How to Really Jazz It Up...

Speaking of jazz, tap, broadway musicals and the like...

Do you love watching them? They surely are enjoyable, and a good show never fails to put a smile on your face!

But what makes a great jazz dancer?

You probably have a few jazz/musical dance performance you have in mind that was memorable and enjoyable, and if you are a dance student, may have tried doing.

In a lively number, the dancers would carry a disposition of happiness, joyousness, playfulness, showing how carefree they are with wide-open arms, opening their hearts with big smiles on their faces.

With the ladies, it's always with at least abit more sassy-sauciness, hinting how naughty and playful they are, teasing both the audience and the performing counterparts confidently, leaving everyone hanging on to their fingertips.

When I needed to choreograph a Singing In The Rain piece for my school concert, I started by watching the movie clip from youtube, and I instantly fell in love with the song, the dance, but most of all, Gene Kelly's charm and enthusiasm. Needless to say, it instantly puts a smile on my face. I knew that I would love to choreograph it, and that the kids would enjoy dancing to it.

Gene Kelly singing in the rain...

In a dance that requires movements to be BIG and expressions are BIG, it is easy to go overboard with doing too much, (although in musicals, the levels of acceptance are pushed a little further than others, as expressions are occasionally exaggerated for effect).

But a how does a good performer do BIG, without going overboard?

it stays true to emotions - meaning, instead of just a "blown up" kind of expression, it is instead an honest form of expression, like how a child or a baby would act, when overcame with glee.

But you might notice as well, that good performers are able to act out very subtly, those genuine moments of ease and calm, amist the all excitement - using a day-to-day gesture, a wink, an eyebrow raised, a smile - but secretly impregnanting the moment with anticipation, bulding up the pace for that one high point.

When I showed my student's this video, the saw a whole new level of enthusiasm! They noticed how playful he was and how he happy he is, finding new love and all. It truly conveys the meaning of "the joy of dance."

So, if you wanna do jazz, perhaps, you may ask yourselves these questions:
1. Do you dare to be BIG and stand out?
2. Do you dare to be different, be brave and be playful?
3. Can you embody that happy disposition, put on a smile on your face that is as bright as the sun?
4. Are you a happy person? Can you be happy in your mind, in your core, all through your hands and feet, and in all the muscles on your face, from your heart and through your eyes?

C'mon with the rain,

I've a smile on my face...

 

Until next time, happy dancing... :)

Fear.

Everybody has fears.

Most of us were taught to fear our fears, growing up. Fear is used to hold us back from doing what society doesn't want us to do... such as making alot of noise, or being naughty.

As an adult, I still feel overwhelmed with fear, wherever that came from. And if you are familiar with fear, you would know that it's very, very crippling. (such as the fear of success)

The most pressing fear I am having now is the fear sharing information with the world. I didn't like socialising as much as most people do. I was afraid that the more informaiton I reveal about myself, the more I would be "found out". Found out about what? Is there really something to hide?

Upon introspection, I find that my fear of success stem from my school days, over the course of my primary years through my university days.

Back in my lower primary years, I was a high-achiever - always aiming to be at the top of the class, not content with 98% marks, aiming for the hundreds - and constantly living with the pressure of falling, of being called "sombong" or arrogant in Malay, by my classmates. I was afraid of making mistakes in my exam papers, and at the same time, I don't want to be judged that way, because I am certainly not an arrogant child nor one who likes to show off. But ofcourse, that level of perfectionism is sometimes perceived as arrogance by some, or perhaps I had unintentionally done so.

Inevitably, one has to give way to pressure. My grades starts to drop. And by the time I entered secondary school, I am one of those hanging on at the last position of the top class (that I have always been in), just praying that I wont get kicked into the second class or so. There, I hanged on for the rest of my schooling years. I was glad I made it through with grades good enough to enroll in a reasonably good course in a good university.

After finishing secondary year 5, I was admitted to MMU (Multimedia University) and started my foundation course to a degree in Creative Multimedia.

During my first term there, I was pretty exited. It was like getting a second chance in life - moving in to the hostel, studying a course that I am more interested in than all that mumble-jumble stuffs in school, new friends, new environment; I wanted to recreate a life like how it was back in my primary days - being a high achiever instead of a slacker, I wanted to be successful again!

