BLACKPINK Choreographer Reveals Which ‘Iconic’ Act Almost Made a Cameo at Band’s Coachella Set

On stage, the four ladies of BLACKPINK make their intricate, dynamic dance moves look effortless. But in reality, it takes a lot of work to bring to life the vision of choreographers such as Kiel Tutin, who recently broke down some of the most iconic numbers he’s crafted for the girl group.

In a video for Page Six published Monday (Oct. 27), Tutin shared insight into how everything from BLACKPINK’s iconic “Pink Venom” routine to the foursome’s headlining Coachella set in 2023 came to be. Of the former — which would earn members ROSÉ, LISA, JISOO and JENNIE the VMA for best choreography — the instructor explained that he thinks the group’s memorable dance for the 2022 single helped propel them to new heights (thanks in part to a particular pop superstar).

“The girls performed [‘Pink Venom’] at the VMAs, Taylor Swift was dancing to it, and it was on her playlists for her shows,” Tutin said of the number. “It was a really big hit, and probably, hopefully led to us being the contender for headliner at Coachella.”

Indeed, “Pink Venom” was a huge success for the quartet, with the track reaching No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. When it came time for BLACKPINK to make history as the first K-pop act to ever headline Coachella, Tutin came aboard as creative director as well as choreographer.

“I’m a huge, huge girl group fan,” he gushed in the video. “My first love was the Spice Girls, and then my second love — and ultimately my biggest love — is a U.K. girl group called Girls Aloud.”

The latter band’s “iconic” number featuring feather fans at the 2009 BRIT Awards would inspire the creative direction of BLACKPINK’s performance of “Typa Girl” in the desert. Meanwhile, Tutin and his team considered tapping the former to make a cameo during the headlining set, he revealed.

“We did explore the idea of guest acts,” Tutin told the outlet. “I only wanted to explore that if it was someone equally as iconic. Something we definitely explored looking into was the Spice Girls. [It] would have been epic, but ultimately we decided that BLACKPINK didn’t need any guest act, and they could hold down the stage by themselves.”

Throughout the video, Tutin praised the band’s work ethic, revealing that ROSÉ, LISA, JISOO and JENNIE had only three to five days to rehearse for Coachella. Two years later, the group is currently on tour after taking a short break to pursue solo projects. BLACKPINK’s next stop is set for Nov. 1 in Jakarta.

Watch Tutin break down his work with BLACKPINK below.