First up I want to wish all my dance friends competing this month GOOD LUCK! I hope all your hard work since September pays off and you enjoy sharing your dancing with everyone.
I am so happy to share video highlights this month from two convention tours. The first is from the ML Tour Los Angeles. Please click on the video below to see how amazing the dancers and faculty were at this event.
My favorite moments are 2:45 in Lando Wilkins class...his was the most challenging hip hop I have ever done! 3:04 with the Ladies just killing the choreography, 4:10 with Brian & Ian hi-fiving each other, and 4:45 with Miguel Zarate. His class was so intense and fun!
You can catch glimpses of me at 1:20, 1:38, 2:15, 2:19, 2:26, 2:31, 3:45, 4:13, 5:55 and 6:22.
Here's a peek on how I got my new "street name" from Lando and Marvin...
Since dance is all about sharing our gifts, I'd like to highlight some of the amazing dancing to hit mainstream. ABDC, DWTS and SYTYCD have all shed light on the life of a dancer for people who don't dance. I've met some amazing people through my travels, many of which are being featured on current television shows, showcasing their talent.
First up, check out this video of Mos Wanted Crew from Americas Best Dance Crew, Season 7...you'll see some familiar faces from ML Tour faculty like Ian Eastwood, Jun Quemado, Lando Wilkins, Brian Puspos and Bam Martin. Congratulations!!!!
Also check out this link to "8 Flavahz" from Hawaii : http://youtu.be/qt6CZjYdUs0
Good Luck to these girls on their ABDC journey and special props to Camren (Bicondova). She is very talented and nice...we met at Pulse Toronto and had a great dinner together with other Pulse Proteges and their families. It's so nice to meet talented dancers who are also really nice people!
A big shout out to the girls in "Code 5" too... Logan, Jade, Dana, Carly and Dani. They're dancing up a storm and will have their first single available on itunes in a few months! They have their own facebook fanpage you can follow to keep up with what they're doing. Congratulations to Logan, my friend from the ASH Tour on all her success!
And last but not least, the amazing talents of so many of my dance idols: Misha Gabriel, Nick Bass, Kenny Wormald, Twitch, Travis Wall, Teddy Forance and more. This piece called "Men in Suits" was choreographed by Misha and Nick, two of Micheal Jackson's "This Is It Tour" dancers. Congratulations to them all on an amazing performance!
Now, back to focusing on where things begin...TRAINING! It takes lots of commitment, perseverance and passion to become a dancer. So I've continued to train in ballet and travel to dance conventions around the country.
I'd like to share a video clip of Mia Micheals choreography from JUMP Pittsburgh. I was honored and humbled to be pulled on stage to dance alongside Amanda Cleghorn. But if you want to see it, you'll have to search a bit for it and look for the video link on JUMP's facebook page titled "Mia Michaels' Teen class from JUMP Pittsburgh". Amanda Cleghorn is one of my all-time favorite dancers who just happens to be from Canada! I loved dancing this combo and sharing the stage with two of my idols.
This month I attended JUMP Atlanta and it was great to see such amazing talent in the teen room. I had fun hanging out with Ashley Green, a super talented dancer from South Carolina. There were master classes with Mike Minery, Andrew Winghart and Benoit-Swan Pouffer on Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday offered classes with Katy Spreadbury (always a great way to start convention classes with proper ballet warm up!), Jessica Hendricks, Teddy Forance, Bobby Newberry, Nick Lazzarini, Kelly Burke, Misha Gabriel + Kenny Wormald, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Mike Minery, Mia Michaels and the amazing Will Wingfield who assisted Mia. It's always great to see Gil, Sam and Angela too!
With Ashley before Mia Michael's Contemporary Class in the Teen Room.
With Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Creative Director at Cedar Lake Contemporary Company. He is amazing!
And here I am after class with the legendary Mia. The most relative and inspirational message of the weekend came from her...she said "we create all the scenarios about why not? they keep you from reaching your highest potential. We stop ourselves from being legendary....Take risk, be fearless...how far can you push yourself?"
She also said "I don't dance pretty...I don't like pretty." Yay! There IS HOPE for dancers like me without long, beautiful lyrical legs! It made my day.
Training is important - but so is inspiration. Many people would argue conventions don't give you "training", but I disagree. Choreographers want and expect good technique - thats the foundation of dance. And if you're working hard in class, they will provide corrections to help you get that much better. I travel to dance conventions to train, be inspired by and work with the most talented and amazing people, who want to share what they've learned with the next generation of dancers.
At this time of year, we're all planning for summer training. I have lots of exciting things on the horizon and can't wait to share everything with you. My advice to dancers looking for summer intensives is to find the genre and faculty that inspires you...its not just about the training.
The summer will be here before we know it but until then, Good Luck to everyone in the thrones of competition season whether its a local competition or on a television show!!! And as Mia says "be fearless...how far can you push yourself?"
