Beyond choreography: K-pop performance directors step into spotlight

K-pop performance directors are gaining recognition as the people who shape live spectacles beyond choreography. Mnet’s Directors’ War, which premiered Aug. 18, turns that distinction into a competition among 10 choreographers. The show highlights how performance direction now covers stage design, lighting, costumes and artist presentation, and how contestants can win choreography and director credits separately. The article also says the role is expanding globally and into company leadership.

Mnet’s Street World Fighter: Directors’ War premiered Aug. 18 and features 10 established choreographers competing for performance director credit.

In the opening mission, contestants first reworked one another’s signature routines for a choreography credit, then staged them again for the director’s credit.

Simeez and Back Koo-young each won the choreography vote but lost the director’s credit, while Bada won the director’s credit after losing the choreography vote.

Jo Nain helped direct choreography for Golden from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, and Kasper oversaw Taemin’s Coachella set in April.

At Titan Content, 1MILLION Dance Studio founder Lia Kim serves as chief performance officer alongside the CEO and chief visual officer.

Published Sep 12, 2026 7:00 am KST

K-pop girl group IVE performs during its fourth fan concert, "DIVE into IVE," held at Inspire Arena in Incheon, March 22. Courtesy of Starship Entertainment

As K-pop acts take on increasingly ambitious performances at home and abroad, the people turning their music into a live spectacle are now stepping out from behind the scenes.

Performance directors oversee nearly every visual element of a performance, from choreography and dancer formations to costumes, lighting and stage sets. Once largely seen as an extension of choreography in K-pop, the job is increasingly being recognized as a creative role of its own.

That distinction has become visible enough to form an entire television competition.

Mnet’s “Street World Fighter: Directors’ War,” which premiered Aug. 18, puts 10 established choreographers in competition not simply over who can create the best dance, but over who can best direct a complete performance. Instead of competing with their own dance crews, contestants vie to have their names credited as performance directors.

The format reflects a distinction that has long been blurry in K-pop. Choreographers create the movements that make up a routine, while performance directors are tasked with deciding how those movements and the artists performing them ultimately appear onstage.

Scenes from Mnet's newest competition show "Street World Fighter: Directors' War," which airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Mnet and tvN / Courtesy of Mnet

“Directors’ War” has made that difference part of the competition itself.

In its opening mission, contestants first reworked one another’s signature routines, competing for a choreography credit. The winning choreography was then staged with dancers in a second competition for the director’s credit.

The results showed that skill in one did not necessarily guarantee success in the other. Simeez, girl group IVE’s performance director since 2024, and Back Koo-young, a former SM Entertainment performance director, each won the choreography vote but ultimately lost the director’s credit.

Bada, leader of “Street Woman Fighter 2” champion crew Bebe, did the opposite, securing the director’s credit after losing the choreography vote.

The program also shows how much of performance direction takes place beyond the dance floor.

Back, for example, had dancers rehearse their backstage routes while coordinating details with the stage manager and lighting crew. Later, after being selected to direct the program’s title sequence, he delegated its closing choreography to Bada and two other contestants, eventually choosing Bada’s version for the final performance.

A scene captured from Mnet's competition reality show "Street World Fighter: Directors' War," which airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Mnet and tvN / Courtesy of Mnet

The idea of one person overseeing a pop artist’s broader stage presentation is hardly a new concept overseas, although similar roles in Western pop are more commonly billed as creative director or show director.

Jamie King, for instance, directed and choreographed Madonna’s 2001 “Drowned World” tour before going on to direct several more of her world tours, as well as tours for Britney Spears and Rihanna.

Frank Gatson Jr., who helped shape Destiny’s Child’s image in the late 1990s, later worked as Beyonce’s creative director on projects including her 2009 “I Am…” world tour and 2013 Super Bowl halftime show.

