IF you’re BTS ARMY and you have not been blown away by the Michael Jackson-inspired video of Jeon Jungkook’s latest solo song, Standing Next to You, then you have probably been asleep for some time. White socks, pelvic thrusts and all, the choreography by Fil-Am Keone Madrid is precise, exact, and dazzling—although we have come to expect no less from JK, our ludicrously talented Golden Maknae.
On the subject of Pinoy pride, however, a dancer on JK’s constant entourage since he debuted Seven last July, the first single off his debut album Golden launched last November 3, has certainly attracted attention for his obvious style, moves, and good humor. We’re talking about Fil-Am dancer, choreographer, and recording artist Brian Puspos.
Performing “Standing Next to You” at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Brian discovered his love and talent for dance early, appearing in local talent shows. In 2008, he was a member of the group SoReal Cru, a finalist on the show America’s Best Dance Crew. The global dance institution World of Dance declared him Male Choreographer of the Year in 2012 and 2014.
It was 2016 when he was tapped to choreograph Butterfly for BTS—not an easy song to set to movement, being a slow, gentle number, which the boys did great justice to (think of Jimin’s acrobatic rolls and backbends). That led him to choreograph Jimin’s equally dramatic song, Serendipity, in 2017. “I just told myself to choreograph this like it was for myself because Jimin can do anything I can do, and probably better,” joked Brian in an Instagram post, while admitting to loving Jimin’s expressive dance style. In a reaction video, Brian is seen getting emotional watching Jimin’s beautiful execution of his choreography during a concert.
As it turns out, though, Jungkook has also been a fan of Brian since BTS’s trainee days—so much so that when it was time to do the video and performances for JK’s solo songs, he actually asked Brian to dance with him. “When JK asks you to dance, you go dance!” Brian posted anew on Instagram.
“My favorite dancer from when I was a trainee is also here to dance with us,” JK actually said in an interview. “It feels very strange…When I saw him I was like ‘Ah! Brian Puspos is here.’ I liked him a lot when I was younger. It’s so cool.”
Brian was naturally touched, as he posted: “…To see today’s biggest star openly tell the entire world what a choreographer/dancer means to them—that stuff does not happen at all. I’m honored and humbled.” Ever gracious, Brian even captioned a photo of him dancing with JK with “Dreaming, don’t wake me up, please.” JK (and BTS) must indeed be a joy to work with (though maybe we’re biased).
The 37-year-old Brian is easy to spot hamming it up with JK in Seven, especially in the Good Morning America concert series, in the choreography version of 3D, and most recently, busting those MJ moves in the shamelessly sexy Standing Next To You.
Catch their electric performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon here:
Lest you think he’s just back-up material, note that Brian also records music, gives workshops all over the world, and has choreographed for the likes of Chris Brown and Justin Bieber, as well. In November 2022, he married his long-time girlfriend, model and lifestyle influencer Aja Dang. He has over half a million social media followers, and some entertainment outlets place his net worth at around US$500,000. Yet, he remains grounded and grateful—which makes Brian Puspos deserving of all the success, and the love BTS has for him.