But soon, the temptations of uni life proofed to be too hard to resist - Broadband internet, mmorpg, boyfriend, late-nite chats - by the time I entered my First Year, I was back to a slacker. By the end of my Second Year, I already felt the need to hide and run from alot of people - friends, class mates and lecturers, keep a low profile, fly below the radar - just so not to draw so much attention to my failures, my truancy, late submissions and the like. I have always stuggled with procrastination (and eventually learned from this productivity enthusiast) and along the way, discovered some strange, self-sabotaging behaviours; e.g. if I tell people about my progress, my work will simply stall there, without further progress. Therefore, I start to avoid talking about my work.

All those year, I constantly carry this overwhelming sense of guilt and shame, that when I meet people face to face, they would judge me for my weaknesses. So I avoided meeting people. I went on friend-hopping, knowing them only long or deeply enough to complete assignments and group works, but avoiding intimacy. I didn't want them to know how weak I really am.

Interestingly, when I did my final-year-project in Virtual Reality, I started a blog to log my progress. I temporarily overcame my procrastinating tendencies by fully immersing myself in the process and allowing myself to be vulnerable by reporting even the blunder or mistake I've made. Being a perfectionist, I had to tell myself to "post it up no matter how ugly I think it is." It seemed to work.

So here I am, posting it up, embracing my fear (like this guy here), even though it's ugly. What do you think?

Posture and Alignment

Awhile ago, I attended a tango workshop held by a visiting tango teacher who is also a physiologist.

While her workshop was about the basics of close embrace tango, she spent most of the time focusing on posture and alignment to create the right “connection” (the most important element esp. in close embrace as connection is harder to form and the tight space between the partners demands a higher level of synchronicity). Of course, many experienced tangueros and tangueras were able to benefit from it, for the most part, because posture and alignment is the basis of movement itself, whatever form it is.

In the workshop, she taught us about what a healthy tango posture is like, and how a good connection means that we can feel each other’s legs even when we’re

During my first few months of tango, I had struggled with balancing and other connection issues.

It took me awhile to try and decode the dance itself. I was frustrated about being stuck in the beginner class, as I am more than astute with musicality and steps and basic stuffs like that, being a dancer.

I stopped going for classes and focus on practicing on the dance floor instead, while I try to decode the dance and because I don’t believe in just learning the steps.

The first turning point was when one popular, regional tango teacher visited, conducted one class and subsequently a workshop. I felt so relieved to realize that what was wrong was really my posture. The hand hold wasn’t right, the shoulder too stiff and what not. Of course, I was also being either too strong, trying to lead the leader or I totally lost my balance and control of my centre (I will write another article about tango and relationships)

I changed a couple of things about my posture and my dancing improved. But I still wasn’t very balanced. One other teacher during another workshop commented that my bum was sticking out. Hmm… it’s really hard to know what you’re doing when you’re just trying to focus on what you leader is trying to get you to do. So later, I learned to suck my bum in while I danced, and surely, I found much more balance in my steps.

However, my posture and alignment at that time was still pretty rubbish. There has always been a serious posterior tilt in my pelvis and tight posterior hip muscles, making my bum look like it’s always dropping behind. I have tried strengthening my core muscles, but somehow, it just failed to include the support for the base of my torso. At that time, I seemed to have accepted it as a natural state of my posture.

Until one day, a fellow tanguero shares a post from tangoandchaos.org on facebook about tango etiquette and the like. I started browsing around the site and found that the author of the website have a really deep and insightful knowledge and understanding of the dance, having an Argentinian girlfriend who is a very good tango salon dancer and having spent some years studying old milongueros closely, documenting their technique, their style and each of their uniqueness, which may vary, as tango salon is a truly improvisational and open for interpretations and independent development.

What is common however, is that the techniques of the dancers has evolved over the years, from their beginnings in the 1920’s to a very efficient, effective form. That the alignments and the postures the dancers adopt would be the most comfortable and healthy for their routine daily doses of dances, that can go on for hours. You can imagine if they don’t have a good posture, they may not even be able to dance anymore, as most of them would be around their 70s.

Studying his articles on posture, weight placement and style, I started practicing some of it, and found a strange disconnect between my torso and my hips (which I first started noticing when trying to improve my ochos). But now I realised that I can’t do a lot of things because of the disconnect! It’s still hard to balance myself, I can’t feel my leader’s legs, and I followed badly.

So I spend many hours, pushing my pelvis forward, finding that hip-torso connection, perfecting my walk, and finding a new muscle, my illiop psoas. I must say that finding this group of muscles was life changing to me, (or at least my posture). These muscles has been so weak and so underutilized, no wonder my body keeps compensating by tightening other muscles.

