My First Piece Of Choreography! Finally

Its been a long time coming which is why I have not updated my blog, but I have my video camera sorted out and have filmed my first piece of choreography. I started working on this piece a couple of months ago when I decided to work on choreography to add a new dimension to my serious dance training which I started in May this year. I realised that my training would be much more focussed with a final choreography piece in mind while I was training and learning specific moves. It has significantly impacted that speed at which I am developing which has been awesome.

Dancing is going well and I'm working on the next piece as you will see in the video clip.

I loved working on this piece. After watching it I can see so much I can work on, sharpening things up etc. Its so great to see a finished piece and now see the gap for my next level of development.

Enjoy!!!

Amazing Tricking! Boggles the ming how the body can do this!

Sorry its been a while since I wrote. I am training hard, and its going really well, lots of sessions at city dance and les mills, and basically waiting to get my damn video charger of my new camera so I can film my first piece of choreography which is finished! I am working on the next piece now to be filmed end of this month.

Check out this guy Daniel Graham. He is way up there as one of the best trickers in the world.
Tricking is a form of hip hop that involves amazing aerial tricks.

http://www.youtube.com/danielgraham85

Enjoy - prepare for a mind boggle!!

Andrew Cesan from New Zealand is someone I am working with as a performer and he will rival this guy!!!! Stay tuned for some of his tricks soon.

How Cubans Start Dancing - This is so cute.

This proves my view that dancing is innate in all of us as children. We unlearn it as we get older and stop using our natural ability to move and dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC764MZVXgs&feature=search

Girl Power - New Zealand - The World Hip Hop Champions

Check out this speech and interview from ReQuest who just won the world hip hop champs. Amazing and inspiring. All girls (and boys) must see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na2HaSbFQLo

For me, a normal week of dance classes after getting back from Brisbane on Tuesday. Been to my normal classes Hip Hop Wed with Joseph and tonight Popping with Lawrence and Hip Hop with Joseph. It's amazing how much I improved out of going to the classes in Brisbane and having different teachers, as I really found that tonight my ability to pick up the choreography was vastly better.

Have 2 very cool projects on the go which I will not disclose completely now apart from saying one is a film and one is a really amazing dance group I am creating, but they are both in hip hop dance. Very exciting.

Mad Dance Studios In Brisbane!

Am here for a week to go to opening night of Mama Mia as my partner performs in it. Decided to check out some classes at Mad Dance Studios upon the recommendation of Joseph.

Went to Urban Contemporary with Katie Dickens and Intermediate Hip Hop with a guy called MJ.

Urban Contemporary was awesome. I have never done Contemporary before and my goodness was it challenging. Katie was very firm and pushed us and did not stop for any of our groans and complaints that we were struggling. My kind of teacher!!!
I am very sore all over from this class as there was a lot of rolling on the floor, high leg kicks, jumps etc.
I really like contemporary and do intend to do some more when I get back to Auckland.

Hip Hop with MJ was really funky and he is a really good teacher. Here is him performing in his dance crew. He is the dark skinned guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2UJltUSgNM

Am going to get to some more classes Friday and Saturday. Its great to learn off other teachers as it really has my brain work hard to accomodate different styles.

OMG - This is the coolest thing I have seen - Freestyle Dancing in the rain in the street! AMAZING - MUST WATCH!

http://goodlifefilms.blogspot.com/2010/07/dancing-in-rain.html

New Zealand has the best Hip Hop Dance Crew in the World!

Well I have been saying this for a while, but now there is real evidence. Request just won the world hip hop champs. Check this out and it speaks for itself. Made me cry and the haka at the end is moving. This just empowers my mission to have NZ Hip Hop known in NZ and Globally for the amazing talent we have.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTASTY_z3A

3 month Video Update - Hip Hop Class in Sydney with Alvin De Castro

Well I have been saying that I can't do a video update until I get my camera sorted, but to my good fortune I went to an awesome hip hop class in Sydney on Friday night with Alvin De Castro and he filmed it and posted it on YouTube. He is a very good dancer and choreographer and is known for his sharp and isolated moves that make you have to have really good technique to do his choreography well.

It was a super challenging class, as it is normally an hour and a half, but he was really late so by the time we warmed up we had about an hour to do the whole piece of choreography, or my other story is that he just teaches at lightening speed. Either way it was the fastest learning I have had to do to date, as I am used to the teacher slowing it right down and breaking down the moves, but he just charged on at basically full pace and did not slow it down at all. At first I got really annoyed at how he was teaching because my poor little brain was not coping, and I was then getting upset because I was thinking that I was not going to be able to get it. However, I let go of that little voice and just concentrated as hard as I could, and managed to slog my way through learning the whole piece. It's definitely not as sharp and together as I would like it, but gives a good view of where I am at. I am happy with it, and can see that my next phase of learning it to really sharpen up and refine my technique, my lines and shape, and keeping movements much more tight. It is always great to be filmed with stuff like this when you are unprepared because you get to see a lot of things that are missing that you can work on and train at. I am kind of glad I did not get the chance to polish it up etc.

So here it is. Enjoy and you will get my own choreographed piece by the end of August!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M99CbwVVpWw&feature=channel

Tired But Very Satisfied - A week in the life of my dancing mission!

