COBU is a combination of Japanese Taiko drumming and Broadway tap dancing.
Described as “Dance like Drumming, Drum like Dancing”.
Make Your Move, (formerly Cobu 3D) is a movie that debuts Derek Hough (Dancing with the Stars) and BoA Kwon (Queen of Pop in Asia) in their first film in leading roles. The film debuted in July 2013 in some European countries, and on April 17-18, 2014 in Korea and the United States. This film was a limited release.
The movie follows Aya (played by Kwon), a young Korean dancer, who lives in New York City and is the leader of her all female dance crew, COBU. Aya falls in love with Donny (played by Hough), a gritty and edgy hoofer, who moves from New Orleans to New York to help his foster brother Nick (played by Wesley Jonathan) run one of the hottest underground dance clubs in the city.
Aya and Donny’s love story soon parallels the classic “Romeo & Juliet” love story as they find themselves at the center of a bitter rivalry between their brothers’ underground dance clubs.
Four years ago, Make Your Move fans (originally Cobu 3D fans) viewed the story of Aya and Donny, two twenty-somethings who fell in love despite their divergents backgrounds and the opposition from their families.
Aya, played by BoA Kwon, was a sweet Korean gal whose brother had opened an underground nightclub.
Donny, played by Derek Hough, was a caucasian with a criminal record who was taken in by a black family. His ‘adopted’ brother owned a rival underground nightclub as well.
Despite the odds, the in-love couple found a way to unite everyone and to keep their relationship intact. The uniqueness of this traditional Romeo and Juliet saga was primarily due to the dance scenes which included a combination of tap, hip hop, and Japanese Cobu dancing. (Originally filmed to be shown in 3D, the released version was 2D.)
What are our two stars, BoA Kwon and Derek Hough up to today? That’s the purpose of this brief review.
BoA Kwon
Multi-talented BoA Kwon, also known as the Korean Queen of Pop is a singer, dancer, songwriter, music producer, and actress.
The beautiful BoA Kwon has been busy since the release of Make Your Move doing what she does best, singing (in Korean, Japanese, or English), dancing, starring in music videos, performing on tour, magazine modeling, and acting in movies and on TV shows. Let’s take a look.
2014
Released her 35th Japanese single, “Shout It Out”
Released the single “Masayume Chasing”. (Used as the fifteenth opening song for the Japanese cartoon, “Fairy Tail”)
Released her 8th Japanese studio album, “Who’s Back?”
Supporting acting role in her first Korean film, Big Match
Cast of movie, Venus Talk
2015
Released her 8th Korean album, “Kiss My Lips,” in which she wrote all the songs
Solo concert, BoA Special Live 2015 at the Sejong Center (location not usually available to pop music performances)
Released her 39th Japanese single, Lookbook
2016
Released an English language single, “Make Me Complete”
Leading role in the 12-episode Korean TV serial“Listen to Love”
Cast of TV series, My Wife’s Having an Affair This Week
2017
Tour in Tokyo and Osaka, BoA The Live in Billboard Live
Leading role in the romance movieAutumn Sonata(Autumn Post Office) with Lee Hak-joo. This is a Korean romance film about a woman who loves someone she can’t have. In this film, BoA plays a terminally ill patient. This film is billed as BoA’s first leading role, however Make Your Move was actually her first leading role.
The similarity to Make Your Move is that the director for Autumn Sonata was a rookie, just as Duane Adler was a rookie director for Make Your Move. The similarities stop there, however, as this film had much better critical success, and was completely sold out to raving audiences at the Jeonju International Film Festival.
Master of Ceremonies of the Korean talent search TV show “Produce 101 Season 2”
2018
Japanese nationwide tour, BoA The Live 2018 “Unchained”
Released a Japanese album, “Unchained”
Released a mini album, “One Shot, Two Shot” in Korea
Released her 9th Japanese album, “Watashi Konomama De linokana”
Good friends, Yunho and BoA
Derek Hough
Often referred to as the modern Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, Derek Hough has always wanted to be known as an overall entertainer, not just a dancer. Dancing is in his genes, but so is art, music production, singing, songwriting, directing, choreographing and authoring.
Derek loves to experiment with light and sound and visuals, and to be involved in all aspects of musical performance production. Though he has not acted in another movie since Make Your Move, he has acted on several TV shows and in a TV musical. Let’s take a look.
