Help a dance studio at Kazakhstan survive through pandemic.

Hello everyone,

My name is Mark Tsoy. I am 25 years old, I am the owner of K-Pop dance studio in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. The dance studio I managed for about 4 years with a lot of effort.

This is how Midnyt Studio was born

With my close friends around 6 years ago, we founded a small band of guys who liked to dance K-Pop. A few years later, more our friends and acquaintances were getting to know about our group and were interested in our hobby, so at one point we decided to teach other young K-Pop lovers how to dance. To be honest, I always wanted to be a professional dancer and coach, so I founded a dance studio for all willing to dance people.

By the way, this is our logo.

Why did we choose K-Pop?

K-Pop is very diversified, everyone will find something to their taste sad and funny, explosive, and melodic. K-Pop performers often try to put a meaning in their songs and dances that will help people understand them.

In addition, despite the fact, that I was born in Kazakhstan, my family has a Korean heritage, and I do not want to forget about my background. To understand songs without translation, I had been learning Korean for several years, too.

Our Journey

It was very hard to start, because I have a degree in a completely different field which does not connect either with dancing or business management. My brother who is a great dancer helped me a lot to get through this tough phase. In the beginning, we didn’t make any profit, because we decided to keep paying for training as low as possible to provide an opportunity for all people to take classes in our studio. Therefore, the first place where we trained was really small.

A year passed after year, step by step, we grew to more or less notable dance studio among K-Pop-fans. During the last two years, we participated in various K-Pop festivals and competitions in other cities of Kazakhstan. Now, our group works closely with the ethno-cultural association of Koreans in Kazakhstan and helps people learn and understand Korean culture in the form of K-Pop. Our group also actively cooperates with the Korean cultural center at the embassy of South Korea in Kazakhstan. Last summer, we greeted and showed our dancing skills for Korean tourists who came to explore Kazakhstan.

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Among our achievements, I would like to mention getting prizes at Changwon K-Pop World Festival

Our case

Six months ago, our studio moved to the city center for the convenience of all dancers. However, the rental charge there is very high (270000 tenge, more than $600 per month).

We thought that we’re gonna cover up all the expenses in few months and make a profit because more people wanted to attend our classes. Unfortunately, two months later, cases of COVID-19 appeared in Kazakhstan, so our studio closed in the beginning of March to prevent a spreading pandemic.

Although we didn’t work for 4 months, we have to pay rent. Also, we could not pay salaries to 5 trainers and the administrator, we lost 30% of our regular customers and we continue to lose due to quarantine measures and the human factor. With our savings and some credits, we paid rent for one month, but we still owe 3 months leases and wages for trainers who depend fully on our work.

Last month, the number of COVID-19 cases in Kazakhstan drastically raised up, so from last week our government re-implemented preventive measures, and, of course, any training is prohibited.

Help us to survive.

From the beginning, we leaned on our own strengths, and I'm not used to doing this kind of thing, but you have to recognize the importance of a helping hand. With the money raised it would help us to pay any debts that we have acquired this time.

Thank you very much.

You can learn more about us on Instagram @midnyt.mnyt or @studio.midnyt