Well its been a week since I updated, but thats not because I haven't been dancing. I have been going for it. I basically stepped up my training and practice to usually 3hrs a day which has been awesome.

Friday was stretching and light stuff in the morning and then back to back class friday night of popping and hip hop which was awesome and really nailed the hip hop class with Joseph.

Sat was a 2hr Jazz class in the avo with Julie which was great and I got some really good technique work done and she started to explain how the technique stuff we do (which seems really boring) relates to all the jumps and turns and more complicated moves. I even kept up with the routine we learnt and felt like an 80's fame jazz dancer!! Was classic.

Sunday is recovery day now so I did an hours cardio and stretching with a good spa at my apartment in the evening.

Mon I was in the studio early morning and then BodyJam class in the evening. Was an awesome session in the morning and I refined my piece of choreography and sharpened it up and at the end of my session I completely nailed the routine and it felt sooooooooooo good. It was one of the most exhilarating and fulfilling things to accomplish. It was my creation and it all came together. 6 hours of work! I am happy with it and showed it to someone today who thought it was great, and agreed I need to sharpen it even more. Body Jam was also rocking that night with Gandalf as it was new stuff getting ready for a new choreography launch. Most full on cardio work out I have ever done. No other class gets my heart up like that.

Tuesday was early morning session for 2hrs which I did a lot of jamming, and free styling and working on popping and different moves, plus more on my choreography. I also do yoga on tues which sounds relaxing, but it is the most intense class, but makes you feel so stretched and strong by the end of it. Lots of ab work and balance poses - really hard and I felt very unco!

Wed was a 1 1/2hr gym session in the morning and then a hip hop class with Joseph at City Dance. It was a very funky routine and I really managed to get it down fast and was able to give my full self expression to it and add some real feeling to the routine which always just adds another dimansion and experience to learning and performing choreography. First you learn it and just copy the teacher, then as you really get comforable with it you add your own feeling and soul to it and it becomes your own!

Thurs was a 1.5hr dance session in the studio and Lawrence the popping teacher came along and taught me some popping. Was awesome to get right back to basics of waving and fresno popping. I also begun to work on my next piece of choreography! Yay. So excited about the song. Really funky. And then I did a lunchtime bodyjam class that was full on as always.

And that people is my week in review and what it looks like for me at the moment on my journey. I am also working during the day from home on my own business and with an online marketing company for 2 hrs a day that my cousin owns. And I often come home at night and go back into the office to keep working on projects and business stuff I am creating.

I am pretty tired physically, but actually feeling really good and very satisfied with my progress and what I am accomplishing both with my dancing and all the projects I am at work on.

I am endeavouring to get my choreography filmed soon, but waiting on a few technical things.

Peace!

Finished my first piece of choreography!! YAY!

Well this morning I had another session in the City Dance Studios for an hour, and an hour and a half on Tuesday. I have finished choreographing the first verse of the song I picked which is sooooooooo cool!

I am amazed at what I have created and am definitely hooked on choreography. It is so much fun, so creative and I think I am going to be pretty good at it after this first effort. I will find out when I show it to some other dancers and they tell me what they think.

I need to polish it up a lot which I will do tomorrow morning and get it ready to film with a few other dancers.

So stay tuned for my first dance piece in the next couple of weeks. There will be more to come after that!!

I am so inspired about dancing and the whole hip hop dance scene in NZ. We have I think some of the worlds greatest talent here and I intend to have the world find out about that talent.

I have a number of very cool and creative projects that I am working on with the intention for NZ to be on the map globally for Hip Hop and Street Dance.

Also - last nights hip hop class with Joseph was awesome as always. He is going to take the world by storm with his choreography. I am going to personally make sure of that! Watch his space!!

Love to you all!

Also check out this cool Japanese Group called THE S**t KING who are taking the world by storm!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TewJZoMPamk&feature=fvw

Hip Hop has various forms - I learnt about Tricking this week!! Amazing! And some awesome New Zealanders!

Had a great Advanced Hip Hop class tonight with Jackie (guy) who was filling in for Joseph. He was really stylish and it was a really challenging piece which I love because it pushed me and made my brain work gard to get it.

Also I learnt about Tricking this week. A form of movement that is used in hip hop. Its hard to explain so just watch this unbelievable 7min documentary done by a new zealander who is part of a tricking crew in nz. AMAZING!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwO5Q74l0Ds&feature=related

Hope you enjoyed that and I love the fact that New Zealand has so many talented young people who can move in amazing ways.

I love Hip Hop! So Many Great Dancers in NZ - see these youtube clips!

Wednesday nights with Joseph Ling are always great. Had an awesome class tonight. I am really finding my ability to learn the choreography is vastly improved. I am not struggling at all and actually getting it so quickly that I can start to add my own flare and self expression which feels so good.

Here is a really amazing youtube clip that I saw of a talented young NZ dancer Andrew Cesan who I met up with today in a duo called TMC. They came second in New Zealand's Got Talent TV Program last year - which I think they should have won as him and Simon were truly amazing. See this clip and you probably will agree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYQIxVnbJUY

This other clip is of him doing some acrobatics, but done in a form used in hip hop dancing. ENJOY - VERY COOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRuup2AoElU

Yoga - Completely Complimentary To Dance! YOGA IS A MUST

Well I wanted to say a little bit about Yoga today. I had a great session yesterday morning in the studio and did some good work on my choreography. I have almost finished one verse - well roughly finished as it needs to be polished. About a minute or so of the song.

