Watch BTS’ Dance-Inspired Art Film For New Single ‘Black Swan’

BTS has unveiled their latest single “Black Swan” in the form of an art film featuring the MN Dance Company. Directed by YongSeok Choi, the five-minute video showcases elaborate, impressive choreography by seven dancers from the Slovenian dance company, who take center spotlight with no appearance by the band members themselves.

The video opens with a quote from Martha Graham, an inspiration for the song: “A dancer dies twice – once when they stop dancing, and this first death is more painful.” A press release notes, “Now in ‘Black Swan,’ BTS dives deep into their inner selves as artists and faces the shadows they had once hidden. The song lends voice to their fears that one day music will no longer be able to move or touch them. The very moment they come face to face with the ‘Black Swan’ within themselves, however, they are stricken with a paradoxical realization that music is all they have. It is a confession of an artist who has truly learned what music means to himself.”

“Black Swan” comes off BTS’ upcoming album Map Of The Soul: 7, out February 21st. Pre-orders for the new album surpassed 3.42 million copies in the first week, setting an all-time record for the band. The album is a sequel to the band’s April 2019 EP Map of the Soul: Persona.

Earlier this week, BTS announced that they would be funding 22 art installations in five cities around the world. Conceived and curated by Daehyung Lee, the Connect, BTS project will oversee sculpture and experimental art installations in London, Seoul, New York, Berlin and Buenos Aires. In their video announcement for the project, the members of BTS said that they hoped the project would “send a positive message to the world [and] give back some of the amazing love that we receive.”

Featured via: Rollingstone