and i u n f o l d

Sometimes I forgot how dance really is my Happy Place.

Last week, work was KILLLLLER but dance was the one thing keeping me sane. No matter how bad a day I had, the moment I step into a dance studio, it all melts away.

2 x s workshop on Tuesday was SO MUCH FUN. Worth the $80 I paid, damn. (Haha, I always grumble about the price and then afterwards realize it’s worth the experience). Class was really small; less than 15 in PC.he.n’s and maybe 20-ish in S.isc.o’s. Got my $$’s worth, hahaha.

PC.hen taught his usual style. I had some issues with the musicality (and the control) but it’s freaaakin’ nice when he does it. Daaaamn. Boy has swagger. Yeah, I’m over the I-heart-PC.hen phase but I still appreciate the way he moves. Control controlllll. Still got a lot way to go.

Si s co did a jazz funk routine. He is so ghetto-fierce! LOVES IT. His energy and the way he embodies the movements is just… wow. Lovely to watch. It’s a bit of a character piece and, again, musicality is a big thing. He had a lot of useful advice that I definitely took note of. I thought he was a good teacher and great inspiration. I’m really motivated to continue taking more class and learning new things!

Afterwards, I talked with him for a bit to pick his brain about dance and his experiences. It reminded me that the journey of being a dancer never stops and you just have to keep trucking on. And I really really really wanna go to LA. Really. LOL.
Video of PCY’s class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JVRqv5D3_0&feature=channel_page

Video of S i s co’s class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6K4LxfzDOY&feature=channel_page

I don’t look like a complete spaz, so YAY! Well, okay, possibly a bit spaz-like in Si sc o’s class cos it was fast and we needed to hit it hard. :X

The next day, although I was tired, I went for Fr edy ’s class after a loooong hiatus from it. FUN! I need to resume going regularly. I don’t really have trouble with choreography in his class so I find that I get to focus more on execution, which hones a different skillset. It’s also a little less stressful. Haha.

Video of Fr edy’s class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWvWFs3i324

And then, in the spirit of being motivated, I also went for class on Thursday. But I wasn’t foolish enough to kill myself and only took G i n’s class. Still, her stuff is INSANE. I felt crappy for the first half and when she switched lines, I was like SHIT! cos I couldn’t get it and felt retarded. I always psych myself out in her classes and really half of my trouble is the mental block. Because once I stopped giving a shit about looking bad, I got better at it. Haha. That’s irony for you.

So even while work was sucking the life out of me, my week wasn’t a total waste. Because I had something to give me some happiness.

Y’know… if you’re having a bad day/week/month, do something to make you happy. Cos if you’re not getting something joyful out of your life,it’s not worth it.

I was really disappointed when I had to miss Sin.gFes.t due to my NY trip. (Well, okay, I was disappointed but it was a tradeoff I was willing to make since I had seen Mra.z once and I wanted to see Coo.k really badly. Besides: NY!) I didn’t expect M.raz to play here again so soon but I suppose the promoters saw the craziness over him and saw the money signs. Well-played, Mida.s Prom.otions.

Firstly, I want to rant about how I have rotten luck with Si.stic. For both this concert and the M5 one, I was online trying to book tickets the moment sales opened, but didn’t manage to get awesome seats. I was Row 15 for M5 (yeah, still bitter about that) and for M.raz we were stage-left 3rd row along the side, around 17 rows from the front. Utter madness. I need to find a way to play the system because y’knows I need front-row center when Dave comes here. LOL. Heck, I would pay $250 for Dave.

Okay, sorry digression. I talk about Dave too much, I know. :P

I went with the posse, of course. Our seats turned out to be pretty decent. And M.raz is the kind of artiste you need to listen to, more than anything, so I wasn’t too miffed. Everyone got a fan with his album details and a pic that we likened as “orgasm face”. We had too much fun playing around with it before/during/after the show. We decided that that facial expression had many uses. i.e. “How do you feel about the concert?” *waves Mra.z Orgasm Face pic frantically*, or “OMG he’s singing Unfold!” *waves Mra.z Orgasm Face pic like a lunatic* HAHAHAHAHAAA. We did that all night. And we also took pics of us emulating the Orgasm Face. HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

ANYWAY. We were lamenting about how the crowd seemed quite screamy and we hoped there wouldn’t be too much screaming cos we wanna hear him sing. And y’know for all that, when he came out, we ended up screaming a bit. Haha! But the crowd, though very enthusiastic, wasn’t too loud and we did get to hear him.

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Dance-filled weekend = a happy but tired L i za.

I was feeling lazy on Saturday but since I had committed to attending a dance workshop, I told myself to suck it up. It was one of those the-mind-is-willing-but-the-body-is-lazyweak moments.

For all my gushing over dancers from the Motherland, sometimes I forget that there are some talented people in our midst here. Like Z.aihar and Mazla.n who taught at the workshop. I’m semi-familiar with both their brands of awesome cos I’ve taken class from them before, but I was reminded of how dang good they are.

With Zaih.ar, I admire his musicality and his control. The guy moves in slow-mo, it’s ridiculous! Watching him dance, I like hold my breath the entire time. And he’s so chill and makes it look effortless.

Mazl an is Zai.har’s opposite in many ways; the trait they share is their amazing musicality and ability to inhabit the music. Out of everyone here, I’d say Mazla.n has the most Bo.bby Ne.wber.ry-esque vibe. He’s able to do that fierce-sassy thing, with a tinge of ghetto thrown in. I lovelovelove his groove; the way he moves is just… mmmmm. It’s so lovely to watch. He taught his choreography from his winning Funkamania item. Really fast, detailed choreography and I felt lost pretty much the entire time. My face was O__O when he danced it for us. That was some sexy-ass shit yo. If you’re interested in watching it, it’s the first song in this performance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPsviz_Ggy8). And the one who catches your eye? That’s M az lan. LOVES IT!

Sunday, as usual, there was RhySty session. Ah ma d taught his super duper nice and flowy combo. Aaaaah, so in love with ittttt!!!!! I just downloaded the video and I’m obssessing over it. And I’m so so pleased that I did it well. WAHAHAHAHHA! :P I felt good doing it, so it’s gratifying that it translated into my actual dancing. It’s a freakin’ miracle! Such a novel feeling to like watching myself, hahahaha. :P

I’m teaching again in 2 weeks’ time. No idea what I’m gonna do, but most likely something uptempo cos 3 consecutive sessions of lyrical hip-hop might be too boring/monotonous. I’m considering Cia ra/Jup’s collabo song. Or one of N e-Y o’s unreleased songs. We’ll see what strikes me.

In other exciting news: M R A Z ON THURSDAY ZOMGGGG!!!! *flails* And Brian M c K night and N E R D in two weeks’ time!!! *flails some more*

In even more exciting news: I’m going on holiday with my mom in May. We’re heading to Eas tern Eu r o pe and Sha.nghai! \o/