and i u n f o l d

… I am so bloody effin’ EXCITED about W A D E’s workshop on Friday.

You guys, it’s WADE!!1!!! *flails* I’ll be in his class. OhMyGODDDDDDD.

Who would’ve thought years ago, when I first knew of him during my Pup-fangirl days, that I would actually be taking a class from him. That I would be at a point where it isn’t be totally ludicrous for me to do this. It’s gonna be so weird, surreal and 1000% awesome. I yapped a lot about how last week’s workshops were surreal but honestly, WADE! is gonna be the definition of surreal.

I can’t wait. :D

If Day 1 of PE:SG 08 was fan-fuckin’-tasic, then Day 3 (my second day) was just over and beyond all kind of hyperbolic description.

Mr San Pe.dro was up first and he elicited a lot of cheers when he announced he would teach the iconic La.st Night combo. OMFG!1!!! *flails* He only managed to teach us about half of the whole combo and, while it looks deceptively simple, as with all his other choreo, it’s all about the execution.

But really, it’s not that simple. There’s a lot of weight transfer and getting into the groove. The exact timing can be tough to catch. But once you get it, it just all flows so well that you can just stop thinking and dance and enjoy. I lovelovelove the vibe of the combo; it’s damn shiok to dance!

If Day 1 was Y.ouTube come to life, JP dancing this combo was the height of surrealness. Srsly. I’ve watched that video so many times and to see it in person just blew my mind. I couldn’t believe it. And he hadn’t taught the combo in like a year so initially he was a little rusty on the details of the movement, which was kinda cute. I think he teaches quite well. He breaks down the movements, is encouraging and gives corrections after we’ve danced it for him. And when it comes to the especially challenging weight transfer stuff, he’ll break it down, and he’ll also sometimes mention the kind of vibe/groove of the combo.

Though the choreo is an old one, when he danced, he was onnnnnn. So amazing. Even when it doesn’t seem like he’s dancing full-out, it still looks fantastic. Aaaah. He makes it look so effortless!

And then actually dancing the combo was SO MUCH FUN. Again, with the surrealness. I tried not to focus too much on the actual moves but on feeling the groove. Cos it was really all about the groove. The pesky weight transfer thing threatened to get the better of me but I like to think I didn’t totally massacre JP’s choreo. LOL.

The Y ou Tube-come-to-life theme continued with M ariel; she taught her iconic Go ‘head combo. Cue freaking out. Oh man, that was damn good. She managed to teach us the whole combo which rocked. In the middle of it, there was a bit of scare when she popped her knee but luckily it wasn’t a serious injury. But prior to that, when she danced the combo, it was another one of those OMG moments.

When we switched lines, I was right in front, on Mar iel’s left which was a bit of a pressuring position. Esp with P.Chen further to her left and JP on her far right (they were also learning her choreo). Like OMGGGGG. Yeah, I was close to freaking out but managed to talk myself off the ledge. LOL. Turned it into motivation and focus to get it right!

This was also an amazing amount of fun, cos the choreo fits so well with the song and the hits just feel damn good. The bass is so strong that you just hit even harder. And there’s a subtle sexy groove to it. Fuckin’ awesome. The last eight or so confounded me cos I just couldn’t get the timing and sequence right. But still! I know the Go ‘head combo OMGGGG!1!!!

Patr ick Chen was last and he always dug out an oldie-but-goodie to teach (though I wasn’t familiar with it). It was to Keysh ia Cole’s Falling Ou t. Really nice combo, but my brain had pretty much gone into hibernation mode after using so much brain resources to catch the first two combos. Ha!

He taught it with counts and I found it really hard to grasp. Partly cos my brain-body synch had shut down, haha. It was a little easier once we did it to the music, because the beats are so distinctive (and I’m familiar with the song). It was easier to fit the moves to the beats/lyrics, rather than using the counts. At least for me. It made more sense to me that way. I didn’t completely get the whole thing because I was so tired and there’s a lot of hold/control/tension in the moves but I def got a better feel of it once we repeated it a few million times with the music. LOL.

The day ended with more photo-taking. I finally accosted PCY and got one with him. Then gushed some more to Mar iel, though I can’t remember what we talked about. Hahaha. And, of course, my homeboy JP. I told him about us having the same hair which made him laugh. LOL. Hilariousness. And then I babbled about how awesome he is and that he should come back again and I might’ve said something about def going to his class if I ever go to LA (you know it, bb!). HE IS SO ADORABLE and I wanted to squish him the entire time I was talking to him. /broken record.