2014
Recurring acting role as a love interest for Juliette Barnes on the TV show, Nashville
New York Times best selling author for his book Taking the Lead: Lessons Learned from a Life in Motion
Sold-out national tour (42-city), Move Live on Tour, a celebration of dance, with Julianne Hough and their professional troupe
2015
Won 2nd Creative Emmy award for Outstanding Choreography for his work on Dancing With the Stars
Won Season 21 Dancing With the Stars TV competition with Bindi Irwin, his sixth win. Derek is the only six-time champion in the franchise history of Dancing With the Stars worldwide.
Male leading role in the off-Broadway production, New York Spring Spectacular with the world famous Rockettes
New York Times best selling author for the second time for Taking the Lead: Lessons Learned from a Life in Motion
Second sold-out national tour (42-city), Move Live on Tour, another celebration of dance, with Julianne Hough and their professional troupe.
2016– Acting Role of Corny Collins in the NBC TV musical version of Hairspray
2017
Choreographer and performer in a variety of music videos that he calls “Passion Videos.” These include “Hold On,” “It’s Not Over Until I Win,” “Breathe You,” “Me in 30-Seconds,” “Kairos”
Music video director and performer in Michael Buble’s video, “I Believe in You”
Covered (sings a new performance of someone else’s song) “Hands Down” by Dashboard Confessional and “Ashes of Eden” by Breaking Benjamin
Songwriter and singer for “Hold On,”“Breath You,”“Move,” and “Kairos”
Third sold-out national tour (48 cities, 55 shows, 59 days), Move BEYOND Live on Tour, an enhanced, interactive celebration of dance, with Julianne Hough and their professional troupe
Judge on the TV show World of Dance with Jennifer Lopez and Ne Yo (one of BoA’s favorite musicians)
Derek left ABC and Dancing With the Stars where he had called home for 17 seasons to join Jennifer Lopez’s World of Dance
2018
Vocal singing role with Breaking Benjamin on their new release, “The Dark of You”
Judge for the second season of the hit TV dance competition show, “World of Dance”
Move Experience: the Retreat, all-day events, in which Derek and his sister Julianne Hough inspire participants to dance, move, and sweat in a positive, wellness and energetic environment
Thanks for joining us for this anniversary special. If you have never seen Make Your Move or you want to see it again, it’s available for purchase or for viewing on Amazon Prime here.
Before you go, let’s watch Aya and Donny one more time. 🙂
April 17 and April 18 marks the 3rd anniversary in Korea and the United States of Make Your Move (formerly Cobu 3D) starring BoA Kwon and Derek Hough. To staunch BoA and Derek fans, the anniversary is bittersweet. We sorrow at the lack of promotion of this independent film that we watched being filmed for over two years beginning in April 2011. We so wanted this film to do well. Oh well! No matter what, we remember fondly the beautiful and amazing dance scenes between this powerful couple.
Wanna reminisce with us? You can! Or did you miss the film? Not too late. Watch the film or rent it here. Very reasonably priced.
Recently, our friends over at PureDerekHough.com found a site that put together a video that lists their TOP TEN favorite movies. Make Your Move makes their list;it’s their number four pick. (We like their thinking.) See the video below (BoA and Derek are at the 2.37 mark).
For more reminiscing, see our post from 2015 with lots of visuals. Click here.
The release of Make Your Move starring Derek Hough as Donny and BoA Kwon as Aya has come and gone, yet we’d like to reminisce a bit on the movie because the month of April is its anniversary. 🙂 It was two years ago, on April 17, 2014, that Make Your Move was released in South Korea, followed by its release on April 18 in the US. How long we had waited!
Many of us had followed the cast and crew of Cobu 3D for 3 years, beginning in April of 2011. We sought pictures, listened to all the interviews, tweeted with the cast, and read everything we could get our hands on. We suffered through all the delays, eagerly awaiting the official release. And once the film was released, we sighed at the lack of promotion of this intriguing dance film (see here).It had been some journey, right?
For old time’s sake, let’s walk down Memory Lane. Below are just a few pictures, videos, interviews, etc. Enjoy this nostalgic, sentimental look back!
VIDEOS
We absolutely loved this exclusive behind-the-scenes video that was released to us by High Top Releasing! In the video, we gained a little inside-look of how the dance scenes were created for the film and how the diverse music was incorporated into MAKE YOUR MOVE. We got nice interviews too from Duane Adler, Derek Hough, BoA Kwon, Napoleon and Tabitha D’Umo, and Yako Miyamoto!