YOGA!

I am doing yoga 1-2 times a week as part of my dance training. I think it is the best and most complimentary exercise to do with dancing, especially hip hop. I find that I am jumping up and down on my joints and working my muscles with dancing in a way that can leave them tight and stiff. Now stretching is always important, but I find yoga a whole other level of stretching.

A one hour yoga class doesn't just stretch out almost every muscle, it facilitates your body being able to drain out any toxins or build up of waste. By the end of the class I am completely zen'd and blissed out and my body feels amazing.

I can't recommend enough 2 yoga classes a week for anyone, especially dancers. I have been doing yoga on and off for about 12 years now and I cannot say enough how essential it is for every person to do some. It completely works your whole body.

The kind of yoga I am talking about is not the yoga where you are sitting in very relaxing and peaceful poses. This is also great and is Hatha yoga.

I do Iyengar Yoga which is full on and works your whole body. I sweat the whole time. Here is some info about Iyengar Yoga - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar_Yoga

I do Mandy Whites class at Les Mills on Tuesday Lunchtime which is amazing. She is one of the best and most challenging teachers I have come across and works with all levels. Go to www.mandewhite.co.nz to see more of her classes at her studio.
Very recommended.

I also do Ashtanga yoga which I find similar intensity to Iyengar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtanga_Vinyasa_Yoga

Here are some other links to yoga stuff.

http://www.yoga.co.nz/home.asp

http://yoga.org.nz/

http://www.yogajournal.com

So if you have never tried it then I recommend getting into it, and if you already do - GREAT! You are giving your body the best treatment it can get!

Jazz with Julie at City Dance on Saturday!

Well I am happy to discover that there is a 2hr Jazz class on Saturday afternoons at City Dance. I have been trying to work out how I can do some Jazz as I think it is fundamental to be being a good dancer, but the times have not worked. I was thinking to myself, I wish there was a 2hr block of Jazz class that would fit into my schedule, and I happened to be talking to Julie last Thurs and she told me about her class! Amazing how the universe provides what you need when you are intending it to happen.

So I went Saturday, and the class was awesome. I struggled with all the technical stuff, but I will pick it up. I did not last the full 2 hours and stopped with half hour to go as my brain was muddled and I could feel my body packing in a bit. I have trained and practiced and done classes for 2-3hrs a day this last week, so by the time Sat came around I was absolutely exhausted.

As I have said, I am not interested in pushing myself to the point of injury and I am in no hurry, so as soon as I noticed myself starting to really struggled with the choreography and lose my bounce and spark and start being a bit all over the place, its time to stop.

I am away for the next one, but the week after I will do the full class which will be awesome!

I also had a good jam session in the studio for an hour and a half on Sunday and worked on some specific moves and technical stuff and some more choreography for a song I am choreographing. I have decided that I am going to get 3-4 others to perform it with me, and then post it on my blog and on YouTube as my first piece of choreography. Can't wait and am amped to have a deadline to have to finish it by the 6th of August. STAY TUNED FOR THAT ONE!

I will also post some more videos once I get the charger sent to me for my new video camera that was not in the box when I got back from Sydney after buying it in duty free. And I can't just buy one as they don't stock them so Samsung has to send me one - arggggggg - annoying!

But more vid posts coming v soon people!

Popping and Hip Hopping Fridays!!! My favourite night of the week at City Dance and my best class yet!!

Well, tonight was my back to back classes at City Dance. First I do popping with Lawrence and the Advanced Hip Hop with Joseph.

I was so pumped for tonights classes and they both fulfilled my expectations cos they were AWESOME!

My body was pretty tired as I have increased my training to 2-3 hours a day now. I did a class with Joseph on Wed night and then Thursday morning I had a hour by myself practicing in the City Dance Studios and then did Body Jam at lunchtime at Les Mills which is the most intense cardio workout on the planet with Gandalf.

On Thursday morning I did some more work on a piece of choreography I am working on. I must say, I did not have any idea how much I would love doing choreography. While I am just beginning, and still getting myself proficient at dancing myself, there is a creative spirit in me that gets unleashed when I create my own moves and dance sequences to the music. Its so much fun and so satisfying creating dance to music and lyrics. I feel like a writer when they are trying to write a book, sometimes it just flows out and it's so sweet and enjoyable, and then its like I get writers block and I spend 5min just thinking through which move to do with a particular lyric so that it looks cool and still is depicting what the rapper/singer is saying. And then suddenly it hits me and it's like 'Oh Yeah, thats perfect' and its like you have these breakthroughs in your thinking all the time when that happens and you move it to the next level of working on the piece of dance. Its hard to explain and still very new to me. Its takes a lot of intellectual effort to create movements that flow together, that are somewhat in line with and depicting what the lyrics say, and to have it look sharp, cool and funky. I love it! More to come.

Anyways, tonights classes were awesome. I seemed to hit another level in being able to pick up the choreography tonight. I think its due to the personal practice I have been doing this week and jamming and watching stuff on Youtube on my lunch and dinner breaks.