A lot of people loitered around after we left the studio. Talked to a few peeps, most of the time it was mostly gushing about the awesomeness of the workshops. Everyone was heading to the Bugis area for supper and I went along. Ended up sitting in one corner, talking dance with A w i while everyone else was eating (it was a Chinese steamboat place so we were the only ones not eating). Mostly we talked about the frustrations of being a tall dancer, heh. It was fun though; I always like talking dance with people.

In the middle of all that, I listened in while Ca leb conducted a short video interview with Ma riel. So interesting to hear her thoughts on dance, and motivation as well. She really is such a sweetheart; talented, down-to-earth and friendly. And you can really tell how much she loves dance. We also got a short shout-out from JP to dancers in Singap.ore and I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a besotted look on my face the entire time cos HE IS SO ADORABLE. /broken record. PChen came by much much later (only half the big group was left), and being the attentionwhore he sometimes is, he randomly said hello to me (he was sitting across the table) in the middle of my conversation with Aw i. Hahahaha.

I got hugs from all three of them when they left; Mar iel left first cos she had an early flight. Then JP. I ended up leaving at nearly 2am, I think, with fellow Easties A wi and Br.yan whom I shared a cab with. PCY, flirt that he is, did the hug-with-kiss-on-the-cheeks thingy, asked if he would see me at S.Wu the next day (nope), and then thanked me for supporting the workshops. Didn’t really talk to him this time around and didn’t quite feel the same level of giddiness as last year. Still love the way he dances and him and Mere.dith dancing the Bed routine on Saturday was some kind of hotness yo; I was bummed I missed learning that!

This year, I was consumed with the JP-awesomeness. Hehe. Yes, he is adorable and all… but beyond all of that, I just admire his dancing so so much. I want to be able to dance like that, as though the music is moving through and out of my body. :)

So, $321 damn well spent. I had grumbled about how expensive it was but if I had missed out on this, I would’ve been inconsolable. An amazing experience to be in class from people whose work I’ve admired, to see their talent and awesomeness with my own eyes. It still feels surreal, I’m still high as a kite and I’m feeling so positive and so inspired to continue dancing.

I also now really feel like taking the chance of doing something crazy that I’ve been thinking about. To save as much money as I can now and then to quit my job and go live a dancer-life in Cali until either I have to leave cos (a) my tourist visa is expiring or; (b) I’m broke, which comes later. Heh. Basically, do nothing but take dance classes every day and just eat, breathe, sleep, dance for as long as I can. Not that I have any illusions about being a profe.ssional dancer but I feel like I owe it to myself to fulfil the dream when I can.
….. In any case, the awesomeness is not quite over:  W A D E! Next week! *flailssss*

$321 for two days of workshops. 3 choreographers, 6 classes, 6+ hours of madness.

Day 1 was fan-fuckin’-fastic.

I was a lot more mentally prepared this time around, knowing the mental and physical toll the classes would take on me. I knew not to completely throw everything in the first hour, that a slow, steady and measured approach to the classes would be better. And I also knew that it was not only very likely that I wouldn’t be able to get the choreography, but that it’s okay if I don’t get it. So I took off some of the pressure on myself. Heh.

It was a little less crowded, which is good. And I knew like 80% of the people in the room, which also meant that it was a slightly more intense atmosphere cos everyone was a hardcore dancer. Kinda scary, in a way and kinda fun in other ways. But as a whole, I found it to be a much more conducive vibe. Like, people actually did switch lines when told! That never happened last year! Hahaha. So, yeah I found myself drowning like a fish in the front sometimes. :P

P atrick Chen started things off with a combo to a George No zuka song. His usual vibe, which I like. I know Ca leb is all Pfffft about my PCY-love (and my lack of resistance to his brand of charm, haha), but really the boy can move. I still love watching him dance; sometimes, it’s like he moves in slow-mo, his control is so amazing. Every single millisecond in the song is milked. When he demo-ed the combo, it was sedap boy. Milk it, bb! His flirtatiousness totally comes through in his dancing, heh.

Second was JPPPPP. OMG JP, I LOVEEEE HIM. First of all, he is like the most comel guy ever. EVERRRR. He’s a little shorter than me with an adorable smile, very approachable though he seems a bit shy. Cute doesn’t seem like an adequate word; comel fits much better, even though it means the same thing. Hahahah. So comel that I just wanna squish him. Also, we have like the same hair! LOL. He has the guy version with shaved sides and he parts the opposite way but we have the same bangs! Hahahaha.

