Seoul: Mnet's hit dance competition show "Street Woman Fighter" featuring talented female dancers has expanded to a global scale with its new season, "World of Street Woman Fighter." Explaining the planning background for the latest and third season, producer Choi Jung-nam said she became confident in the idea of featuring foreign dancers while shooting the second season.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during Season 2, survival episodes included international dance crews. This experience convinced Choi Jung-nam that a whole season could be dedicated to introducing these international dancers to Korean viewers. She elaborated on this vision during a press conference in Seoul.
Premiering in August 2021, the original show immediately captured viewers' attention with its fierce competition among highly skilled female dancers who play a vital role in the K-pop industry. The show has demonstrated dance as an independent art form, not merely a component of the K-pop music scene.
The latest installment features an international competition between six teams from five countries: South Korea, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, and Australia. Mnet stated that top-tier crews representing their nations will compete to determine the true world-class dance crew.
Park Jin-young, founder and head of JYP Entertainment, joins the show as a judge, alongside Mike Song, co-founder of the renowned dance crew The Kinjaz. Aliya Janell, a renowned choreographer who has performed as a dancer on Beyonce's tours, also joins as a special judge.
Park expressed that, although he is involved in many aspects of the entertainment industry, dance comes most naturally to him, as he started out as a backup dancer. He shared his excitement about enjoying the program with such a talented group of dancers, noting that the show's atmosphere is so immersive that he often forgets he's filming a show. He tries to judge based on his instant reactions to the performances.
The production process faced challenges, particularly with translation, as it involves Korean, English, and Japanese. The producer mentioned that a team of translators, three times the number of the production staff, is working to address these language barriers. Despite potential rough spots, the producer hopes viewers will focus on and anticipate the dancers' body language.
"World of Street Woman Fighter" is set to premiere at 10 p.m. Tuesday on Mnet.