It was my second class of popping ever, but I really picked up the whole lesson and piece of choreography, and was even able to start to add my self expression to it. Lawrence is a great teacher and involves us in the learning and makes sure he slows it down so we can get it. I love popping and the mechanical movements, and isolating the different parts of the body. It looks and feels so cool.

Hip Hop tonight was the best class I have ever done. The song that Joseph had picked and created the choreography to was sooooooo funky, and I have to say I totally nailed it. More than any other class. I really felt sharp and precise doing the piece tonight, when normally I feel a little clunky and don't weave all the moves together. But tonight I was focussed, and really present. It was like there was nothing else in the world I was thinking about. I was just there, watching, learning and performing the movements, and they seemed to come so easily. It was a real leap forward tonight in my confidence and my own experience of really progressing in my dancing.

Practice, practice and more practice is the source of it!!

I will leave you with this YouTube Clip for some inspiration. Its one of my favourites by Michael Jackson and for sure an inspiration for me to wanna dance and get really really good! Enjoy and have a great weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXK5xOJaYHI

Early Morning Studio Jammin at City Dance!!

Had 2hrs in the City Dance Studios on Tues morning from 730-930am! It was so awesome. Its just so great to be able to hire out the studios at any time that works for me as long as there are no classes on.

I jammed and worked on some of the moves I have been watching on YouTube. Check out this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMtung00gi4

I am going to incorporate it in my piece of choreography that I am creating.

It was so cool to have some time just me and the thumping music in the studio and be able to just jam and rock out, and practice everything I am learning.

Hip Hop Workshop At City Dance on Sunday - IT WAS AWESOME

I attended the 12pm-430pm Hip Hop Workshop run by Margaret and Joseph, with special guest choreographer Jesse. This was a real test for me to see how my stamina is progressing. The plan was to last the full workshop, however about a quarter of the way through learning Margarets routine, I had to sit down. My brain was fried, I was struggling to pick up the moves and my body was starting to feel a little shaky, which is the perfect time for a silly injury. Yes I could say, "harden up", but there is no point for me to push it too far yet, as I've only been going 8 weeks. I have time, and I do not want to do any stupid injuries. I have a long time ahead of me to become the best dancer I can, and I do not need any set-backs. You could call it maturity!! HA! When I was 20 I would have just pushed on, even if I was hurting in the wrong places.

Anyway, the workshop was just awesome.

Joseph started it all off at 12pm with a warm up and then we spent an hour and a quarter doing a nice piece of choreography that he had put together. I have now done a lot of classes with Joseph, so I am getting used to his style. As always it was smooth and very groovy.

Jesse was up next, who is in Josephs dance crew. He was very different than any of the classes I have been doing, which was really cool. We did a very funky, almost Krumpy piece that was big moves, and using the whole body, and really accentuating the hits on the beat. The piece of music was very fast and so were the moves. It was a very gangsta rap tune, that mad you feel pretty bad ass dancing to it. V Cool Jesse and a good choice! It was incredibly challenging, however I almost nailed it, which was good for me as it demanded a serious amount of attention to learn it and it was very physical and fast. A good change up from Josephs smooth style.

Then Margaret did her piece, which started OK for me, but then as I said I opted out to rest and recover. I was done by this point after 3 hrs or so of dancing. Her choreography was a little more girly which was cool, and a good change from the other 2 pieces of the day. It was very funky and sassy. I would have loved to have lasted as everyone doing it looked HOT!

The whole day was to raise funds for Margaret, Amelia and Karen going to the USA to dance - GOOD LUCK GUYS and thanks for putting on this day.

I want more workshops like this. We need to get more people involved next time as well.

I'm feeling pretty good today, and I'm not too sore -thanks to some time in the cold pool at Les Mills (I went straight there after the workshop), and then in the spa and back to the cold pool.

TIP FOR RECOVERY - Spending some time going into a cold pool for 5 min, then a spa/steam room for 5 min, then back and forth to the cold pool has you recover so much faster. It flushes out all the lactic acid much faster and aids recovery!!

2 Classes Friday - Popping with Lawrence Liew and Hip Hop with Joseph Ling

Well I did my first back to back classes on Friday. I lasted, despite my brain becoming a little fatigued at the end of the Advanced Hip Hop class.

The first class was a POPPING class. Not sure how to describe it of you don't know what that is, so here is the wikipedia definition:
Popping is a dance style and one of the original funk styles of dance that came out of Fresno, CA in the 1970s.[1] It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop, tick or a hit. This is done continuously to the rhythm of a song in combination with various movements and poses.
I love popping, as its so on the beat and funky. I have never done a full popping only class so I learnt soooo much. I realised that it is also thelegs that make the body pop or tick, which makes it so much easier to make your body pop as you move.

Check out these awesome popping videos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_9x_TSZeGQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9vQgbPYgaI&feature=related

Lawrence is an awesome teacher. We had such a fun class and I loved his combination of moves for our piece of choreography. It flowed together nicely.

Then I went straight to my Friday night usual Advanced Hip Hop class. It was a very funky but challenging routine from Joseph tonight, but as always very enjoyable to learn such cool choreography. I am always blown away by his thought and creativity that goes into making up the routines.