In K-pop, the role is becoming more prominent as performance itself expands in scale and reach. Artists now have to translate the same musical identity across television stages, music videos, arena and stadium concerts and global festival appearances, putting greater demands on those responsible for tying those elements together.

Several of the “Directors’ War” contestants already work across that increasingly international landscape.

From left, choreographers Hash, Kasper, Jeong Min-jun, Ingyoo, Simeez, Babyzoo, Back Koo-young, Bada, Renan and Jo Nain pose during a press conference for Mnet's dance competition "Street World Fighter: Directors' War" at Hotel Eliena in Gangnam District, Seoul, Aug. 18. Newsis

Jo Nain, who first gained wider recognition as the leader of winning crew TURNS on Mnet’s “Street Dance Girls Fighter,” participated in directing the choreography for “Golden,” a song from the globally successful Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Kasper, a former SM performance director who has worked with SHINee and Taemin, offers a more direct example of how the job has expanded alongside K-pop’s live stages. In April, he oversaw Taemin’s Coachella set, when the singer became the first male K-pop soloist to perform at the festival.

The growing emphasis on performance is also beginning to show up in the way entertainment companies are structured. At Titan Content, the agency behind girl group AtHeart, 1MILLION Dance Studio founder Lia Kim serves as chief performance officer alongside its CEO and chief visual officer, placing performance at the executive level.

“Directors’ War” itself points toward where the profession may be heading. Its eventual winner will receive the opportunity to direct the opening performance of a global awards show — taking a role that K-pop once largely folded into choreography onto an international stage under the director’s own name.

韩国流行音乐表演导演的角色正日益受到认可，他们不仅负责编舞，更塑造着现场演出的整体效果。Mnet电视台于8月18日首播的《导演之战》节目，将这一角色演绎成一场10位编舞之间的较量。节目重点展示了表演指导如今涵盖舞台设计、灯光、服装和艺人形象等各个方面，参赛者可以分别赢得编舞和导演的荣誉。文章还指出，这一角色正在全球范围内扩展，并逐渐发展成为公司领导层的一员。

Mnet 的《街头世界斗士：导演之战》于 8 月 18 日首播，节目中 10 位知名编舞家将角逐表演导演的头衔。

在开场任务中，参赛者首先对彼此的招牌舞蹈进行改编，以获得编舞署名，然后再次进行排练，以获得导演署名。

Simeez 和 Back Koo-young 都赢得了编舞投票，但失去了导演署名权，而 Bada 在输掉编舞投票后获得了导演署名权。

Jo Nain 参与指导了 Netflix 动画电影《KPop Demon Hunters》中歌曲《Golden》的舞蹈编排，而 Kasper 则负责监督泰民在四月份的 Coachella 音乐节演出。

在 Titan Content，1MILLION Dance Studio 的创始人 Lia Kim 与首席执行官兼首席视觉官一起担任首席绩效官。

发布于2026年9月12日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

韩国女子组合IVE于3月22日在仁川Inspire Arena举行了第四场粉丝演唱会“DIVE into IVE”。图片由Starship Entertainment提供。

随着 K-pop 艺人在国内外的表演越来越雄心勃勃，那些将他们的音乐变成现场表演的人们也开始从幕后走到台前。

表演总监负责演出几乎所有视觉元素，从编舞、舞者队形到服装、灯光和舞台布景。在韩国流行音乐中，表演总监一度被视为编舞的延伸，但如今，这一职位正日益被视为一项独立的创意角色。

这种区别已经变得足够明显，甚至催生了一整套电视竞赛节目。

Mnet电视台的《街头世界斗士：导演之战》于8月18日首播，节目中10位知名编舞家展开角逐，他们不仅比拼谁能创作出最棒的舞蹈，更要比拼谁能执导出完整的表演。参赛者们并非与自己的舞团竞争，而是争夺“表演导演”的头衔。

