I love to dance.
Dancing to a groove-filled song in the comfortable privacy of my bedroom makes me sweat and puff like mad even though it's only for 10-15 minutes.
Well at least I think the people in the other apartment complex aren't watching me from their kitchen window.. they're a moderate distance away but they have a direct view of my bedroom so I do wonder whether they've ever seen me dancing, because I can certainly see them moving around occasionally.
I keep moving and I dance hard, and it makes me feel so good.
I also use it as an opportunity to stretch out my muscles, as they tend to get used to being in certain positions (read: sitting at the computer, standing in a golfing position) as time goes by.
Time for some water and then some more grooving!
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
it's a dance dance revolution
Bumped into a good friend of mine at uni just before class, so we agreed to meet up afterwards. Gave him a call and joined him at a group meeting he was having, somehow ended up talking about where I was born and where I live now, and ended up being offered a ride home by one of his group mates! Wicked!
So the three of us were walking out of the building and then we run into another friend who knows all three of us, which is also great, and as he also lives in our general direction we all walk together to the car. It was such a random happening, but so much fun - KLour and Phromjom are two of the coolest guys to hang out with, and Harish was a legend for offering rides to all of us. A very generous chap :) Phromjom's the only one who lives in a completely different direction so he was dropped off at the station while the rest of us headed home.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because of the conversation that ensued in the car. The remaining three of us somehow got to talking about dancing and dance forms, mostly of the "urban"/"street-dance" variety. Popping, locking, groove, boogaloo, animation, robot, krumping, crips and bloods, battling, clubbing, .. to name most. We talked about the history of various styles and their associated techniques, how they were formed, who created them, dance legends, the culture and misrepresentations of hip-hop and gangsta rap (amongst others) in the eye of the general public.. it was such an enlightening and fulfilling conversation. I learnt so much in those 40 or so minutes, I wish we'd chatting at home or in a bar instead of being on the road because we could have talked for hours. KLour is a passionate person about dance, and he knows so much about the hip-hoppin' world that I've wanted to learn about but never really gotten around to doing.
Although there has been a steady stream of dance movies over the years (Center Stage, Save The Last Dance, Step Up I & II, Rize, Stomp The Yard to mention a few), I think shows such as SYTYCD and America's Best Dance Crew have really brought dancers into the spotlight and re-energised peoples' interest in various forms of dance these days. Salsa dancing appears to be the growing trend within my social circle, and I've always had a group (or groups) of friends interested in the hip-hop culture and dance forms. I personally really enjoy dancing and learning about various styles from those who excel and/or are passionate about it. It's like stepping into a totally different world - it's so easy to just dance however you feel, but once you decide to get serious about it, it's like trying to devour all the books in a library in a single day. There is a huge wealth of knowledge waiting to be taught to those who wish to learn.
I guess what I'm trying to get at with all of this, is that I think it's easy for people to write off dancers as being "unintelligent" simply because they don't bury their heads in numbers and books. But it's a whole different culture and lifestyle that those people are missing out on. Dancers make the dancing look easy. But you can't just spit out a good technique like you can copy out a maths formula.
Similarly, the hip-hop culture is in my opinion often overlooked by older generations as being rowdy (sub-woofer, anyone?) and dangerous (gangsta rap and all that East-side/West-side rivalry, etc) and so on. But again, there is a depth to the culture that many people are not educated about. I admit that I don't know a huge deal about it all, but I feel that I know enough to be able to respect it for what it is, and would love to learn more about it.
Anyway I'm rambling now so I'd better stop. Artists (in both performing and creative arts) are so underrated sometimes!
So the three of us were walking out of the building and then we run into another friend who knows all three of us, which is also great, and as he also lives in our general direction we all walk together to the car. It was such a random happening, but so much fun - KLour and Phromjom are two of the coolest guys to hang out with, and Harish was a legend for offering rides to all of us. A very generous chap :) Phromjom's the only one who lives in a completely different direction so he was dropped off at the station while the rest of us headed home.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because of the conversation that ensued in the car. The remaining three of us somehow got to talking about dancing and dance forms, mostly of the "urban"/"street-dance" variety. Popping, locking, groove, boogaloo, animation, robot, krumping, crips and bloods, battling, clubbing, .. to name most. We talked about the history of various styles and their associated techniques, how they were formed, who created them, dance legends, the culture and misrepresentations of hip-hop and gangsta rap (amongst others) in the eye of the general public.. it was such an enlightening and fulfilling conversation. I learnt so much in those 40 or so minutes, I wish we'd chatting at home or in a bar instead of being on the road because we could have talked for hours. KLour is a passionate person about dance, and he knows so much about the hip-hoppin' world that I've wanted to learn about but never really gotten around to doing.
Although there has been a steady stream of dance movies over the years (Center Stage, Save The Last Dance, Step Up I & II, Rize, Stomp The Yard to mention a few), I think shows such as SYTYCD and America's Best Dance Crew have really brought dancers into the spotlight and re-energised peoples' interest in various forms of dance these days. Salsa dancing appears to be the growing trend within my social circle, and I've always had a group (or groups) of friends interested in the hip-hop culture and dance forms. I personally really enjoy dancing and learning about various styles from those who excel and/or are passionate about it. It's like stepping into a totally different world - it's so easy to just dance however you feel, but once you decide to get serious about it, it's like trying to devour all the books in a library in a single day. There is a huge wealth of knowledge waiting to be taught to those who wish to learn.
I guess what I'm trying to get at with all of this, is that I think it's easy for people to write off dancers as being "unintelligent" simply because they don't bury their heads in numbers and books. But it's a whole different culture and lifestyle that those people are missing out on. Dancers make the dancing look easy. But you can't just spit out a good technique like you can copy out a maths formula.
Similarly, the hip-hop culture is in my opinion often overlooked by older generations as being rowdy (sub-woofer, anyone?) and dangerous (gangsta rap and all that East-side/West-side rivalry, etc) and so on. But again, there is a depth to the culture that many people are not educated about. I admit that I don't know a huge deal about it all, but I feel that I know enough to be able to respect it for what it is, and would love to learn more about it.
Anyway I'm rambling now so I'd better stop. Artists (in both performing and creative arts) are so underrated sometimes!
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