How about this beautiful, romantic, sexy and exquisite video! (Thanks to xkjcharmed21x at Youtube who created it.) The chemistry between Derek and BoA melted the screen! Sigh…. 🙂 They are still our favorite couple to ship. 🙂
PHOTO GALLERIES
You can’t deny the incredible chemistry that Derek Hough and BoA had together on screen in MAKE YOUR MOVE as we watched their characters ‘Donny’ and ‘Aya’ fall in love!
Check out this photo gallery of scenes from Make Your Move of our favorite moments of Donny & Aya! Don’t you just want to go “Awwwww!”?
BoA and Derek rehearsing
1. What are these two people doing?
Aya and Donny Must Decide
1. What are these two people doing?
Enjoy this brief slideshow below of @MYMtheMovies’s marketing teasers. Such neat phrases that say it all. 🙂
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Below are a few movie stills. Do you recall the scenes and the circumstances surrounding them?
THE MUSIC: OFFICIAL SOUND TRACK
Some of our most popular posts on this site have been the ones about the music. Below are a few of the songs. You can get the Official Soundtrack (OST) on iTunes.
Derek Hough
Don’t you just love the wonderful and memorable song written by Derek, and especially the romantic scene that he and BoA danced to?
Let Me In
Michael Corcoran and Eric Goldman
Eric Goldman and Michael Thomas (Cochoran)
Let Me In Written by Michael Corcoran, Eric Goldman, and Derek Hough
Performed by Michael Corcoran (during the film) and BoA (during end credits). Sample of the Song by BoA
K-Pop Artists
From Lust Til Dawn (Nu Abo) Written by Mich Hansen, Engelina Larsen, Jose Aguirre Lopez, and Thomas Troelsen
Performed by F(x) Sample of the Song
Say Yes
Written by Johannes Joergensen and Daneil Klein
Performed by Jessica of Girls’ Generation, Krystal of F(x), and KRIS of EXO-M Sample of the Song
Runnin’ On Empty
Written by Peter Habib, March Joseph, Adam Nierow, and Yaroslav Vynnytsky
Performed by TVXQ Sample of the Song
Cheap Creeper
Written by Michael Gusbee and Kalle Engstrom
Performed by Girls’ Generation Sample of the Song
Shannon LaBrie
Shannon LaBrie
You Found Me
Written and Performed by Shannon LaBrie Entire Song
Felicia Barton
Felicia Barton
Catching Shadows
Written by Amy Powers and Matthew Tishler
Performed by Felicia Barton Sample of the Song
Other Artists
Everybody (DPPLGNGRS Remix)
Written and Performed by IDC Sample of the Song
NOSTALGIC WRAP-UP
No review would be complete without the now famous Official trailer. How many times have we each watched this? Be honest! 🙂
As our final offering for our walk down Memory Lane — for one last time — let’s watch this incredibly sweet “Goodnight” scene between Donny and Aya.
Hope you enjoyed this flashback of Make Your Move (aka Cobu 3D) and all the fond memories it may have evoked. It’s been sweet preparing it for you!
Thanks for stopping by our website and supporting us all these years! It’s been a blast! From all of us at MakeYourMoveFans: “Over and Out!” 🙂
Despite the original limited release of “Make Your Move”, there are now multiple ways for Derek Hough and BoA fans to see the movie that was officially released in the United States on April 18, 2014. In a previous blog, we mentioned that the film is available for rental or purchase on iTunes, Vudu, Amazon, or Comcast On-Demand. Here is that blog.
And now, beginning January 2, 2015, the movie will be available on TV in the US for HBO subscribers (Home Box Office). If you are not a subscriber, contact your local cable company for details. (Additional fees may apply.) Provided your cable company is showing the movie, here is the schedule for the film.
The dancing in this movie makes it a must-see, as well as some of the original music by artists such as Super Junior, TVXQ, Shannon LaBrie, F(x), Girls’ Generation, and the featured song by Derek Hough “Let Me In.” Of course, Derek Hough is not hard on the eyes, nor is BoA, which makes this movie really easy to watch. 🙂
Other stars in this film directed by Duane Adler, the screenwriter of the Step Up films, are Will Yun Lee, Wesley Jonathan, Miki Ishikawa, Jefferson Brown, Yako Yakamoto, Rich Gonzalez, Michael Mando, and a special guest cameo from Korean pop sensation, Yunho.