这种形式反映了K-pop界长期以来模糊不清的一个区别。编舞负责创作构成舞蹈动作的编排，而表演导演则负责决定这些动作以及表演者最终如何在舞台上呈现。

Mnet最新竞技节目《街头世界格斗：导演之战》的精彩片段，该节目每周二晚10点在Mnet和tvN播出 / 图片由Mnet提供

“导演之战”将这种差异本身也成为了比赛的一部分。

在首轮比赛中，参赛者首先对彼此的招牌舞蹈进行改编，争夺编舞荣誉。获胜的编舞随后会由舞者进行表演，参加第二轮比赛，争夺导演荣誉。

结果显示，擅长其中一项并不一定能保证胜任另一项。自2024年起担任女团IVE表演总监的Simeez和前SM娱乐公司表演总监Back Koo-young都赢得了编舞投票，但最终却未能获得导演署名。

“街头女战士 2”冠军战队 Bebe 的队长 Bada 则反其道而行之，在动作设计投票​​中落败后，反而获得了导演的署名权。

该节目还展示了表演指导的大部分工作是在舞池之外进行的。

例如，巴克让舞者们排练后台路线，同时与舞台监督和灯光组协调细节。后来，在被选中执导节目片头后，他将片尾的舞蹈编排委托给了巴达和其他两位参赛选手，最终选择了巴达的版本作为决赛表演。

截图来自Mnet竞技真人秀节目《街头世界格斗：导演之战》，该节目每周二晚10点在Mnet和tvN播出 / 图片由Mnet提供

在海外，由一个人负责监督流行歌手的整体舞台呈现这一概念并不新鲜，尽管在西方流行音乐中，类似的角色通常被称为创意总监或演出总监。

例如，杰米·金曾执导并编排了麦当娜 2001 年的“Drowned World”巡回演唱会，之后又执导了麦当娜的几场世界巡回演唱会，以及布兰妮·斯皮尔斯和蕾哈娜的巡回演唱会。

弗兰克·加斯顿二世曾在 20 世纪 90 年代末帮助塑造了真命天女的形象，后来担任碧昂丝的创意总监，参与了包括 2009 年“I Am…”世界巡回演唱会和 2013 年超级碗中场秀在内的多个项目。

在韩国流行音乐界，随着表演规模和影响力的不断扩大，这一角色也变得愈发重要。如今，艺人们必须在电视舞台、音乐录影带、体育馆和体育场演唱会以及全球音乐节等各种场合展现相同的音乐风格，这对负责将这些元素整合起来的人员提出了更高的要求。

“导演之战”的几位参赛者已经在日益国际化的领域中工作了。

8月18日，在首尔江南区艾琳娜酒店举行的Mnet舞蹈竞技节目《街头世界斗士：导演之战》新闻发布会上，编舞Hash、Kasper、郑敏俊、Ingyoo、Simeez、Babyzoo、Back Koo-young、Bada、Renan和Jo Nain（从左至右）合影。（Newsis）

曾带领 TURNS 舞团在 Mnet 的《街舞少女战士》节目中夺冠而广为人知的 Jo Nain，参与了 Netflix 全球热门动画电影《K-Pop 恶魔猎人》中歌曲《Golden》的编舞指导。

曾担任SM娱乐公司表演总监并指导过SHINee和泰民的Kasper，提供了一个更直接的例子，说明这份工作是如何随着K-pop现场演出规模的扩大而扩展的。今年4月，他负责泰民在科切拉音乐节的演出，泰民也因此成为首位登上该音乐节舞台的韩国男solo歌手。

对业绩的日益重视也开始体现在娱乐公司的组织架构中。在女子组合AtHeart的经纪公司Titan Content，1MILLION Dance Studio的创始人Lia Kim与首席执行官和首席视觉官共同担任首席业绩官，将业绩置于高管层级。

“导演之战”本身就预示着导演行业未来的发展方向。最终的获胜者将有机会执导一场全球颁奖典礼的开场表演——将K-pop曾经主要由编舞承担的角色，以导演的名义搬上了国际舞台。