For many dancers, joining a dance class is only the beginning.
At Kpop Nonstop Dance Studio, students come together through a shared love for K-pop and dance. Over time, friendships are formed, dancers develop their skills and confidence, and for some, that shared passion grows into something more — including creating K-pop cover groups together and taking their dancing onto the stage.
At Stockholm Kulturfestival 2026, we had the opportunity to bring that part of our community to Sergels torg.
Three K-pop cover groups — ZAENIX, V!SION and ANGELIX — joined Kpop Nonstop’s program with performances in the heart of Stockholm. The majority of the participating dancers across the three groups are students at Kpop Nonstop Dance Studio.
For us, that made their participation particularly meaningful.
We believe that developing as a dancer can happen in many ways. The weekly classes provide a place to learn, train and grow, while performances and other K-pop activities can give students the opportunity to experience the stage, build confidence and put their skills into practice in a completely different environment.
That is why, when suitable opportunities arise, we love being able to look within our own KNS community and invite our students to be part of them.
Stockholm Kulturfestival was one of those moments — and behind each of the groups that joined us is a story of friendship, K-pop and a shared passion for dance.
So we asked ZAENIX and V!SION to tell us a little more about who they are, how their groups came together and where they hope to go next. 💗
MEET ZAENIX
ZAENIX currently consists of seven members. At Stockholm Kulturfestival, the group was represented by Hermina Hellgren, Engla Reyes, Leah Engström and Livia Kaipe.
Many of the members already knew each other through mutual friends, school and other activities, with their shared interest in K-pop helping bring them together.
The story behind their name happened somewhat unexpectedly.
The group originally planned to call themselves Zaerix after playing around with different words. But when one of the members created their email and social media accounts using the name Zaenix, the new name stuck — and ZAENIX was born.
The members discovered K-pop in different ways. For some, BTS was their introduction, while others found K-pop through friends.
Today, ZAENIX usually rehearses around once a week, increasing to two or three times per week ahead of events. A larger cover involving the group can take around two to four months to prepare, while smaller performances sometimes come together much faster.
And with seven dancers come different preferences.
Some members enjoy feminine and elegant girl group choreography, while others are drawn to powerful, hip-hop-influenced boy group performances. Finding something that works for the group is therefore important when choosing what to perform.
They also adapt formations when the original K-pop group has a different number of members and make sure everyone feels comfortable with the choreography, particularly as the group includes minors.
Among their shared inspirations are BTS, ENHYPEN and TXT.
And when asked what characterizes a ZAENIX performance, their answer was considerably simpler:
“We only do songs that are bangers.”
LESS THAN 48 HOURS TO SERGELS TORG
Their Stockholm Kulturfestival performance came with an unexpected challenge.
ZAENIX had prepared a different choreography for the festival, but after discovering that another participating group would be performing the same dance, they decided to change their plans.
That meant learning an entirely new choreography in less than 48 hours before stepping onto the stage at Sergels torg.
The group described feeling very nervous — but also said that getting to perform outdoors in the middle of Stockholm in front of such a large audience was an incredibly fun experience.
And they are already thinking ahead.
ZAENIX wants to continue participating in performances while also creating activities such as Random Dance Plays and open stages, with ambitions to take on more events, competitions and larger stages in the future.
MEET V!SION
V!SION began as five friends and has since grown into a group of eight.
At Stockholm Kulturfestival, all eight members took part: Signe Ekblom, Astrid Ekblom, Alicia Lindqvist, D’angelo Wiesel Kembo, Michelle Mencikovskij, Evelyn Fam, Idil Awil and Anastacia Marques.
The group started when one member suggested creating a K-pop cover group together. Different names were proposed and put to a vote, and V!SION was one of them.
As the group has developed, so has the meaning behind the name. Today, they say it represents the vision they share for what their group can become.
Their journeys into K-pop are different too. Some members have followed K-pop for many years, while others discovered it around 2023, with social media and music videos on YouTube introducing several of them to the genre.
They discovered Kpop Nonstop through events and social media, and today many of V!SION’s members are part of the KNS student community.
The group normally trains once a week, adding more rehearsals as a performance approaches. Taking a choreography from the first rehearsal to the stage usually takes around two to three months.
When choosing a dance, enjoying what they are performing is important. If opinions differ, the group usually follows the choice preferred by the majority.
Their inspirations include Brotherhood Dance Crew, 1405/Earth E and Leejung Lee, while several members particularly enjoy the feminine qualities of girl group choreography.
RETURNING TO STOCKHOLM KULTURFESTIVAL
For V!SION, Sergels torg was familiar territory — but that did not make stepping onto the stage any less exciting.
This was the group’s second consecutive year performing at Stockholm Kulturfestival.
They had spent a longer period preparing “Focus”, which helped them feel confident in the choreography, but performing at such a central location in Stockholm still brought plenty of nerves.
Their ambitions now reach even further. V!SION hopes to perform for larger audiences, continue developing their stage presence and keep growing together as a group.
MEET ANGELIX
ANGELIX joined Kpop Nonstop’s program at Stockholm Kulturfestival with four dancers: Ella Eklöw, Bella Zhang, Alice Konradsson and Paulina Durmic.
The group took part in the K-pop performance program at Sergels torg, bringing their energy and passion for K-pop dance to the stage alongside ZAENIX and V!SION.
Several of the dancers are part of the KNS student community, which made it especially meaningful for us to have ANGELIX join us for the day.
FROM THE DANCE STUDIO TO NEW EXPERIENCES
Seeing ZAENIX, V!SION and ANGELIX step onto the Stockholm Kulturfestival stage represents something that is very close to what we want Kpop Nonstop to be.
Dance education is at the heart of our studio. But around the classes, we also want to create a community where students can meet others who share their passion, build confidence and continue discovering what they can do with their dancing.
For some students, their goal is simply to come to class every week and enjoy dancing to the music they love. For others, that journey may eventually include performing, joining a cover group or exploring the stage.
There is no single path a KNS student needs to follow.
But when opportunities for performances, collaborations and K-pop activities come our way, we want to continue creating space for our students to experience them whenever it is a good fit.
Seeing dancers who train with us develop their own ambitions, support one another and then step onto a stage like Stockholm Kulturfestival at Sergels torg is something we are incredibly happy to be part of.
Because sometimes a dance class can lead to much more than learning the next choreography. It can lead to new friendships, new confidence, new experiences — and sometimes, a stage in the middle of Stockholm. 💗