Check out “Make Your Move” on HBO, available beginning January 2. What a great way to start the New Year. Treat yourself.
The release of Make Your Move starring Derek Hough as Donny and BoA Kwon as Aya has come and gone, yet some fans tend to reminisce. Nothing wrong with that. 🙂
Here’s a new poster (to us) that has surfaced. If you were a fan, doesn’t it just make you want to see the movie again? And below, how about watching Derek Hough and listening to the song he wrote, Let Me In?
Let’s catch up with the two leading stars of Make Your Move, which was released earlier this year in Korea and in the United States. If you missed the film, it is available on DVD or Blu Ray. Just for the dancing and the music from American and K-Pop artists alone, the film is so worth it.
DEREK HOUGH (plays Donny) – The five-time champ of Dancing With the Stars and Emmy Award winner in choreography is back for his 14th season. Derek’s partner for the season Bethany Mota, a young You Tube vlogger with millions of subscribers. Recently Derek and Bethany had the opportunity to perform to Gene Kelly’s iconic song, Singin’ In the Rain. Click here for more details, and a video of the performance.
Derek is also going to appear in four episodes of the popular ABC show Nashville. Derek will appear for the first time on October 8 in an episode entitled, “I Can’t Get Over You to Save My Life.” Below is a promo of his appearance.
BOA KWON (plays Aya) – BoA has been involved in a comeback tour in Japan, the release of a new single,”Masayume Chasing”, as well as a new album entitled, Who’s Back?. Just recently, she completed a SMtown Concert in Tokyo for 2 days with other SM entertainment label mates.
In filmography, BoA is set to make her domestic film debut in a Korean movie called Big Match. The film is a techno-crime thriller about the happenings at a gambling house. In the film, she plays Soo-Kyung (a woman of mystery). The film is to be released in December 2014.
We all know that critics can be harsh, especially when they critique a movie on what it “isn’t” rather than what it “is.” Make Your Move was released in the United States on April 18 to mixed reviews, some critics damned the film based on its the plot, while others absolutely delighted in it. Hmmmm. Well which is it?
However, thank goodnessthat most all critics agree that the dancing in this “dance” film is absolutely TOPS. Below are some reviews for you to read about how this movie fares with the critics. Click on the links to see the full reviews.
Story-wise, there are a number of complications involving permits, gunshots, viral videos, and sibling rivalry, but Adler is wise enough to blaze through this material, keeping the focus of the film on the dance routines and the sexual chemistry. … There’s a bit of electricity coming off this thing — no guilt in taking pleasure.
Make Your Move doesn’t break ground in the world of fiction, but its high-energy, does-what’s-advertised pleasures will leave plenty of viewers tapping their feet. Recommended.
“Make Your Move” is one of the best movies about dancing and expressing the feelings through the moves, about passion, hard work and, of course, love. … To say more, I was really amazed by the incredible choreography, the soundtracks were fabulous as well, and I absolutely love the cast and the crew … “Make Your Move” is an amazing movie about dancing, passion, love and so much more ….
Duane Adler’s Make Your Move (not to be confused with Step Up, Take the Lead, Stomp the Yard, or any other dance films with an imperative verb in the title) is everything a dance film needs to be. It has dance-talented leads, a hugely charismatic lead actress, an interesting enough story, and enough dance sequences to keep the movie afloat. Indeed, there is a dance sequence in the middle of Make Your Move wherein our handsomely bland hero Donny (Derek Hough) and our chirpy and wonderful heroine Aya (Korean pop idol BoA) seduce and undress one another – in dance – as a form of foreplay. The foreplay dance is one of the best dance numbers I’ve seen in any dance film.
“Make Your Move” has a pretty complicated plot, involving corporate sponsorship, event planning, career moves for dancers, visa and immigration issues, not to mention various family dramas and burgeoning romance. It’s a lot to absorb. But a movie like “Make Your Move” rests on the success of its various dance sequences, not its plot. And the dancing here is exciting, innovative, and specific.
“Make Your Move” has an underlying sweetness that serves it well. … It features a diverse cast, accurately reflecting the dance world and its inhabitants. Adler and Middleton know that when we come to a dance movie, we want a chance to see, really see, those dances. They find a way to do just that.
