Bite Review: Kiiikiii’s Retro Aesthetics Capture Real Emotion in “Dancing Alone”

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Though they just debuted in February, Kiiikiii have already stood out for their superb visual branding, with attention paid to unifying music, marketing, and music videos. Kiiikiii’s social media accounts teased their latest single ”Dancing Alone” with the line: “Found the DVD in an old box, figured we’d put it up on our garage sale.” With faux-DVD packaging recalling 80s Hollywood movies like Dirty Dancing and The Breakfast Club, the visual concept for “Dancing Alone” matches the retro synths in the song. As with other Kiiikiii singles, the magic comes from the creative synergy of music and visuals.

“Dancing Alone” feels like pure nostalgia, evoking the joys of summers as a teenager. A synthpop song with bright, catchy melodies, “Dancing Alone” may not add new flavors to the genre, but it does not need to. The blend of 80s and Y2K sounds and aesthetics helps it feel both specific and timeless. The MV’s warm lighting adds to the nostalgic feeling, creating the impression for viewers that we are reliving memories.

However, much of Kiiikiii’s intended audience would not remember any of the time periods evoked in the MV. Kiiikiii’s team acknowledges this reality, as their website, which advertises the DVDs and a host of other fake Y2K-era products, prominently features a pop-up defining “anemoia” as “the feeling of nostalgia for a time one has never known.”

The movie concept of “Dancing Alone” is thus a particularly savvy choice for portraying the MV’s themes. Movies immerse us in their heightened realities. Most people have not experienced youth as depicted in a teen movie, but all who have seen one have those images as a reference point. They are, in some ways, encoded in our minds like memories.

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“Dancing Alone” draws upon movies as shorthand for memories, but is also interested in creating them. MV director Jinooya Makes, who was also at the helm of “I Do Me,” uses cinema-like aesthetics with hyper-saturated colors that are more vibrant than those in reality. The color grading and overall cinematography reflect the vivid impressions that our most compelling memories leave.

The beginning of the MV seeks to leave an impression of the powerful self-expression of dancing alone. In early scenes, Haum practices ballet and ribbon dance, while Leesol uses a mop handle as a microphone as whirls around her house. Leesol’s scene is particularly fun, reminding us of times when we might have experienced that genuine joy. Even the group choreography, however, aptly fits the “dancing alone” concept. With the members energetically whipping their hair, waving their arms, and jumping around to the beats of the song, the lively choreography mimics the unrestrained freedom we feel when no one is watching us.

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Overall, though, the MV depicts the power of friendship, with scenes of members swimming in a lake, sharing earphones during class, fixing each other’s hair… or hugging each other when one is upset. As Haum and Leesol sing in their stirring runs in the pre-chorus, “Day and night, I’m by your side.” The MV also shows all of the group holding hands or taking pictures, particularly in slow-mo scenes during the instrumental outro. “Dancing Alone” ends the message that we also feel free and authentically ourselves around close friends.

It may seem ironic that “Dancing Alone” portrays authenticity through recreating movie scenes. While the MV’s cinematic references and bright color palette bring it far from realism, it still has a relatable emotional core. The MV’s specific imagery may not reflect viewers’ lived experience, but the emotions “Dancing Alone” captures are entirely genuine.

(YouTube. Instagram. Kiiikiii. Images via Starship En