So I recommend both classes. If you have never heard of popping and you have been dancing a bit, then its worth trying. Its a whole new way to work your body and connect all your joints and limbs into a funky frenzy!!!

And if you have done a number of hip hop classes you should totally try Josephs Friday night class. It will challenge you, but he is very good at breaking it down so you can nail it by the end of the class!!

Looking forward to the four and a half hour hip hop workshop today. YAY!! Look forward to writing about it!

Body Jam - Thursday Lunchtime at Les Mills with Gandalf!

Wow what a wicked class today. It was so much fun and such a good cardio workout. I am doing 2 bodyjam classes a week to work on my fitness as they are the most high energy class I have ever done. I was wrecked by the end of it as I went full out. There was some new moves and cool choreography - as always from Mr Gandalf!

Joseph Ling and his smooth stylish chorepgraphy! To see him go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBl6VG6NKQ or just YouTube Joseph Ling

Wednesday nights Intermediate Hip Hop Class with Joseph Ling can only be described as smooth and stylish. Just YouTube Joseph Ling and check him out!

He has a unique way of creating choreography that makes you feel like you are really dancing to the music and the words that are in the song. He has a knack of creating his moves to go with the exact style of music and the lyrics. So by the time you have learnt the piece of choreography you really let yourself get into the whole song.

I can see this guy becoming one of NZ's best choreographers for any kind of hip/hop, funk or pop music choreography.

On a personal note, I am getting so much better. I found tonights class a lot more relaxing than normal as I am finding (which is obvious) the more I am watching other people dance and learning choreography the faster I am picking up moves when learning. Its a great feeling when the practice and repetition starts to pay off.

Also, I just downloaded Christina Agulieras top hits album - wow she had a lot of awesome hits!!! 10 years worth. Nice!

My first solo Jammin Session!

I had a great week of dancing last week. Finished off by a jam session by myself in a studio at city dance.

Instead of doing ballet I decided to pay $7 more and get a studio to myself. It was sooooo cool. I put on my favourite tracks and just freestyled and jammed and practiced all my moves. It was such a great experience, and I want more. I am going to hire out the studio for 4 hours a week starting in a week. 2 sessions of 2hrs. I just lost myself in the moves and just danced. It was like yeeeeeeeeahhhh!

I also worked on some of my first own choreography at the end of my one hour session which was really cool.

Stay tuned for my own dance piece coming soon!!!

Locking Class! Tough one tonight

Did my Monday night Locking Class tonight. I struggled a bit as the teacher went quite fast due to the other people there being regulars. I noticed myself getting a little bit irritated with him as its meant to be a beginners class and I wanted to give up cos it was hard. I noticed my internal chatter criticising me, and beginning to justify why I could not do the moves because it was only my second class and the others had been more than me etc, and then I let all that story go and focussed and surprise surprise I picked it up and was able to get the moves.

Its amazing when you don't tune in to the internal chatter how much freer I am to really learn the choreography and pick stuff up way faster.

I find when I really let myself go and get into my dancing that its like being transported to another world where all worries and concerns disappear and there is just me, my body and the beat of the music flowing through me, guiding me. Its a great feeling.

I'm BACK! Great Holiday in Perth and now back into IT!

Sorry any readers that have been keeping up with me for not keeping the post updated. I am back on now!

Advanced Hip Hop Friday night was soooooooo awesome. I had 2 weeks in Perth on holiday visiting my partner, where I did a bit of freestyle dancing in my apartment in Perth which was cool just to practice a let it all out. But I had a week and a bit off so am rearing to go and really ramp it up.

I bought a good video camera also on the way home so plan do do some really good clips now of me dancing and progressing.

Bring it on!!

First Month In Review and Ballet Clip!

Well thats the end of my first month of dancing seriously. I am loving it and have come a long way in a month.

Ballet has been great for beginning to get my technique and form better for having my hip hop moves sharp and precise. I will need to keep it going to at least the next couple of months twice a week, and then I will see how I am going and maybe cut back to once a week.

I realise I need to do more Jazz classes. I have had a couple of full on sessions dancing in my hotel room here to some good hip hop tunes and just free styling. This was great as it highlighted to me that I need to do some work on having my movements flow together and my lines be much sharper. Jazz will help with this.

I have loved my hip hop classes with Joseph Ling, and I am going to keep working with him and possibly hire out the studio at City Dance and get Joseph to do some longer classes and invite other dancers along also.

My fitness has improved a lot, and I think I am ready to up my dance training to 2 classes a day now plus my usual technique, core and functional training in the mornings.

So to wrap up this month I have thrown myself into dancing, and I am not looking back. I am so passionate about it and love it so much. I want to get to the best level I can of hip hop and create cool choreography!

I look forward to the next month and will add some more video content at the end of next month to show my improvements.

To all you reading my blog and supporting me - THANKS. My intention is to keep a record of my dancing and share it with others, and hopefully some people get inspired to do those things they have been saying they are going to do for a long time - ITS NOT TO LATE!

Happy reading!

No dancing last week!! Back into it now! Month #1 Review Posted Tomorrow with Ballet Video!

