J-Hope's Dance Journey: From Roots to Global Inspiration

BTS' J-Hope's dream dance story continues.

 

J-Hope released the final episode of his documentary series "HOPE ON THE STREET" on December 12 at 0:00 p.m. via online video-on-demand (OTT) streaming and global online video service Prime Video. As the video was created organically with the special album of the same name, the final installment focuses on the final track of the album, the title track "NEURON (with. Gaeko, Yoon Mirae)," which is the final track on the album. J-Hope especially piqued viewers' interest by traveling to his hometown of Gwangju to revisit his roots.

 

BTS 'J-Hope'

 

Visiting the 5.18 Memorial Cultural Center, where he performed as a child, J-Hope said, "It's the 'root of the roots' for me. I made my debut, and there's a lot more I can do, but this is my beginning," he said. The globe-traveling world star revisited the place where he first performed as a member of the dance crew, and danced to connect his past and present.

 

He then visited his former crew, Neuron, where he was a street dancer. He reminisced about the days when he couldn't afford dance classes and had to look over the shoulders of his older brothers to learn how to dance. "He's still hungry for dance," the crew members said. He's got his own identity, and he's only going to get better," and presented him with an album of his past crew performances.

 

The documentary series concluded with J-Hope freestyle dancing to "NEURON" with his crew members. "I tried to capture the emotions of when we met and the unforgettable feeling of meeting each other," J-Hope said of the song, adding, "We live to move and we'll keep moving without forgetting our roots. We are neurons," he added.

 

To conclude the documentary series, J.H. recalls filming, "It was important for me to experience and feel it firsthand, to accept that 'what I did was not easy,' and to realize that it was important." "Ultimately, I wanted to look back and learn from myself, and I think that's what I got out of it (the shoot)," he concluded.

 

BTS 'J-Hope'

 

HOPE ON THE STREET is a dance documentary series that follows J-HOPE as he travels to Osaka, Japan; Paris, France; New York City, USA; and Seoul and Gwangju, South Korea, to connect with local dancers through dance. J-Hope organized the project to rediscover his artistic roots in street dance.

 

Through the documentary series, J-Hope challenged various genres of dance such as Popping, House, Hip hop, and Locking. The project solidified J-Hope's identity as a street dancer, different from BTS's J-Hope. Forbes described the documentary series as "a look at how J-Hope's inspiration informs his ever-evolving role as a musician, dancer, and creator."