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| Vata, the leader of dance crew We Dem Boyz (WDBZ) / Screenshot from YouTube |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Dancer Vata, who currently appears on Mnet's dance competition show, "Street Man Fighter," has been accused of plagiarizing the choreography of K-pop boy group ATEEZ's 2019 release, "Say My Name," to craft a dance move for "New Thing," a song featured in "Street Man Fighter."
Anze Skrube, one of the choreographers for "Say My Name," shared several posts on his Instagram Story on Monday, which slam Vata for copying ATEEZ's choreography. The controversial part is the "driving" dance move, in which the dancers move their bodies as if they were riding a motorcycle.
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| Choreographers of ATEEZ's "Say My Name" perform the "driving" dance move / Screenshot from YouTube |
"No matter what, whoever it is, if you try to steal ATEEZ and staffs/dancers/choreographers/composers' hard work or do something against (what is) moral, then (it's) gonna bite you back harder," one of his reposts reads.
Another repost called on Vata ― the leader of dance crew We Dem Boyz (WDBZ) ― to make an apology.
"I thought you are a friend of (ATEEZ member) San. But (a) friend shouldn't have done this. I hope you apologize to the original choreographer and ATEEZ for claiming the move as yours," it reads.
ATEEZ member Wooyoung is also believed to have raised the plagiarism allegations by making a silent statement during the 2022 Daegu Powerful K-pop Concert, Sunday. During ATEEZ's performance of "Say My Name," Wooyoung did a "biting" gesture, a hand sign that street dancers often use to protest people who copy someone else's dance moves.
"Some people claim this 'driving move' is a cliche, but I can't find it elsewhere," an online user commented. "Only the moves performed by Vata and ATEEZ seem to share similarities."
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| K-pop boy group ATEEZ / Courtesy of KQ Entertainment |
The accusations of plagiarism were first made by some internet users shortly after Vata's choreography was picked as the best fit for Zico's "New Thing" on the third episode of "Street Man Fighter" that aired on Sept. 6. Despite the allegations, its cover dance challenge quickly went viral on TikTok, with numerous celebrities joining it. "New Thing" also took multiple music streaming platforms by storm, topping the weekly chart of Melon for two consecutive weeks as of Tuesday.
Neither Vata nor Mnet has commented on the issue.
Vata, whose real name is Kim Tae-hyeon, is one of the most high-profile choreographers, who was behind the success of K-pop hits like SuperM's "Tiger Inside" (2020). His crew, WDBZ, is currently going head-to-head with six other teams ― 1Million, Eo-Ddae, BIIB, YGX, Mbitious and JustJerk ― on "Street Man Fighter."
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