Last Monday - Thurs I did not dance. I had my partner here back from overseas and then I travelled to Perth for 2 weeks on Thurs. I was also nursing a niggle in my achilles for the first part of last week which is all good now!!

I got back into it yesterday in the hotel room here in Perth. I just chucked on all my favourite hip hop tunes and freestyled it for a couple of hours. Was just awesome. Its really good to just practice doing lots of different moves and creating stuff and practicing stuff I have learnt already.

I did the same today which was excellent and I am feeling really good and fit!

TODAY IS THE END OF THE FIRST MONTH OF MY DANCING CAREER. STAY TUNED FOR THE MONTHS REVIEW TOMORROW AND SOME VIDEO FOOTAGE OF ME DOING SOME BALLET! (Boring! but worth putting up as my monthly review)

Rest Day Today - Just Stretching and Relaxing in a Spa and Steam Room

I had a niggle in my achilles tendon this morning and was feeling very physically exhausted so it was time to listen to my body and not dance. I did some great stretching at the gym and had a steam and spa, which was good for my aching muscles. Got to do that now and then to take care of the body and remain injury free.

Got my first follower of my blog yesterday!! Thanks Liz! Hope you enjoy reading!

Saturday Ballet and Body Jam - I'm Tired!!

Had a great day of dancing today with Ballet in the morning for my foundational work and zen experience and the a full on intense Body Jam Class at Les Mills for my fitness.

I video recorded some Ballet today so will post a highlight tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Body is tired but satisfied.

First Hip Hop Highlights - Sorry about the poor quality, but I just wanted to start somewhere! Skip forward if you want to see the main hip hop piece

These are highlights of the one hour class. I am in the white singlet if you hadn't worked that out! The finished piece is at the end. ENJOY

Friday Night Advanced Hip Hop Class - Rocking! And I filmed it!

Class was great tonight and I am getting better and better daily. Very cool piece of choreography by Joseph Ling. Was to a song by Alicia Keys. Very smooth and quite technical. I am doing great with staying completely on beat, but I have ways to go to have my body move with the sharpness required to really nail the choreography.

Exciting news is I also video recorded it!!!! Highlights coming at the end of the month.

It was a very cheap video camera I bought so the quality is not so good but its a great start!

No Dancing Today - Just Cardio and Stretching and Leading My Landmark Seminar

I had a good one and a half hour workout this morning. Cardio and stretching. I am now working on stretching to be able to do the spilts both ways. It is something I need to be able to do so I can do some of the really cool breakdance moves.

I had my Landmark Seminar tonight so no dancing but I was doing my other #1 Passion, dancing in a different way!

Look forward to the video update by the end of this weekend!!!

Hip Hop Class with Joseph Ling tonight!!! An upcoming world class choreographer!!

Instead of writing much about my experience of the class and my dancing, check out the following youtube clips of Joseph teaching his class or teaching his dance crews so you can get a sense of what I am learning. He has a great style that is a style of hip hop I like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg8m_XhYRYs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1YY34ljnxs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBl6VG6NKQ

The class was awesome tonight. I am much fitter and don't lose my brain by the later stages of the class now which is good as I can stay focussed for the whole hour. I want to work up to at least 2-3 hours of dancing! Body is holding out well and I am inspired to learn and watch lots of you tube dance videos!!!

Another Zen hour in Ballet

Ballet is so zen. By the time I was half way through the class today all my cares and worries disappeared. It was hard work, as I really focussed on strengthening my turn out today, and making sure I was really using my stomach muscles for all the movements while staying long through the body - which takes an enormous amount of concentration and focus and tensing of the muscles.

I feel like it is improving my hip hop as I am so much more stable and also am learning certain ways to move that you also move like in hip hop.

Here is the structure of one of my ballet classes - Check out this YouTube clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhRiPOihK-E

I can basically get every lesson online also - its amazing. Same with hip hop and other styles.

So when I get back from my conditioning session at the gym in the mornings which I am doing for the next few weeks to really give myself a solid foundation to hit it hard with my hip hop, I am going to watch some classes online and have my brain use its mirror neurons to learn to dance better just by watching it. COOL

Locking is Super Cool!!

I did a beginners Locking class tonight. I forgot how much I love that style of dancing. Its very funky and sharp and makes you get your joints and limbs moving through sharp lines while bouncing to the funky grooves. Its a very cool style of dancing and we did it to old school soul james brown kind of tunes. My kind of tunes!!

Check out these guys - masterful at locking so you can understand what I am trying to describe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sqx6EJ1pog

Or this cool tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6TegTeV8kg

I am going to go on Monday nights now - Mike Qu was the teacher - a cool Asian dude who is really good at locking and popping. I am going to try and find a good popping class also so I can hone all my dancin skillz!

Bring it on!

SOME LOUNGE DANCING AND BODY JAMMIN AGAIN TONIGHT! LOVIN IT!

I made a playlist on ITunes with all the hip hop songs I like to groove to, and spent about an hour this morning practicing and trying out all my moves and dancing in my lounge. It was great fun and really good to just let out some of my creativity thats been going around in my head and mess around trying different dance moves.

I think I will get into choreographing as I get better as I love the whole process of listening to songs and hearing the beats and the words and creating cool moves to go with it.

