By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Julie Costa from Luxembourg
Video = KTOA

K-pop’s growing popularity abroad has fans performing the dances of catchy K-pop songs. Key to Arts (KTOA), a K-pop dance cover group from Luxembourg, is on a mission to spread K-pop in the troupe’s home country.

Formed in 2016, the seven-member KTOA has taken stages in Luxembourg by storm. In addition, it has released videos of K-pop dance covers on their YouTube channel and Instagram account, gaining more fans by the minute.

The following are excerpts from an interview with the group.

- Please introduce your members.
Key to Arts consists of seven members who regularly perform and present new performances to audiences and fans. Taty is the group leader and representative. Daniela is the oldest member and one of the first to join. Lynn and Sara are two close friends who joined together. Mint is the choreographer along with Taty. And Kelly and Elisa, our youngest member, were the last additions.

- How did you come up with the name Key to Arts?
We wanted a name that represented each of our uniqueness from other dance groups in Luxembourg. Every member has her own cultural background and though we're all different, we came together with the same interest to spread K-pop and show our passion for dance by performing. So we are “the key to arts” since we are the definition of art.

- How often do you girls practice and where?
We meet up once or twice a week and practice together for two hours in Luxembourg City, but during school breaks, we practice more often than during school semesters, when we focus more on our studies.

- How long does it usually take to learn the choreography of a K-pop song?
It depends on the song’s duration and difficulty and the given circumstances (i.e., the deadline of a remix for a performance and the number of songs needed). Sometimes, we take two to six weeks to perfectly learn and synchronize a song. We’re constantly improving and have gotten better at remembering steps.

- Do you think K-pop is gaining more popularity in Luxembourg?
It’s definitely easier to find and see other K-pop fans here in Luxembourg since BTS became really popular. The impact of BTS is huge and quite impressive. Less interest had been seen in previous years and almost everyone had heard of K-pop before without actually liking it. The music does get both criticism and praise from a range of people.

- Name some of your favorite K-pop groups.
Each member has her own favorites and preferences, but we all like BTS, Blackpink, Stray Kids, KARD and many more. We’ve even performed some of the songs of our favorite groups.

- What was your most memorable performance?
Every performance is special and memorable to us due to its various circumstances, efforts and experiences, good or bad. We’re always happy when the audience enjoys our remixes and this makes us realize that our hard work paid off. We really liked On Stéitsch, Intra Urban and others.

- What are your plans for the future?

We plan on filming more covers to post on YouTube and Instagram, either solo clips or in a group. Please keep looking forward to our new covers, challenges and fun videos on YouTube and Instagram!

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.