Comelness aside, I am so ridiculously in love with the way he moves. He also has amazing control and the ability to dance in slow-mo. Freakin’ crazy! And his groove… he moves so naturally, it’s like poetry in motion. Cheesy, but totally true. It’s controlled and groovy and big and effortless. His K aba Modern background is completely evident in the way he moves. Damn all these talented Pin oy dancers! Makes me wish I too was 100% Pin oy cos maybe that’d give me a genetic advantage, lol.

When he danced, it was a YouTu be video come to life, fo’reals. I was riveted. It looked so bloody good when he danced it! My jaw was gaping the entire time. It’s one thing to watch videos but to see that kind of fuckin’ awesome dancing in real life is really inspiring. And he was wearing a striped hoodie with the hood up and it was just so JP, y’know. I dunno, haha. His class felt really surreal. In my head, the little fangirl voice was squealing the entire time, “OMG you’re in JP S AN PED RO’S classsssss! *flails like a flaily thing*”.

And while he’s comel, when he’s dancing JP is Hottt with a capital ‘H’ and 3 Ts. Holy crap on a stick. Dancer!boys are really their own brand of attractive. Also, I think I need to go back to my (other) roots and go find me a (tall) Pin oy guy who can dance. HAHAHAHAHA.

Mar iel Martin’s class was a mindfuck. Just like Gi gi last year, she screwed with our brains. It was intricate, fast and insane. I was lost towards the end cos my brain-body synch just couldn’t execute. And the weight transfer was so quick! My brain was addled. I was a goner by the end of the class.

Ma riel is very sweet. Super nice. Totally fierce when she dances. Her vibe is like… I dunno how to describe it. It’s unique. Her musicality is unique. Hard to catch most of the time. The weight transfer is the ultimate killer though; my feet can’t move that fast! Aaaaah.

At the end, she and JP demo-ed the combo and it was fantastic! Whatever little brain cells I had left were blown away. Sighhhh.

Instead of feeling demoralized and down like I was last year, I came away feeling super duper uber inspired. Especially by JP. Mostly because of JP. Because I aspire to dance like that. After class, when I got a(nother) pic with JP, I asked him how he got to be so controlled. And he said it all comes down to training, to your centre, stretching, that it comes with time. All this, I already knew but it further reinforced that I need to put in even more effort if I want to step up.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a complicated, difficult, expensive, frustrating love for dance. I wish I could be blasé about it and just take it easy. But I can’t, because I want to be good. And my definition of ‘good’ is not only sky-high but also forever climbing. It’s an uphill battle. I love torturing myself, apparently.

The workshop also vindicated my belief that my ass will get kicked when I go to LA. Haha. Classes in NY really weren’t as psychotic. We st Coa st is where it’s at, bb. I love the vibe, I love the choreography, the musicality. Lovelovelove.

And truly, it is all about execution. Because even if you catch all the moves, it’s the interpretation, the way you fit it to the music that makes all the difference. That’s what separates a good dancer from a great one and that river is a wide deep stream to cross.

Today is my rest day, to physically and mentally recharge before my 2^nd workshop tomorrow. I’m still really excited. I wish I was going today too but I know I’d be too tired to fully appreciate it. So Wednesday is the day… looking forward to more JP-awesomeness!

G i n’s class last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhonZmKy_Ag

I vacillate between feeling okay about how I danced and picking out all the damn flaws. GAHHHHH. *facepalm* (Alex rocked it though and I love how he and Za i har brought their own vibe to the choreo.)

I’m sorta back to feeling depressed about my dancing. Partly because I really don’t feel good about the recital rehearsals. A lot of it is lack of effort and committment on my end; I briefly considered dropping out but I think I’ll see it through. Class is touch-and-go; sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good. I realize it’s all self-inflicted but it’s hard to stop it. And in a way, it’s not a bad thing to expect more from yourself. It just gets frustrating.

Proj ect Ele.ment workshops next week, which I’m trying not to freak out over. I need to get myself in a positive headspace so that I can get the most out of the experience. Enjoy myself instead of being all stressed out, haha. And then the Waaaade workshop the week after. EEEEEK!

Was randomly listening to some tracks on Nel ly’s new album and fell in love with his song L ong Night ft. U sher.

And I had this uber strong urge to choreograph a little something to it… so I did.

*flails*

It was fun actually. I had to keep myself from becoming boring or repetitive and really listen to the music/lyrics. But, yeah. Fun. I really like the vibe of the song.

