Matt Chung

1:1 Dance questionnaire

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by

Matt Chung
in

Below are some questions (along with my answers) asked by Francesa in preparation for our upcoming 1:1 dance private scheduled this Friday. Also included a couple of my favorite dance clips that inspire me.

  • What are 3 house steps that you are comfortable with and use frequently?
    • Pas de bourree
    • Loose Leg / Chase
    • Cross Step
    • Shuffle
  • ⁠What are 3 house steps that you struggle with or tend to avoid?
    • Farmer
    • Skate
    • Train
    • Sidewalk, Salsa (and others that I’ve practiced that sometimes don’t make appearances during rounds/sessions etc)
  • Can you identify what in particular you struggle with for those steps?
    • Falling off beat (exclusively with the farmer)
    • Not quite aesthetically where I want it to be (Skate / Train)
    • Inability (or have not yet attempted really) to convey different rhythms beyond the foundational, syncopated rhythmic pattern
    • Develop a groove (where I doing more dancing than steps) that I can dance and intertwine these steps with
    • Often forget that I’ve even trained these steps and thus rarely come out
  • ⁠Who are 3 house dancers who inspire you or whose style you enjoy?

    So difficult to name just three so going to toss out a few more at the risk of violating the constraint in the question 😊
    • Brian Green
    • Kwame
    • Yugson
    • Rick Indigo
    • Shan S
    • J Soul Zuberi
    • Rachad
  • ⁠Can you identify what is about those dancers that you appreciate?
    • One common theme is the beautiful simplicity in their movements
    • Ability to dance both masculine and feminine energy
    • Laid back while also energetic and crisp and clear
    • Versatility and their ability to adapt to different types of (house) music
    • While the steps are “beautiful”, the ability to gracefully move other parts of the torso
  • Is there anything in particular you’re really keen to get out of this initial session?
    • Curious to hear your observations from the past 3 weeks of Kev’s Kitchen
    • Incorporating double time without looking or feeling so robotic
    • Turns and space without looking robotic / stiff in the torso
    • From the wide array of “elements” (e.g. levels, space, rhythm, musical, isolation, footwork) how to manage training routine and practice and develop them over both the short and long term