The Romeo and Juliet-inspired plotline basically serves as a framing device allowing the opportunity for a plethora of exuberant dance sequences that particularly show off Hough’s considerable talent. Although it takes a while for the main characters to hook up, Hough’s Donny seals the deal with an impromptu dance duet in which he removes his shirt to reveal his admirably chiseled torso. While the Astaire-Rogers movies used dance as a metaphor for sex, in these modern variations it’s an elaborate form of foreplay.
Duane Adler, the writer of “Step Up” and “Save the Last Dance,” capably directs “Make Your Move,” a soapy, flashy confection that juxtaposes Mr. Hough’s tap dancing with the Japanese drumming style Taiko, tossed with liberal helpings of contemporary hip-hop moves. Mr. Hough, a “Dancing With the Stars” champion, impresses with his footwork and sufficiently fulfills his romantic-lead duties.
Duane Adler’s film is a celebration of cultural hybridization. Its core dance styles are a wonderfully frenetic fusion of tap and hip-hop and a truly novel blend of Japanese taiko drumming and K-pop girl-group choreography.
Director Duane Adler’s energetic dance flick is bound to be dismissed as a “Step Up” wannabe. But most of that series’ recent sequels were not as good as “Make Your Move.”
The wide variety of music and dance styles are sure to entice even the most non-dance friendly of viewers as per writer and director Duane Adler’s time-tested dance romance movie skills. The film is vivid, gorgeous, and definitely worth a watch.
…You probably haven’t seen taiko drumming to dub step underscoring plus all kinds of dreamy, fluid modern and hip-hop dancing in one sweet movie, so now you can!
Haven’t you seen Make Your Move yet? Or maybe you’ve seen it, but would like to see it again, yes? Well, why not heat things up tonight by watching Donny and Aya and their amazing chemistry and their out-of-this world dancing? While you’re at it, be mesmerized by the awesome displays of group dancing and Japanese taiko drumming. Truly, this movie is quite possibly the dance film of the decade?
Make Your Move starring Derek Hough and BoA was released for such a short time and in only a limited number of theaters, but we want everyone who enjoys dance flicks to be able to savor this movie. The dancing is that good. Here are four ways you can still see this movie.
Try iTunes. For just $14.99, you can download into your iTunes library your very own copy in HD, or for just $12.99 in SD. Or if you wish, you can rent the film in HD for $4.99 or in SD at $3.99. Such a deal! (We recommend you buy your very own copy, however, for the bonus features.)
To buy the DVD with the bonus features (deleted scenes, how Derek and BoA learned their choreographed routines), Amazon is the way to go. You can purchase the DVD for $22.81 or in Blu-Ray™ for $25.89. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can have your very own copy for $14.96 or $19.95 respectively. Amazon Prime members can even rent it for $3.99. Head over to Amazon.com, if you want to watch it this way.
While you’re there, take a look at Derek Hough’s new book, Taking the Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion. The Make Your Move DVD and Derek’s new book can be purchased together for just $30.77. Such a deal! 🙂 Or, if you just want an autographed copy of the book, you can go here.
Do you have access to Vudu ? Vudu is available on virtually every internet-connected Blu-ray™ player and HD TV on the market. You can download a copy of Make Your Move for only $14.99 in HD, $$13.99 in SD. Or you can rent a copy for $5.99 in HDX, $4.99 in HD and $3.99 in SD. Go to Vudu, if you want to watch it this way.
Are you connected to a cable company and have access to On-Demand features? If so, then you can watch the movie on your own TV. For example, Comcast rents Make Your Move On-Demand for $5.99 in HD, $4.99 in SD. Turn on your TV and check it out. Here’s a brief clip from Xfinity Comcast’s On-Demand of Aya’s Drum class. Remember that scene? Or check out the movie trailer.
Just to entice you more, check out this behind-the-scenes clip of Make Your Move…and then — make sure you go get your own copy. 🙂
Below is a brief clip taken from the bonus features of the new Make Your Move DVD. Derek and others talk about Derek’s experience while working on the film, and how he put his heart and soul into learning how to tap dance. For the complete version of his experience, make sure you buy the DVD itself. The Making of the Movie feature is awesome, as well as the Deleted Scenes.
MakeYourMove3D Fans 