In the process of realignment, I also found and tightened my pelvic floor muscles and truly understood the meaning of “zipping up my core muscles.”

The realignment of my pelvis was a wonderful experience for me. I felt, for the first time, like I had a physical enlightenment, I was so thankful, so joyful, and dancing felt so different and wonderful! For the first time, my arms felt so free and long, like it can reach out to the world! I was also starting to feel more flexible, more balanced, and when I went back to tango, I was having the time of my life! I no longer need to worry about balance, or fearing what my leader is expecting me to do. I was just gliding along the dance floor, all the way…

Warning!:

1.        The realignment procedure will demand much greater core strength than when you are maligned – because your muscles have been trained to be wrong for so long.

2.       When we correct one problem area, other related problems that have been able to hide will tend to surface itself. So if you did realign or is consider realigning your posture, and if a different problem surfaces,:

a.       Check to see if you are doing it right

- Some muscles might need to tighten, but stiffening yourself up is not the right way either. Remember, our body is meant to be relaxed, lengthened, firm and flexible, not stiff and rigid.

- Learn to ask your body questions – What is right? What is natural? What do you need to do? What is the right way to do this? Learn to be an observer and let your body answer you this.

b.      If you’re doing it right, you don’t have to worry. Just focus on correcting the new problem instead. It might be strengthening or releasing certain muscles, or healing old injuries. If you can learn how to allow your body to do it right for you, then you should know what feels right and what doesn’t.

Until next time,

Happy dancing!

Jennifer

Core strengthening

Recently, I offered one of my girl some guidance to correct her posture and use of muscles. This girl takes ballet classes outside of school. I was choreographing a dance which she was the main character in, and I decided to include her doing some pirouettes in the dance. However, I noticed much stiffness in her shoulders while she was turning. She also habitually strains her neck muscles in pulling it long.

I saw that her strain stems from a weak core and pelvic floor. I guided her in a few floor exercises to strengthen these areas as well as activate her psoas muscles, all the while guiding her with words like lengthening and ask you body what to do. She responded well to these cues. When we tested fondus and grand battemands on the barre, the light on her face was the most satisfying expression of all... She was so happy that it all felt so different. I was moved.

Later, I instructed her to stand in first position and to squeeze in her pelvic floor muscles and zip up her abdomens, her neck and shoulders starts releasing in the way that she had never felt before! It was so amazing and I am so happy for her.

Her pirouette still needs work, and I'm confident that we will get to that soon.

But the philosophy?

Strenghten your core and your tensions will be relieved.
Dance is meant to be enjoyable, relaxing and stress free, but doing so requires you having a strong core. Keep your head and your sense of direction too.


Cheers...

Reflecting on Short+Sweet Dance - Her Story: A Conversation

The strenuous week has ended, all the practices, rehearsals and preperations are finally over, and the bitter sweet after-taste of having done something together with this group of people. We don't know yet who will be able to make it to the Gala Night, but I am finally able to find the time to reflect on this wonderful journey of delivering my dance in Short+Sweet, entitled Her Story: A Conversation.



Why...

My first intention of joining this friendly competition was to showcase my work to a wider audience, experiement with a blend of styles from different people, forcing myself to come out with a work which includes myself and other people, and hopefully gain some experience into becoming a better dancer, a better choreographer, a better person.

Why Her Story: A Conversation?

Well, it all started off with an idea to create a dance for myself, and 2 other friends of mine, each from a different dance background, with the intention of telling our own story, in our own unique way.

It was meant to be an experimentation of sorts, blending with the different unique styles of each individual, playing with group dynamics.

Me and my dear friend, we had good chemistry dancing together, and having done so for more than a year, I would really love to put out something I can craft especially for us. But unfortunately, an unexpected turn of events have forced us to part ways. I really missed those times, but perhaps it was just not meant to be. Soon, my other friend decided to withdraw herself as well, and I was left with well... myself. What story am I going to tell?

So fate has brought me together with 3 new dancers, which I got to know from the open audition. All from different backgrounds, one which has little dance training, all have no experience in contemporary dance or improvisation - the style in which I intend to work with. Nevertheless, I decided to go ahead with the idea, attempt to learn more about these people and of their style of dance, to see what I can come out with.

And so, It began with a conversation...

Her Story... because it's a girly thing, talking about what its like to be us, sharing our story.

A Conversation... because everyone has different opinions in life, and different ways of presenting their thoughts and feelings. How would these different dynamics interact with each other?


The process...

