Amid continued ICE fears, K-Move creates community and comfort

The K-pop cover group provides a space for UMN students to come together to find joy and forget the world during Operation Metro Surge.

At the start of spring semester, members of K-Move, a K-pop cover dance group at the University of Minnesota, began planning for their biggest event of the year: the annual Spring Showcase. In a normal year, practices for the end-of-April event would begin early in the semester, even before classes started. 

But this year was anything but normal. Nearly all of their members were afraid to attend rehearsals. 

Many of K-Move’s dancers are students of color, and part of the group’s mission is to create an inclusive and safe space for students and marginalized communities to connect and share their love for K-pop and dance. K-Move’s practices usually take place at the university’s Recreation and Wellness Center, located across the street from the Graduate hotel — then the site of protests over rumors that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were lodging there.  

“It makes a lot of sense as to why a lot of people weren’t comfortable,” said Safiyya Muhammad, K-Move’s president and a senior at the university. “I personally also didn’t really feel comfortable being on campus. It took me a while, I would say at least the first few weeks of school, for me to fully be OK walking outside.”

Muhammad joined K-Move as a freshman, and the group has been her main way to find community in college. Beyond preserving this connection, protecting the diversity of the group was top-of-mind for her as president.

“As a hijabi myself, seeing a hijabi person on stage, I just know that there’s little girls saying ‘Oh, I can also dance too, and this is not against any rules or laws of who I get to be,’” she said.

Combatting fear together

K-Move’s members were a microcosm of students on campus who did not feel safe leaving their homes at the height of Operation Metro Surge when federal agents filled the streets of Minneapolis. 

Yet like many other students and groups on campus during those weeks, K-Move found a way. The Spring Showcase, the group’s most anticipated event, features live cover performances to K-pop songs that reflect a variety of dance styles and genres. It demands extensive preparation, and members usually spend months learning and refining the choreography — together.

So from the start, the fear had to be combatted. 

Members began walking to and from practices together and made time to check in with each other regularly, Muhammad said. Those who felt comfortable going out offered to drop off groceries for their peers staying home. The result was a strong sense of unity and support among the group.

Many of these routines remained after the federal agents left. 

“If we’re going to the same place or if anyone needs a ride, we’ll all carpool together, just to keep it a little bit more safe,” Muhammad said.

Flexibility was also key. Because so many of their members were reluctant to attend practices, especially in the evening, K-Move’s leaders had to adjust their strict policy for missed showcase practices, Muhammad said. Members’ safety needed to be the priority. 

One K-Move member, who asked to remain anonymous due to concerns for her family’s safety, said she considered dropping out of the showcase entirely because attending practices felt unsafe. But Muhammad, along with the rest of K-Move’s leadership team, created a feeling of safety and support early on.  

“They always try to keep it lighthearted,” the student said. “They always bring snacks.” 

Continuing to practice with her showcase group has been a welcome change of mood, she added.

Forgetting the world and finding joy

K-Move’s members come from many different backgrounds, but they all share an appreciation for K-pop and dance. While some have prior dance experience, others are new to the art form, and Muhammad said this is part of what makes the group special. Members do not have to have expertise to be welcome. 

The group also needed to be a place where people could leave their worries behind and have fun together despite their fears, Muhammad said. Beyond group practices, K-Move hosted a random play dance event, where attendees performed dance choreography to K-pop songs on the spot, held at the RecWell during the height of ICE’s activity in Minneapolis. 

“For a second we could forget about everything that was going on in the world,” Muhammad recalled. “It was nice to just say, ‘Hey, we’re here, right? And we’re not gonna let bad events dictate what we’re gonna do with our time and how we enjoy our time.’ I think that was a very powerful message that I really wanted to send.”

But the group still felt a sense of unease, even after ICE agents left Minneapolis. 

“It’s never really over,” Muhammad said. “I really want to say that there hasn’t been any everlasting impacts, but it’s very hard to say that when our whole world is changing around us.”

Despite everything,  none of it will stop them from doing what they love. 
“Sometimes the show has to go on,” Muhammad said.