K-pop (Korean pop) reigns as a global phenomenon, with the top 100 K-pop artists of 2023 boasting a combined 90.4 billion audio and video streams worldwide, according to luminatadata.com. The emergence of K-pop dance teams across college campuses highlights the genre’s popularity, with one such team finding its home at UT. Kontrol Crew Texas (KTX) serves as a cover-based K-pop/urban dance team that welcomes diversity in its dancers.
Since its founding in 2021, KTX continues to curate a safe and inclusive space for dancers of all levels and backgrounds. Tanishqa Kharat, a biology junior and KTX member, said she first saw the group perform at a talent show, which prompted her to join.
“Whenever I saw KTX, I saw that they were very diverse. I felt like I would fit in whenever I joined,” Kharat said. “They’re very welcoming and helped me a lot with my social anxiety.”
The group performs at events and competitions across the UT campus and Austin, including the Women In Medicine’s Got Talent Show, Unity Talent Show and Zilker Park Trail of Lights. In addition to showcasing their dance moves on the stage, KTX performs and films K-pop dance covers in public locations, including Speedway and The Domain. The film team, also composed of KTX members, films and edits all of the covers.
“We also want to film (dances) and put them on YouTube so other K-pop fans globally can see our covers,” said Sai Veda Rallabandi, a design junior and KTX media director.
As many of their covers and performances are posted publicly, the group occasionally receives negative comments. However, Rallabandi said she thinks of the comments more like jokes.
“We are just people who like (K-pop) and we like the dance aspect of it and just want to have a community of people who like to do that,” Rallabandi said. “It makes you feel so good to dress up and get filmed. It’s a nice feeling to feel like you’re the star of something.”
For the future, co-creative director and early childhood education third year Glorie-Eve Esquivel, said she hopes KTX continues to build a presence within the K-pop dance community. She thinks over time that KTX can become one of the more well-known teams, while also maintaining their roots.
“I want us to remember we were focused on making a journey as (members grow through) dance and also continuing to have an inclusive and diverse environment,” Esquivel said.
Aside from serving as an organization that helps its members grow as dancers, KTX emphasizes creating a close-knit community where members can foster friendships.
“It sounds so cliché, but we are a family,” Esquivel said. “These are the friendships that are going to last even when I leave UT, and I think a lot of our members can also attest to that statement.”
For students interested in joining, Esquivel encourages them to give it a go.
“If you’re looking for a team that is going to welcome you with open arms and give you a story that you won’t forget when you’re in college,” Esquivel said, “KTX is one of those teams.”
