Strangely enough, I don’t actually know what "being a choreographer" means. Therefore, I don’t know what the qualifications are. Sure, I can tell you one needs dance training, work ethic, determination, connections in the industry and similar stuff, but the longer I do this, the less I feel that I know what the label of “choreographer” even means. I have just as hard of a time defining dance. I feel like a beginner just as much now as I ever have.

- You emphasize how learning ballet can boost one's dance ability. Can you explain how ballet is connected to hip hop dancing?
Ballet is just as much an art form as it is a way to grow one's awareness of the human body. As awareness is built, so is strength, and these are two fundamental qualities of any type of movement practice.



- How do you determine the capacity or capability of an artist for whom you're about to choreograph?
Much of the time this happens when we first get into the studio together. Most projects demand a very fast turnaround, so I have to be prepared for many different scenarios ahead of time.

- When it comes to K-pop, do you need to have the lyrics translated first in order to put together the dance for the song?
I prefer it, as I think it makes the choreography richer.

- Can you share with Korea.net a special or funny memory that you had while working with EXO?
Baekhyun is one of the hardest working members of EXO and I've always enjoyed his energy in rehearsals. The first time I met him, I thought he was joking when he told me his name, because in English, it sounded like he said, “Hi my name is Bacon.” We still laugh about it to this day.

- You said before that it's hard to get the guys back from lunch. Can you elaborate on that, as fans are hilariously curious?
During rehearsals with EXO, the guys were very supportive for and affectionate with each other. This is, of course, very important because when the dance became challenging, the guys had each other’s backs. It is clear that they work very hard and sleep very little, so lunch break from rehearsals was a chance for them to just relax. When lunch was over, we had to chase them down because they didn't want the break to end.
I make an agreement at the beginning of each project with all SM performers that I promise to give 100 percent of myself to making the best possible dance I can. In return I expect their full trust, attention and patience, as I make many changes and demand a lot of their stamina and energy. So after lunch, it's, "Back to work, boys."

- Do you have an upcoming or recent project that we can get a glimpse of?
At this point, I am now concentrated on becoming a better artist. I just finished an apprenticeship with the Greek grandmaster Dimitris Papaioannou while in Wuppertal, Germany, studying the pieces of Pina Bausch. I have so much to be grateful for.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.