“Let’s not do that people”: ATEEZ’s Say My Name choreographer calls out VATA’s plagiarism

After ATEEZ’s Wooyoung indirectly called out We Dem Boyz’ VATA for allegedly copying their signature move of the 2019 song Say My Name, Anze Skrube joined the conversation too. Skrube is the co-creator of the point move, which was called "driving dance."

VATA came under fire recently for passing off the Say My Name point move as his own choreography for Zico’s song, New Thing. The song was created for the Korean TV show Street Man Fighter.

On October 10, 2022, Anze Skrube began reposting fans’ Instagram stories and on October 11, 2022, he posted a video directly addressing the issue.

In the video message, Anze Skrube stated that being inspired by someone else or copying a move is common in the dance industry. However, giving credit to the original creator is the bare minimum that anybody should do.

Skrube said that the only reason he brought up the issue was because "this happens a lot in the dance industry" and that it's not okay. He added:

“Let's not do that people. If you get inspired by something, [the] least you could do is credit the creators and yeah, I’m really gonna leave it at that. Let's just spread love, positivity. Peace out.”

---

ATEEZ’s Say My Name choreographer addresses VATA’s New Thing challenge moves

Boy group ATEEZ are known for their performances and the unique point moves in all of their title tracks. Their first comeback after debuting with the title track Say My Name in January 2019 propelled them to fame, all thanks to the viral driving dance move created by Anze Skrube, John Smith and Johnny Erasme.

However, ATEEZ didn't receive even half the recognition for their point move as they are currently receiving in 2022. On Street Man Fighter, We Dem Boyz’ VATA choreographed a dance for Zico’s New Thing which incorporated Say My Name’s key move in its introduction.

Neither the episode nor the dance crew credited ATEEZ or the original choreographers' names at any point in time. The absence of credit led to an uproar over plagiarism allegations against VATA.

On October 11, Anze Skrube spoke directly about the issue and requested that people stop harassing or fighting each other on this issue. He also gave a timeline of the driving dance move's inception and said:

“From my experience, there is a difference between "biting" a move or being inspired by a move or biting a whole sequence of moves and this is what happened here in this case. This particular sequence was choreographed by Josh Smith at the end of 2018 and it came out at the beginning of 2019.”

Public statements from any of the parties involved in the Say My Name-New Thing plagiarism controversy were long due as the latter was released over a month ago. ATEEZ’s Wooyoung and Seonghwa hinted at their displeasure towards their dance moves being copied, albeit unofficially and indirectly.

However, Anze Skrube’s video is the first to directly address the plagiarism issue. It is yet to be seen when Street Man Fighter, We Dem Boyz or VATA publicly post a statement on the controversy.