Had a good body jam class tonight. Got my heart pumping and my lungs heaving as per normal. My fitness has radically improved doing these classes. They are not really hip hop classes as the choreography is repetitive like an aerobics class, but its all cool dance moves. Its basically the best aerobics class I can do as its the closest thing to a dance class and gets me realllllly fit, which is what I need.

STOMP 2010 HIP HOP DANCE COMPETITION! AMAZING!

Just got back from STOMP 2010 Hip Hop Dance Competition at the Telstra Events Centre in Manukau. It was totally incredible. Joseph (my hip hop teacher) said I should come and check it out as some of Aucklands best Dance Crews were entered in it (including his). He choreographed his crew (30 of them as they combined with another crew for this competition) - AND THEY WON!!! $10,000 prize money. I was so so happy for Joseph as this is his first big win and he is passionate about dance and choreography. Their crews performance was hands down the best. They were spectacular. All in sync and the timing was perfect and the story they created over the 4-5min piece was really cool and just added to the whole experience. My friend Mike and I were blown away. There were also some other really awesome crews. Overall the night was so much fun, and J Williams performed at the end - man that guy can dance and sing. So it was a real treat and very unexpected to be such a brilliant night. I am even more inspired to become the best dancer I can possibly be.

As far as me dancing today I only went to an aerobics class called Body Attack at Les Mills which was full on - all for my fitness. I was hurting after about half an hour but I lasted the distance and it was really good for getting my feet and legs moving really fast which will help alot with my dance moves. I will do some more of them over the next few weeks as it is the best thing to condition my legs, lungs and heart for some serious dancing.

I could not go to Ballet today which I was bummed about as I had a car I was borrowing broken into last night and had to deal with that all morning. Anyways - I will be there next week.

End Of Week 2 - I am getting better every day thanks to my Mirror Neurons!!!

MIRROR NEURONS HAVE ME BE A BETTER DANCER - READ ON!!! VERY INTERESTING DISCOVERY TONIGHT!

I did an Advanced Hip Hop Class tonight - which I thought I would struggle with given this is the end of the second week and I have not danced much in the last many years. However I didn't just do OK, I picked up every piece of choreography and then near the end I stopped looking at the mirror (which helps you see if you are doing it right) and let myself just feel the music and totally nailed the choreography. Joseph was wrapped with how well I did and I was a little surprised how well I did.

So then I wondered how come I have had a breakthrough in my dancing even though I have not been dancing much at all for years - I am actually better than I was when I was dancing regularly about 5 years ago. I remembered some neuroscience I had seen on TED.com and some Landmark work I had done and realised Its because of Mirror Neurons in my brain. I have been watching endless Michael Jackson videos and You Tube dance videos and choreography online for the last 9 months which has actually improved my dancing. HERE IS WHY.........some research - read on

Each time an individual sees an action done by another individual, neurons that represent that action are activated in the motor cortex. This automatically induced, motor representation of the observed action corresponds to what is spontaneously generated during active action and whose outcome is known to the acting individual. Thus, the mirror system transforms visual information into knowledge ¹

This is incredibly intriguing, because it seems to demonstrate a biological basis for the benefits of simulation. As simulation designers, we always make the argument that engaging in behaviors in simulation prepares us to engage in behaviors in the real world. But the argument has always been from a cognitive perspective—it helps us form the way we think. The mirror neuron research would suggest that it’s deeper than cognition. And for that matter, that simulation may not just be the next best thing to real world experience—it may be nearly equivalent ..................

..............Back to the main point about whether mirror neurons could help us get better at a sport just by watching an expert play. I’m not aware of any specific research on this issue, but there is at least one experiment that sheds some light. Daniel Glaser asked some capoeira and ballet dancers to watch other ballet dancers and capoiera dancers while he hooked up some wires to their brains. He found that the dancers had substantial activity in the part of the brain that controlled dancing when watching the form of dance they performed. In other words, when ballet dancers watched other ballet dancers, their mirror neurons lit up – when they watched the capoiera dancers … not so much. The opposite was true for the capoeira dancers.

This would suggest that watching an expert play a sport will only help you if you already have some degree of experience in regard to what they are doing. This squares with common sense. I have never done a back flip on a balance beam, and I don’t think I would have any better chance of avoiding breaking my neck by watching someone else do it first. I don’t have any motor maps for this activity in my brain whatsoever, so there is nothing to light up when I watch someone else. However, I have played a lot of tennis, and do have many neurons in my brain devoted to hitting forehands and backhands. If I see Roger Federer hit some balls, these neurons fire, and I can in some sense “feel” his movements in my body. I can even in some sense feel what it would be like to do it better. And I really feel like I play a little better afterwards. Similarly, if I watch someone hacking away at balls in an awkward manner, its tough to watch. Ouch.

So there you have it. If you want to get better at something you already have some skill in - watch performances and visualise. You will improve cos your brain does not know the difference between watching it and doing it.

So thats the end of week 2. I am so in love with dancing and so excited about what I am going to be capable of!

No dancing today, only on the inside!

Wednesday Hip Hop with Joseph!

Well I did a full on session at the Gym this morning working on Hand Stands and core body strength for when I start to get into break dancing and all those kind of body weight moves. Was challenging and good to get back into that kind of stuff.

