A San Diego-based dance crew composed of Asian American members is celebrating middle-aged ladies worldwide.
Earlier this month, Ajumma EXP, which has greater than 30 members, introduced pleasure to the streets of San Diego with hip-hop flash mobs in honor of Girls’s Historical past Month, particularly in recognition of Worldwide Girls’s Day on March 8.
In line with Lee Ann Kim, flash mob organizer and co-founder of Ajumma EXP, the crew ready for this occasion for over 5 months. The preparation, which ranged from choreographing to wardrobing, created a particular sense of camaraderie among the many ladies.
Kim informed NextShark that many of the crew’s members had been initially strangers who had come from totally different walks of life, and that a few of them had by no means even danced earlier than. Their shared braveness to do one thing new collectively is what remodeled their group right into a sisterhood, bringing pleasure to “folks all over the world who recognize that life does certainly get higher with age.”
The lengthy months of preparation lastly got here to fruition on March 5 at three San Diego areas: Chicano Park, Trend Valley Mall and Mission Seaside.
Although the time period “ajumma,” which is a Korean phrase for a middle-aged girl, tends to have destructive connotations, Ajumma EXP are reclaiming the title with satisfaction.
On their official web site, the group describe themselves as “fierce ladies who embrace rising older, getting wiser, and having the ability to chortle at ourselves.”
These days, it’s thought-about an insult to be referred to as an Ajumma, however we imagine that Ajummas are fierce, tenacious, and have endured challenges all through their lives. They’ve earned the proper to be who they wish to be, say what they wish to say, and deserve the world’s respect. We’re Ajummas and proud.
Kim recounted the occasion that sparked the creation of Ajumma EXP with buddy and co-founder Sonia Chin.
On Kim’s forty seventh birthday, her mates shocked her by exhibiting up in “ajumma” outfits consisting of brightly patterned floral pants, wise footwear, mismatched tops, visors and, to high all of it off, tightly permed wigs. After a fast outfit change to match the remainder of the group, Kim and her mates headed into city for an evening out.
Regardless of their roaring celebration and attention-grabbing outfits, they acquired little consideration on the bar. This expertise served as a reminder to Kim of how typically ladies are missed merely due to their look.
The craze Kim felt that night time from feeling “invisible” incited her and Chin to create Ajumma EXP after some private introspection into her personal biases. Kim started to consider how she additionally tended to miss and really feel embarrassed by older Asian ladies, much like how she hoped others didn’t understand her. This second of realization led Kim to wish to showcase the vitality of those ladies who stay youthful and succesful below their perms and visors.
“We requested ourselves, what can be essentially the most sudden factor we might do dressed up as ajummas? A flash mob, in fact. And never simply any flash mob, it needs to be hip-hop!” Kim mentioned, highlighting the significance of shock and unpredictability in Ajumma EXP’s performances.
Only one week after Kim’s birthday, Kim and Chin started planning their first flashmob, then efficiently executed it inside two months. Although the group initially practiced in Kim’s storage, they quickly outgrew the area and rented a studio to accommodate their development.
Ajumma EXP member Janet Kim initially joined the group whereas looking for some enjoyable and pleasure, however she ended up discovering way more.
In line with Kim, the ladies of Ajumma EXP “care deeply and aren’t afraid to take dangers.” She described collaborating within the flash mobs as a “whole blast” because it gives the chance to “gown up incognito and dance, whereas stretching not solely our our bodies, but additionally boundaries and expectations.”
For six years and counting, Ajumma EXP have been working tirelessly to defy the stereotype of “undesirable” middle-aged ladies confined to motherhood.
The group’s fearless members have fun ladies of all backgrounds by shining a highlight on the colourful and multifaceted lives of ajummas. With no indicators of slowing down, Ajumma EXP proceed to push boundaries and encourage others.
Previously two years, Ajumma EXP have gone viral in South Korea; carried out in a rap music video for the movie “Summertime” with Dumbfoundead; and even acquired an invite from the White Home to take part in its digital Lunar New Yr commemorations.
These fascinated with becoming a member of Ajumma EXP can contact the group via their web site. Kim emphasised that “no dance expertise [is] wanted, and also you don’t even must be Korean or Asian.” The one requirement to affix their crew is being middle-aged, or extra precisely, “ajumma standing.”
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