What story am I going to tell, what outcome was it going to be, I did not know.
From our first practice together, I have experimented with different improvisation exercises to bring out each dancer's unique language, their movement vocabulary, and also the characters that they embody within them. I believe that movements should be authentic. That dance should not be mere steps to memorise, but more of a communication of our emotions and thoughts inside.

Drawing experiences from my own training in contemporary dance and improvisation, plus the workshops I have attended in creative movements and in butoh, along with my appreciation for different types of music and movements, I worked with the layers of storyline and characterisations, drawing from my own experiences and my life story - a story which continues to unfold itself towards the end of this journey.


Pushing the limits...

It was a pleasant start at the begining of our practices as I was having end of academic year break at my school, so I had plenty of time to think things through, to work out my choreography and music choice as I recover from the school's arduous year-end concert. In between that, I was just keeping myself busy with other activities and plans, aside from my weekly contemporary class, and actually managed to spend alot of time doing tango. We were having rehearsals twice a week, one on a weekday and the other on a Sunday, which we are fortunately able to put together despite the busy schedules of my fellow dancers.

But it all starts to get a little overwhelming when school began in September. After having rested for a whole month, my body is not quite used to the strain of dancing all day, all week. It was physically exhausting, but I still manage to cope, along with Tuesday tangos and practicas, Friday milongas, and contemporary class on Thursdays. I also had additional CCA to teach now. Kept myself really busy for the whole month, trying my best to stay strong. The deadline is approaching, but it feels like I'm yet to be ready.

It took me a while to decide on and finalise the song choice. Over the last 2 weeks of practice, I find myself spending extra time to work one on one with my dancers and adjusting certain parts to suit my dancers better as I learn more about them. Desperately needed more sleep. No time for tango now.

On my side, I was also doing alot of reading and soul-searching, for various reasons, but it all adds up to the equation.

28 September 2011 was an amazing day, body wise. It was the day I had discovered certain muscles that helps with my posture, and almost like magic, I have realigned my hip joint-pelvis-lower abdomen. It was an experience of joy, having found the right alignment for my body, and especially around this area which has hindered with my dancing in many ways. I wasn't sure it was going to last. My teacher said I should continue practicing. It was a Wednesday, one week left to our show. I was delighted at how my body moved differently with this new-found posture, which comes with a new feeling of control and freedom. My limbs moved with ease, I feel so large like I own the world. But then again, on the following Monday, I woke up in horror to find that my hips dropping back to where it was before. I spend the rest of the day trying to realign it back again. I'm not sure if it is the same as how it was on Wednesday, but I guess I understood what it means by having to continue practicing. The muscles are not strong yet, and probably gaining a few extra pounds from the heavy meals over the weekend doesn't help. Fortunately, I am able to get it back up, and I can go back to practicing my usual stuff again.

Mentally, I am starting to feel lethargic with all the things I need to work on, including the maddening task of getting the costumes done. With the shopping, finding tailors, figuring out how to make the design work, I ended up with no choice by to do it myself, a la Project Runway, and 4 pieces at that! Thank alot to my Mei Sin and my mom who helped with the sewing, but I swear to never to this again. At least not 4 of them. By Monday, I managed to get most of the sewing done except for 1 little part. Myself and 2 of my dancers worked together to stick sequins on them, hopefully to glam it up for the stage.

So, when the mind is tired, emotions starts to crumble too. I was begining to feel inferior and uncertain as the dates draw closer. I was afraid that I've done would not be good enough. As much as my friends and family give their support and encourage me, it couldn't help when my self-esteem hits rock bottom after our tech rehearsal on Monday. I wish I could just dig a hole in the ground and disappear into it...

By Tuesday, I decided that I couldn't go on like this anymore... that if not for the fact that I've spent too much effort into the costumes and having other dancers to be answerable to, I would be tempted to withdraw in the last minute. I gave a call to my coach, hopefully she would be able to help with this emergency. One thing she said that finally managed to put my mind back into place was that I should be focusing on me, my music and my dance...

Just me, my music and my dance...

This phrase saved my life. I can be no further from the truth, that my dance should be just that - me, my music, and my dance. That all this panicking was the result of focusing too much on the competition, what would the judges think, what would the audiences think... forgetting that, when I am able to put all of myself out there, I would have done my best, just like how I have did before. That I have done this before, I have moved my audiences before, and I am going to do it again, with my dance now. One of my dancers did mention too, that it would be too late to change anything now, for what we put on stage, would be what we remembered from what we have practiced for so long. And that the dance should be danced just the way it was meant to be danced. No fancy moves just for the sake of fancy moves and what not.

