Love #4 (tied) - Dance
Dance class last night was AWESOME! (Sound familiar?) The week before was pretty bad, having not danced for a month - plus I was tired and hadn't eaten enough that day. But last night, I was back into it... it all came back, and its a great feeling! :) The lyrical was a bit similar, but quite different in parts - I liked it very much! The music we did it to was much slower than last week, thankfully! The second routine we did was the same, but extended. Again it was to Madonna's "Die Another Day" song - and again we had that tap bit at the beginning. I liked it though - it was a very energetic dance. We had this complicated fast arm movement at the end which nobody seemed to get, even the pro's! Also I really nailed the 'across the floor' routine this week - it was great! I even did the double pencil turn almost perfectly! Yay! :)
Anyway, while we're on a nostalgic vein, let me go back to where it all started. I never had much experience with dance. I had one year of ballet (and a few months of tap) in year 6 (which I found quite boring - though I was very interested in the jazz ballet class upstairs - but my parents didn't think it a "proper" form of dance to be learning). I remember longing and wishing I could do that jazz ballet class instead of ballet, and even trying to learn the dance they did in the end of year concert that I was in (my dad had taped it.. hm perhaps I shouldn't have revealed that, ah well my 21st is past). I also did a few years of gymnastics at the Homebush States Sports centre during primary school, and a fair few years of figure skating in primary/junior high. But at year 9, my parents deemed that I didn't have enough time to continue with all my extra-curricular activities because I needed to concentrate on study (don't you just love asian parents?) So from there on my physical ability/fitness started a downhill slide, which abruptly hit rock bottom in uni (what is it about uni that makes lazy slobs.. or maybe that was just me! :P)
So it wasn't until I started work, at 21 years of age, that I started really getting into dance class (at the Sydney Dance Company). My first ever adult class was during the last week of SDC classes in Dec 1999. I went (by myself) to a Latin class and a Funk class . Needless to say, I was reeaally uncoordinated. But I absolutely loved it! And went back when it started up again in January. I did the open funk classes every week on Fri night, until youth group started and I couldn't make it anymore, then (at Vron's suggestion) decided to try Ramon's jazz beginners. I didn't really like it that much at first.. I mean why on earth did we do that weird across the floor walking thing?! And the routine was so short! But I kept going anyway, and after 2 or 3 classes (again upon Vron's advice), I decided to try Ramon's intermediate/advanced jazz class. Man was that a shock to the system! It was REALLY hard.. I had no idea what I was doing, no idea what a "sashay" was, how to turn properly, and what on earth all those terms meant! But still, despite it killing my body, I was hooked.. I really loved it! I must have looked totally uncoordinated and stupid to the others in the class, but hey, I kept going.
After a few months, I (tentatively) decided to try Sue Ellen's advanced jazz class. That was another shock to the system... but it was where I learnt a wealth of technical knowledge. She is a great and really sweet teacher, though her warm up routine absolutely kills my body - I never usually sweat much in exercise, but one time it was hot and at the end of the warm up, we bent over to stretch our legs and sweat just trickled down onto my face.. ugh. So I kept going to both Ramon's and Sue Ellen's on wed and thurs nights, sometimes even doing 3 nights a week (Tues, Wed, Thurs.. that really killed me though). At Sue Ellen's I learnt how to do barrel jumps, attitude jumps, axles, turns and really really increased my flexibility. (Pushing your body to the limit every week does wonders for your physical fitness and body tone!) I still went to Ramon's (sometimes twice a week!) coz I really enjoyed his routines and style.
But then I got busy with other things, music classes at the Con being one of them. I didn't have enough energy and time to commit to both dance and music. It was always a choice. *sigh* So now, after almost 3 years of dance classes, I've gone back to once a week, Ramon's on wed night. Though I still would like to visit Sue Ellen's class every now and then.. haven't been for so long. But with gym and everything else, its hard to find the energy to go more than once a week. I only wish I had the opportunity to perform. All these classes and I never once performed. *sigh*
Anyway, I hope I haven't put anyone to sleep with my dance autobiography! :P Gee it was long-winded..
Current listening :: All For You - Janet Jackson
