Who Owned Each NCT Dream Era (Chewing Gum, My First and Last, We Young, Go, We Go Up Era)

This sub-unit has changed their image, from the cute, mischievous, and vibrant teenage boys to the now mature and powerful man.

And after trying numerous concepts throughout the years, we have seen them explore many dance styles.

Today we're going to see who best fits the dance style of the said concept.

Chewing Gum

Chewing Gum, considered one of the most iconic choreographies of 2016, starts with the boys on hoverboards and ends with them diving into a well-constructed dance routine. 

The dance has a vibrant, cheerful, and energetic concept. So it needs to be executed with high energy and control to fully execute the dance. The dance requires coordination and isolation, but most importantly, grooves. Because of its cute nature, some movements may come off as awkward if not done with said grooves. 

Jisung

Hence why Jisung fits this dance the best. Known for his excessive energy, he delivers a lot of energy to bring the dance to life. But also enough control to make it look neat and clean. 

Every move is perfectly controlled, executed at blinding speed, and has perfect musicality.

Although Jisung is more of a power-centered dancer, he still has grooves. And that could be visibly seen in Chewing Gum. Jisung knows how to make the movements seem natural. For example. While the other members fold their legs at a 90° angle, Jisung folds his feet backward, making it look more natural compared to the rest.

My First and Last

My First & Last is a bubbly pop dance track with a light-hearted melody and a pure 90s pop feel. Praised as 2017's most whimsical, inventive choreography, the dance paid tribute to the king of pop, Michael Jackson.

Besides the flawless formation and riveting floorwork, the dance has intricate steps, isolation, power, and character. The dance is also very dynamic, going back and forth from being sharp, accented, and angular to smooth and fluid.

Haechan

With that in mind, some of you may or may not be surprised that I picked Haechan.

If you haven't seen my Haechan Breakdown video. I mentioned how Haechan has the elegance and extensions of a ballet dancer while having the explosive energy of a hip-hop/urban dancer. Just like the members, his movement is sharp and angular. However, what differentiates him is that his move looks so sudden and unplanned. Notice how he pauses a bit after he pulls his hands to his sides. Compare that to the members who made it look like one fluid motion. 

This allows him to look animated, which suits the whimsical aspect of this performance.

But most importantly, Haechan reproduces the essence and panache of Michael Jackson. Because he knows which move he has to place his energy in. His knowledge of lines that comes from ballet also helps him execute the dance.

We Young

We young is a tropical house genre song that fits the warm and passionate summer. The tropical song took quite a different approach than the standard ubiquitous synth beat, instead Disney-fied it.
The vibrant and lively music is accompanied by a very picture-based and fluidity-based dance, with a hint of popping. That being said, it is clear to whom this title belongs.

Renjun

Huang Renjun, who we have discussed in this channel as well, has great lines, isolation, awareness of pictures, and fluidity. This choreography just further proves my previous points. Renjun arrives fully in each new pose before moving on. Taking each movement to its full potential. For example, one defining moment is when they had to lift their folded left leg into the air and roll over during the floor work. The other members never came to a complete stop. Their left leg displays a very slight movement in preparation to go to the ground, a compensation to remain balanced. This preparatory movement is absent from Renjun, who arrives at the pose and comes to a complete stop before moving on.

Go

As the members matured, so did their music. The track forgoes the type of sunny melodies you’d expect from DREAM. Go is a dulled-down techno-trap crunch song full of trap rhythms and a bratty, shout-heavy chorus.

The rebellious anthem is accompanied by popping elements, waves, and the ever-popular finger-tutting. The choreography is physically intense, as it includes jumping, struts, and playing around with levels and formation.

I am drawn to two members in particular. 

Renjun

I have talked about why Renjun fits Go in my Breakdown series. But basically, it is because of his upper body isolation. Renjun packs in a lot of energy in his upper body, and sometimes it can be a bit excessive, but in this case, it enhances the bratty feel of the song.

His fluid movements are also the reason he fits the concept. He emphasizes the waves and finishes them. Even during the hard-hitting moments, the sharp attack of the movement somehow manages to remain fluid. The cleaner movement creates a more startling visual effect.

Jisung

Popping is the foundation of the choreography, and I think we can all collectively agree that the implode god’s popping brought this choreography to a whole new level. 

Watching him, the dance feels renewed and heightened through a spectacular sense of power and delirious speed. Jisung sets himself apart by adding in steps between the musical beats so swiftly they can scarcely be seen and yet maintains full control over his body—all while maintaining a consistent flow. 

Jisung also tends to be inconsistent with his power, spending 100% of his energy in one part and then 80% on the other. But this inconsistency made him look obnoxious and lazy, playing the bratty role to the tee.

We Go Up

Keeping the hip-hop edge but partnering it with a bright arrangement, "We Go Up" is a fusion of their pop dynamism with hip-hop for a fresh new sound. The song exudes a basketball hip-hop feel, to signify them slowly maturing into adulthood yet still maintaining the boyish charm.

To match the basketball hip-hop vibe, high energy, intense, and wide movements are utilized. Following the similar formula of their previous work, they incorporate popping, floorwork, and levels. But what distinguishes the choreography from the rest is the use of space, flexibility, different layers of blocking, and emphasis on the lower body.

This is why I chose the following members

Mark

This choreography is right up his alley. With Mark's specialty style, he intensifies all the hip-hop moves or adds just the right amount of flow and ruggedness to the overall clean and choreographed routine. The little hunches he does every time he dances or, his extra bounce adds character and hip-hop flare.

We Go Up emphasizes the lower body by making the aggressive stomps dance. This emphasis can also be seen in the numerous footwork and floorwork. Mark is the king of footwork with his strength, understanding of shape, and placement of the weight.

Jeno

A quarter of the choreography uses wide movements to create images from different layers of blocking. Together with the extensive use of space and wide movements, dancing big is required to pull off the choreography. And when talking about wide movements, it’s unavoidable to bring up Jeno’s name. Jeno’s tendency to project his limbs up and out allows the viewers to fully see and appreciate the movement. 

With Jeno’s amazing stamina and excessive energy, he tends to "outdance." But he doesn’t lose control of his movement or look spastic. He is perfectly controlled, yet his dancing is visceral, wild, and explosive.