Then Hip Hop with Joseph Ling tonight. Was a cool smooth groovy piece of choreography that got inside me and made me feel like I was dancing in a music video. So much fun, and again, my lungs were heaving by the end of it and my brain started to get a little fuzzy, but I kept up and nailed it! I definitely improved on last week and found the choreography easier to pick up this time - that could be cos it was totally my style of hip hop! Yeah!

Joseph is a 21yr old amazing dancer and teacher, and is up for big things in the dance industry. I love his class, and he teaches really well. We caught up tonight and started to create some wicked plans for the impact we are going to have on dancing New Zealand. Stay tuned!

Bed time for this weary body as I come towards the end of Week 2!

Back to Classical Roots!

I only did Ballet today. It was a really good class and we did heaps of jumping. Its amazing how many moves in Ballet are so similar to some of the moves in hip hop. All the gliding in hip hop I will learn in Ballet! It is definitely a foundational dance technique and so good for being a great overall dancer. Look out, cos cool moves are a comin!

I gave myself the chance to take a morning off training today and did the lunchtime Ballet class, and nothing in the evening. I felt the need for resting my body after feeling a twinge in my knee in the hip hop house class last night. No need to rush it and injure myself early I say. I always listen to my body and all the signs of over training and any niggles need to be taken care of straight away before they turn into injuries.

I am doing a specific kind of training each morning called the Egoscue Method - www.egoscue.com, its really good and gives you the strongest foundation possible for training.

Pete Egoscue is a world expert at having your muscles and joints be completely balanced and work the way they are meant to. You can get an app for your iphone that I have and it has all his exercises. I am going to do his exercises for about 6 weeks to make sure I have the strongest foundation to go hard at my dancing.

Hip Hop House Tonight!! Yeeha!

Just did a Hip Hop House class at City Dance!! Full on. OMG I think my heart almost popped out of my chest. It's Hip Hop moves to full on banging house music - very cool, and high energy. Its not my favourite as I really like straight Hip Hop the most, but I did it to keep getting my cardio fitness higher. I think I sweated about 5 litres of sweat. I had to stop it 5 min before the end though as I got a twinge in my knee. I have to be careful not to go to full on in my first few weeks while I condition my body. I get to excited and get so into it when the music just kind of takes over, and then I push it. I cannot get injured, I am having to much fun! I think the experience of all my muscles being sore is going to be how it is for the next few weeks - wahhhhhh! I'm sore! There thats my little whinge. No complaints, I am on track with my dance mission!

Body Jammin!

Just did Body Jam at Les Mills Gym. A funky and groovy high intensity dance workout. Its kind of like aerobics but all dancing choreography. I am doing them to get my fitness up. I almost died about three quarters of the way through. I was giving it everything, and my heart rate went through the roof. Ran to the markets this morning too. I am working on getting as fit as I can fast so I can really start to work hard at my dancing. Feeling good, and definetely fitter after the first week.

Week 2! Starting with Saturday Ballet Class

Ballet today. Beginners class at city dance with Ione. She is great. Its like a trip back in time with her foreign accent taking us through the basics. I love it. It is almost spiritual. About half way through the class I find myself completely relaxed and my mind is clear. Its so graceful, peaceful and calming for the soul. Even though my but and feet and ankles and leg muscles hurt working through all the movements, it is very calming and feels great.

I do not understand all the terms yet, but I am beginning to get some of the french words and the related movements. I looked up Ballet on YouTube last night - there is every lesson you could imagine and a whole history of it. I can brush up on my terminology watching it.

This is the 5th Ballet class I have taken and I am getting much better. I spoke to Ioana to help me be the best I can be with my dancing and she said she would help me in my mission. YAY!

End of Week 1!

Did Jazz Class tonight for beginners. Loved it. My body is feeling tired and a bit sore, but I am OH so satisfied. I can't wait until my body catches up with my mind and my heart. I visualise myself dancing in wild and crazy ways and styles, but my body is just not there yet. When it is -LOOK OUT world. It is just so great to be expressing myself in this way. I love movement through dance! Its so nourishing.

My Body aches. Almost end of week 1!!! Feeling good!

Have done a class every day this week. On track with my plan and vision for my dancing.

Let The Dancing Begin!

Week 1: This is the first week of my new future. I am 32, and I decided this year its not to late to dance! I have a fire burning inside me that wants to be expressed and I have managed to keep it at bay for this long. Over the next few years I plan to give myself fully to dancing - hip hop mostly, but who knows where it will take me. I am going to write about my experience, and video diary my progression as I get better and better and post a monthly highlight. I hope to inspire others to take on things in their life they have been saying they want to do, but are not doing, especially dancing. I am still working, in business as an entrepreneur, but am devoting 2-3 hrs per day to this passion of dancing. You will hear about my thoughts, my struggles, my victories and everything in between as I take on something that I have up until now just kept telling myself I want to do it.

I have been to ballet twice this week and a hip hop class tonight. I never thought I would find such peace in ballet. I love it. Hip hop moves my soul, and while I still feel awkward like my body is not yet up to speed with my mind and heart, it felt good to move and let it out. I am sore and a little stiff but that is expected. It is only the beginning.

I am happy I have started!!