Bacolod dance crew wins Changwon K-Pop World Fest Cebu Prelims

A nearly half-day bus journey from their hometown of Bacolod to Cebu City using their own pocket money was worth it for the K-pop dance group X: Encrypted, as they emerged grand champion in the dance category in the Changwon K-Pop World Festival 2025 Cebu preliminaries held June 29 at SM Seaside City.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

They wowed the crowd and the judges with their energetic performance of SEVENTEEN’s “Getting Closer,” donning trendy brown outfits reminiscent of what the actual group might wear on stage.

Much like the K-pop idol group they emulated, X: Encrypted has 13 members: Romeo, James, Eleven, Kean, Lester, Jim, JKen, Bryan, Mint, Joshua, JB, Aki, and Suine.

Explaining why they chose SEVENTEEN as their primary inspiration, Lester said the group’s choreography stood out among others, making it ideal for dance covers.

“What we noticed from SEVENTEEN is their choreography. You can’t have a quality performance if you don’t see how the choreography works, especially if you're participating in a dance competition,” Lester told The FREEMAN.

The members knew each other before forming the group in 2022, having been part of other dance crews in Bacolod.

“It’s a very fun and healthy competition,” Lester described. “There’s always something happening in the dance community in Bacolod because of how diverse it is.”