THE YOUNG WOLF HOWLS

THIS IS HOWL LEE AND YOU'RE MEETING THIS YOUNG KOREAN DANCER BEFORE HE BECOMES ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S HOTTEST DANCE SENSATIONS.

- FARHAN SHAH

MY FIRST ENCOUNTER with Howl Lee came through a Korean dance studio's YouTube channel. I loved watching their choreography and am always left awed by the instructors' movements. So, when Lee's name popped up in the title of the studio's latest video, I clicked on it immediately, curious to know who this new instructor was. They've had many guest instructors, but something about Lee's body control and pulsations demanded attention and a closer look.

It's hard to describe his visceral, mesmeric movements in words, so for the first time in my writing career, I suggest you stop reading this temporarily and fire up YouTube to search for Lee's choreography in Chris Brown's 'Under The Influence'.

I'll wait. Did you notice the hypnotic fluidity of his movements? How he flows effortlessly from one move to the other with barely any hitches? The man is a movement savant. In a sense, he doesn't dance as much as he lets the song’s beats flow through his veins rhythmically. Lee, however, reveals he began dancing later in life than other icons such as Michael Jackson and Fred Astaire, who started at the tender ages of six and five, respectively. "I danced for the first time when I was 13. It was for a talent show at my elementary school and my friends asked me if I wanted to join them,” Lee reminisces.

On that stage, there were no winners or losers. But dancing to the K-pop song ‘Fiction’ by Beast made Lee realise he really enjoyed letting his body move with wild abandon. The following year, he and his friends entered the talent show again. And again, the year after that. Soon, they were regular dance fixtures, spinning and swivelling their way into the hearts of those watching their shows. More importantly, Lee realised he wanted to pursue dance as his career.