Who knows if the combo will ever see the light of day other than me grooving alone in my room, but it’s nice to just break that mental barrier. Haha!

(This is like stale, I know. Oh well. Better late than neverrrrrr!)

Did a lot of different stuff while in Ne.w York and since it was like two months ago (eeek!), I’m trying to recall the more interesting/note-worthy stuff.

Let’s start with the apartment we rented: fabulous. It was a small studio apartment on the 4th floor of the building. Downside was that there was no elevator so we had to lug our heavy luggage up (and down) which wasn’t a fun experience. But the apartment itself was really cute. We rented it from a lady named Julie who, judging from her stuff, is an art student. It consisted of a double bed, a sofa bed, a small kitchenette and a bathroom. It was an apartment I would love to have, if I lived in the city.

The 6 nights we spent there were pretty damn awesome. It was very feeling feeling New Yo rker to have that “I’m going back to my apartment”-feeling at the end of the day. The apartment was located along the outer edges of the Upp.er Eas.t Side, with a subway station about a 10-min walk away. It felt like a safe place and I had no qualms coming home late or anything like that. Staying in an apartment was probably one of the best decisions.

I did a lot of walking on the trip, mainly because you get to experience so much more when you’re walking instead of underground on the subway. We walked at Soho which had a quaint vibe. We wanted to check out Gre.enwich Village at night but ended up totally missing it cos we didn’t walk down the correct street. D’ohhh. Also walked in the Union Sq area; in fact I walked to Soho from there, which turned out to be further than I expected so I got a real workout that day, hahahah.

I also managed to see quite a bit of Cen.tral Park. Such a beautiful place and just the juxtaposition of nature and concrete really intrigues me. We were walking there one Sunday afternoon and we ended up chilling at the She ep Meadow and people-watching. The park was pretty crowded and people were doing summer-y things like playing frisbee, football, volleyball, flying kites, suntanning. So we decided to sit and experience what a typical Sunday Ne w York afternoon might be like. It didn’t get dark until about 8pm which was when we left (I love summer and the long days!). I took another Central P ark walk on the last day and came across some familiar sights I’ve seen in tv and movies. It was fun. It’s one of my fave places.

One of the things on my must-see list was The Cloi.sters. It’s part of The M et and it’s home to medieval art and architecture. I wanted to see it the last time but somehow didn’t manage to so I made sure to visit it this time. It’s located in such a beautiful place; Fort Tyr.on really was picturesque. And the museum itself was wonderful. I was there in time for a talk on the 4 cloisters that formed the basis of the building and it’s so super interesting! Then I had some time to go around. The museum itself was built in the medieval style and the 4 cloisters actually contained fragments of real columns and capitals from medieval cloisters. So it was a really cool atmosphere.

I only had maybe 2-3 hours to see the M et so I had to be ruthless about which section to go to. Since I had seen the Roman/Greek sculptures and the Egyptian ones, I decided to give the 19th/20th Century paintings a look. Saw pieces by Pi.casso, Va.n Gogh, M.onet, Sarge.nt, Man.et. Half of the front steps at the entrance was blocked off so there was no chance for any GG-lounging-on-the-steps-of-the-Met re-enactments. Hahahaha. But that is such an amazing museum.

Speaking of GG, I quite fortuitously came across the Bass hotel while I was walking around on my last day. I was just happily trudging along and then I see this building and I’m like, why does this look familiar. I thought I was hallucinating or something cos I wasn’t really sure. But I did snap some pics and walked into the courtyard just for kicks! Alas, there was no GG cast sighting at all during my stay. Bummerrrrrr.

One of the coolest experiences on the trip was being backstage during the taping of the Co.nan show! It was quite unexpected, really. My friend, Andrew, I recently found out, moved to NY and we arranged to meet while I was in town. And his bro-in-law writes for the Cona.n show (isn’t that the coolest job ever??). So we got on the guest-list (isn’t that the coolest thing everrrrr???). So, okay, there was a bit of trouble initially cos the security couldn’t find our names in the system but that was a minor glitch.

We hung out along the backstage hallway while the show taped and watching the backstage happenings was interesting. There was a brief moment of panic when they thought there might’ve been a problem with one of the props, heh. The guests on the show were Se.th Ro.gen and Al Gre.en and we saw them backstage. Kinda strange. We were the only guests in the backstage areas so it felt supremely awkward to have asked for a pic or autograph or whatever. So I settled for gaping like a goldfish when they walked by. Hahahaha. Dude, it’s Al-frakkin’-Green! He’s a legend!