And so, Tuesday night rehearsal, I bring myself back up, believe in what I am here to do, on our dress rehearsal day.


Showtime...

The first day started off okay, my energy was there, though with parts I think I could do better. I felt more sure of myself on the day before, but it was all good, cos of the support by beloved friends. They even bought me a bouquet of flowers to show how much they love me. Ofcourse, they made me feel like a star already! It would have been fun to go off and party with them after the show is over, but we still have 3 more night to go, and I have to salvage what little sleep time I have left. But it was tonnes of pressure lifted off my shoulder.

This routine proved to be strenuous as lethargy sets in on day 2, and by day 3, I was drawing from what little inch of energy I have left in my body and mind. Supporters continue to pour in, though in smaller droves compared to the first night. We know you guys love us no matter what, and we love you too, bu I can't wait for the Friday night to sleep through and recharge my mind and my body and prepare for the Saturday.

Saturday would've been THE day, with tickets being sold out, and the attendance of my family, colleague, students, fellow dance mate, and as I later discovered - an unexpected ex-student who came just to see me! I have tried to prepare myself and my dancers in many ways over the past couple of days, hoping to be able bring up the energy as a group. But I felt like my dancing has become stale. Its meaning, shallowed, and my sensitivity to the music subdued. The dance has lost its life... So tonight, I feel that I have to do my dance justice by telling its story, from deep down my heart - the same way I have done before in the past, but have not yet done in this competition. I began to listen to music usually moves me from deep down. I let my heart guide me as to what music to choose, and I let my movements flow with it when I was warming up. By the time I get to the core of it, I began so sob uncontrollably. Perhaps, there is still the pain unsettled that is to be told in my story... so much for the joy I thought I have found, I fell back to where I was still missing out on, because it is where I really am right now. But I loved how my body was working. It flows freely with the music, it was balanced, it was strong. I stand tall. And when your grand battements are effortless, you know you're doing it right.

With this, I brought my pain, my longing, my passion and hopes for the future, right onto the stage, and gave a new meaning to my movements again. So much for being syok sendiri, dancing in a way my dancers have not seen me danced before, I knew I have given my all, done all I could, and I have no more fear or regrets by the time this is over.


Fulfilling my objective...

I have done my best, though it may not be the best of my best...

I managed to present my work and my dance to a whole new group of audience... which was my original intention.

I took a risk by doing this experiment, applying the things I have learned, working with a whole new group of people, who are very different from me, with pleasant results... so I'm happy about it...

I have learned a whole lot of stuffs, working with people, working on things, technical, artistic, what a choreographer must do to fulfill a task...

I have pushed my body to a limit I have not seen since my short course at Aswara beginning of this year.

I have pushed my time, my energy, my mind, my emotions... hopefully to new levels of strengths and endurance.

And finally, I have relearned about myself, of what I can or cannot do, of how my dance should be.


Despite the many times I asked myself... "What have I gotten myself into?" I'm glad I managed to push through. I got what I've bargained for, perhaps a little more. Who knows what the future lies... but for now, I'd just love to incubate for awhile, let it all settle in, before I can squeeze for my creative juices again. And for all participants for Week 2, I wish you all the best too.


(Thanks and much love to my dear sister for helping put this wonderful synopsis together...)

A girl. A journey of finding life, love, friendship and sisterhood.


One true self, finding herself with three new sisters. How would she tell her story?


It began with a conversation…


Signing out now,

Cheers.

Performance at Core Design Gallery

Recently done a performance at Core Design Gallery for their opening for their Surreallusion (Surreal Illusion) art exhibition.

Here's a newly choreographed piece for their theme, called The Time Traveller.

And the Tree made an appearance!

Quite different this time though...

Anyway, it was an interesting opportunity to perform to a different crowd - artists - in an art gallery.

And thanks alot to Scarlette and everyone at Core Design Gallery for their wonderful support, assistance and uploads.

Do visit their website or facebook page for more info and latest updates on art exhibits, services and workshops.

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is my original solo dance composition. Created mid last year, it has evolved through different stages of emotional and movement discovery over the course of a few rehearsals and performances. Even it's costume has grown bit by bit!

While the dance centres around the life of a tree, I believe that its story reflects some emotions that we can all relate to as human beings.

The dance is set to the Avatar soundtrack music, The Bioluminescence of the Night which runs for 3 and a half minutes. The movements are 3 dimensional while it is danced in stationary.

I am currently working on the second part of the dance and I hope to be able to share this dance with you.