On BTS Jimin's birthday, looking at his best dance performances. (Photo: Instagram/Big Hit)If Jungkook and J-Hope have the vibrant, powerful energy to match ntricate choreography—-Jimin brings the ethereal grace. It’s almost hypnotic to watch Jimin at times because he has a gentle, yet mesmerising effect, like a cooling breeze in a firestorm. Yet, it’s a curious mix of softness and aggression that he shows in many performances. He also has the power of eye contact and ability to stare his audience down —the sweetness that he’s famous for melts away, and he slips into his element. His dances exude reverberating emotion—love, angst, disappointment and fury—and it shows in his expressions. On one hand, he can show he’s broken in love with Fake Love, and on the same day, he can lash out at haters with Mic Drop.
It’s an expert move to let Jimin have the last say or rather last move in many songs, such as Fire where his final breakdance is what fans look forward to the most, as evident from the cheers, shrieks in the stadiums. Fake Love ends with his wistful tones and a walk across the stage, exhibition the emotive exhaustion in the song.
Jimin blends contemporary with modern dance and hip-hop with fluidity. There are performances that belong to him entirely, including the delicately sensual Blood, Sweat And Tears and Black Swan. He makes it all look effortless—proving that nailing the difficult steps and choreography is one thing, but to make it flow is another.
Blood, Sweat And Tears
It’s one of BTS’ most sensual songs and the body-rolls and hip-thrusts just add to the allure of it. The song begins with Jimin’s soft vocals and delves into his choreography—one of the finest performances at the M Countdown Stage. He has already caught the fans attention and he knows it, leaving them want for more. He paves the way for the rest to take over after rather sultry eye-contact with the audience and moves away for Suga and RM to rap. Yet, he remains in focus throughout, because it’s almost hard to not see him with his luminous presence and ‘accidental’ jacket flips.
When he performed blindfolded with J-Hope on Caught In A Lie
This was another moment of impeccable and synchronised choreography. During the MNET MAMA Event, Jimin performed Caught In A Lie blindfolded, while J-Hope complemented him in miraculous sync. While J-Hope brought his energy to the performance, Jimin rounded it off with a mix of aggression and passion.
I Need U solo dance at MAMA 2019
Keeping to their fascination of different concepts, BTS attended the award ceremony at the Melon Music Awards, where they each had solo performances. They represented seven Greek Gods from mythology and Jimin decided to embody Artemis, the Moon God, the twin of Apollo, the Sun God, who was represented by V. Jimin begins by walking to the spotlight while the I Need U instrumental plays in the background. With a surreal grace, Jimin exudes the angst and hope in the song with quick moves and acrobatics. Clad in white, he brings his character from the HYYH story (BTS universe) to life with depression, resentment, yet a determination to live again.
Serendipity
At KBS Gayo Daechukje in 2018, Jimin performed Serendipity—another performance where he portrayed his emotions through his moves. Dressed in red, Jimin’s brief performance was later described as a rather immersive experience as he twirled and matched all the beats to astounding perfection.
Black Swan
Thanks to a Bangtan Bomb, we got to see Jimin’s Black Swan solo performance—where the vocalist stands in a pool of light, twirling and proving his unreal flexibility. In a song that describes BTS’ wistfulness about their superstardom, Jimin shows the exhausted emotions through the slightest of steps, and the body rolls as he moves across the dance floor. In ballet-like elegance, he does acrobatic flips and flows with the beat.
Of course, given BTS’ lengthy discography, Jimin knows when to show his aggression as Mic Drop, Fire, Idol and Dionysus, show. He can bring the storm, the drizzle and the fire all in one go if needed.