Another cool sighting: on my last Centr.al Park walk, I exited near the Museum of Na.tural History and saw that the area was filled with a lot of people and big trucks. As I walked further down the street, I realized it was a film crew but I had no idea what they were filming. And then I saw a discreet sign on the inside of a box which said “Ni ght At.The Muse um.2”. Aaaaaah.

Another thing on my must-see list was a Bro.adway musical. But since I’m a cheapo, I didn’t really wanna pay US$100+. So we tried our luck at rush tickets. First time was at Avenu.e Q. Second was Wicked (where the odds were truly low cos so many people applied for it!) and lucky for us, third time’s the charm. My name was called for the Av.enue Q rush tickets; I had never been so happy to hear someone stumble over my name. Hahahah.

The tickets were only US$21.50 each and we had front row seats. A.venue Q is like a grown-up version of Se.same Stre.et, which sounds weird but it works wonderfully. The musical was so much fun and so entertaining. And it is HILARIOUS. It’s coming here soon and I would recommend it definitely. And maybe I’m a sap or the subject hit too close to home (main storyline is basically a college graduate trying to figure out his purpose in life; the “quarter-life crisis”, if you will), but I was tearing at the end. Gaaah.

I also got a haircut! Haha. We were walking down 5th when we were stopped by this guy who charmed us into buying this package thing. It was supposed to be US$60/each but he gave it to both of us for that price. So, hey, we took it. The salon was at the Lom bardy Hotel (swaaaanky!). Roz got talked into highlights, haha. I just had a bit of a trim cos I was already rocking my color/highlight and the stylist was saying how cute my hair is. Heh. We also had manicures and an express facial. It was pretty awesome. Of course, this was the day before we left for DC, so I was all primped up to meet my future husband. LOL. Good timing!

One great thing about the city are the green spaces. Cen.tral Park, of course. But there are many little parks scattered around. And the best part is, you can just sit and chill for hours. I love it. I hung out solo for a little while at the famed Bry.ant Park, home to Fashi.on Week. I was there with my C old Stone ice-cream, using the free wireless on Cookie!pod. So chill, right?

And N ew York is the city for single people fo’reals. It didn’t feel weird or awkward in any way to be by myself. No one batted an eyelid at someone eating lunch alone, or reading in the park alone, shopping alone, having coffee alone. There were solo people everywhere. It’s nice to be able to enjoy being by yourself.

There are so many things to see and do there and there’s so much more to explore even after my third time there. And I really want to live there. Really. In basic ways, it’s similar to Singa pore; but more alive, more vibrant, more eclectic… just more of everything. Take me there, please.

In point-form cos I’m tired:

1) Went to the Li.fehouse concert tonight. (And skipped out on recital rehearsal, woooops!)

Venue sucked ASS but luckily J ason Wa de more than made up for it. Lovelovelove his voice. He sounded really good live! Cute too, although I was amused by his “wholesome”, non-rockstar look. Hee. And he’s such a woobie, awww. I’m only really familiar with their debut which I listened to a lot back then, but I really enjoyed the show. And it made me wanna check out their newer albums.

My fave bit was when Jason sang S.torm during the encore; it was just him and his guitar and that’s such a pretty song. Lovely moment.

Only downer (besides St J ames being the most awful venue for a concert!) was that they didn’t do E.verything! Aaaah sacrilege!

Most amusing moment: waiting in line outside and seeing a van pass by… with the band inside! I was all like, “Oh look, there’s Jason Wade!” Hahahaaaa.

2) I officially signed up for the W a de workshop. Please pray for me. Hahahaaaa. So between that and the Proj.ect Element workshops, I’ve spent something in the region of $500 for dance workshops this month. Niiiiiiice.

Irony: I’ve been feeling down/frustrated with myself in dance class. Not feeling it. We’re back to the “Ugh-I-suckkkk!” mindspace. Booooo. Doesn’t feel good. I need to be in a positive place before the workshops, else it’s gonna be total and utter torture.

3) I’ve started writing fic. This is a big, huge deal because my writing became dormant after my interest in Gil.more Girls waned. Now, I’ve begun writing again and even though what triggered it is weird, it’s kinda nice to be writing again. It’s fun. Plus, given the subject, it almost feels like writing original fiction rather than fan fi.ction. Haha. We’ll see whether it continues and whether I have the discipline to see it through till the end. I hope so.