Top Kiwi dancers bring K Pop down under

Top Kiwi dancers bring K Pop down under

Auckland's Albany mall has been treated to some heavyweight dance talent.

Two Kiwi world-class K Pop dancers are back in New Zealand after touring the world with the likes of Beyoncé and Justin Bieber.

It's a long way from South Korea to Auckland, but Rina Chae and Kyle Tutin are bringing a taste of K Pop home.

The Korean cultural wave has spread worldwide.

"When I was dancing for an artist called IEU in LA, I saw people lining up since 4am just to get the ticket, with their sleeping bag around their shoulders, and I'm like, 'This is crazy'," Chae says.

"When I was performing and I was looking at the audience, they knew the lyrics, Korean lyrics, front to back, and some of them even knew the choreography. That's how big it's grown."

And New Zealand is no exception. When Chae went to a K Pop audition in Auckland, she was astounded by the popularity.

"There were so many people of all kinds auditioning and I just knew wow, this has really taken over."

The K Pop industry has evolved to produce some of the best pop craftsmanship in the world, and the phenomenon owes a lot to South Korean star Psy.

His hit 'Gangnam Style' had more than two billion hits on YouTube.

Chae is leading a dance troupe to showcase a combination of K Pop and urban dance moves in Albany as part of a project funded by the Auckland City Council.

It's a pilot programme to push diverse arts out from the city centre and into other parts of the city.

Albany is home to a large South Korean population, so they've brought K Pop to the local mall.

It's change of scene for Chae, who is heavyweight dance talent -- she's toured with Beyoncé and Justin Bieber, while Tutin worked with Parris Goebel.

They've ridden the K Pop wave all the way to the top, and now back down under.

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