Took the class yesterday night and while still fresh in my mind, brain dumping.
Best part of the class for me was witnessing my freestyle classmate light up with joy midway through her freestyle round when she went for a move, caught a groove, and her face beamed up.
Note: As usual, I’m recalling the choreography from memory and there are details missing including the counts, how the moves relates to the music (big component), and so forth.
Right kick and slide back Left kick and slide back Right kick and drag to the right Left kick and drag to the left Cross step variation to the left Cross step variation to the right Cross step (no variation) to the left Cross step (no variation) to the right
Right kick and slide back Left kick and slide back Right kick and drag to the right Left kick and drag to the left Cross step variation to the left Cross step variation to the right Cross step (no variation) to the left Cross step (no variation) to the right Misdirection to the right Misdirection to the left Misdirection to the right Jump and step to the right Step on to left foot and rebound Roger Rabbit like transition to the left and rebound
Areas of growth
Below are areas in which I felt challenged and would like to drill a bit more
A little bit of dinosaur arms during the kick and slide – felt tense in the anterior part of shoulder and forearm(s) when sliding back and sliding side to side
Foot steps for the misdirection – was unable to land the prescribed landing
Rebound – was unsure if it was just the shoulders turning or the entire torso
Cross step variation – cross step variation differs in two ways. normal cross step (when going to the left) is left leg step to the side, right leg step back, left leg cross over in front to the right. For the variation (to the left) left leg step to side, right leg step forward (NOT back), left leg step BEHIND
Takeaways and observations
Jevan’s back leg bent and knee tucked behind one another during cross step
Increase awareness of torso positioning difference between cross step vs cross step variation (i.e. stepping forward) – Jevan had pointed out that center of weight is slightly leaned back during the variation, whereas center of weight slightly more forward during non-variation
Below is a short review and recap of Ani’s house dance class (beginner/intermediate) that takes place in London every Tuesday night at 6:00pm over at Pineapple Studio. Though I enjoy taking this class every Tuesday, this instance of the class was special because my friend Will (from Seattle, who was visiting London) joined me and I felt so much joy to dance with a friend who I trained with back home.
Class Recap
Warm up with foundational move (Jack) and other foundations
Practice several combos that are part of larger choreography
Freestyle Exercise (Rhythm based) with partner
Choreography – Difficulty for me was 6.8 / 10
Freestyle Exercise
In terms of difficulty, I found this exercise 10/10. I struggled and fumbled hard, since its really one of the first times I was consciously trying to dance to a different, prescribed rhythm. Normally, whenever I freestyle, I just kind of go rogue and do whatever I feel like. Of course, sometimes that’s totally normal, especially in a social dance scene (e.g. clubbing). However, consciously dancing to a particular rhythm requires a totally different set of skills. This deliberate practice of dancing to a specific rhythm (see below) tripped me up and for the first few rounds and all I was sustain throughout the exercise was more or less stepping in place and even that in itself overwhelmed me.
The count itself was as follows:
1 2 – +4 5+ 6+ 7 8
Separately, as a result of the frustration I felt during the class, the next morning when I woke up, I ended downloading, installing, and learning Music Score to reproduce the rhythm (this in itself was good practice) and slapped my hands together (more on this in a different blog post).
Choreography
This section serves several purposes.
First, allows me to practice my mental recall. I’m about 4 months into taking choreography classes and my retention is slowly improving. When I took my first choreo class back in April, I fumbled and could barely retain anymore than 2 eight counts and I remembering feeling so frustrating during that first class and a level of resignation.
Second, when I want to refer back to this choreo and practice it, I can. Despite the written choreo below not being precise, I believe that I will be able to practice so as long as its accompanied with the video (below).
So be forewarned, the choreography is not completely accurate and fails to include the counts. That being said, here it is:
Shuffle variation (left side) Pow wow to the front Pow wow to the back Shuffle variation (again) left side Pow wow to the front – slight variation here and instead of kicking out right leg stick it to the ground and reduce the count Tap the right foot Drag – left leg around and hold for 2 counts Step left foot out Get into farmer position with right leg bent Tilt the right hip out and forward – at the same time, shift body weight leftwards back Return and neutral position Step right leg back Step left foot back and toe tap
Transition into squat position Spin left Land in pas de bourree position Pas de bourree to the right but kick out with the left foot Land and transition into loose leg Loose leg with jump kick variation (right side) Loose leg with variation (see new moves section below) Loose leg with variation to the right Continue pivoting on right foot for rest of the count Jack for four bars (i.e. 2 eight counts) Heel Toe right side Heel Toe right side Heel Toe left side (with head tilt) Heel Toe left side
Areas I want to practice
(Continue to) Increase Hip Extension mobility – I felt tight in this line, especially when kicking the leg behind me
Spin move itself – When Ani was spinning, I noticed how her left leg (right leg was the base we were spinning on) was bent at a clean 90 degree angle and left knee cap was tucked behind her right knee cap
Spin transitition into the pas de bourree position
Heel Toe with head tilt – could not land this during class and could line up the counts
Loose leg variation with pivoting on base leg – this was a variation I’ve never seen before and I really enjoyed the smoothness and aesthetic of it
Location: Base Dance Studios (in London, by Vauxhall station) Date/Time: August 08, 2024 @ 5:30pm-6:55pm (85 minutes) Overall class difficulty: 5 out of 10 Combo difficulty: 6 out of 10 Freestyle exercise? Yes
Overview
This blog post serves multiple purposes.
First, it helps me experience gratitude. Attending this class is one of the ways I squeeze in (my low desire of) socializing with folks who share similar values (e.g. physical activity, curiosity, social contact)
Second, the post may motivate someone to take the class and perhaps they are on the fence and want to gain a little insight into what will be learned.
Third, this post is a form of reflection, allowing me to contemplate what moves and exercises I want to continue practicing.
The class agenda was as follows:
Warm up – often my favorite part of the class and I incorporate the moves into my freestyle rounds
Short combination – consisted of the chase, loose legs, dodger, former, tic tac toe (variation) and side walk (variation)
Freestyle partner exercise – each of us took turns with the (above) combination
Cypher – we formed a larger circle (still only consisting of 4 individuals) and exchanged with one another
To get a glimpse of what the class looked like, here’s a little reel I put together that’s part and parcel of my dance journey log.
Combo: Chase, Loose Legs, Farmer, Dodger, Tic Tac Toe, Side Walk
Overall, I felt the difficulty of the combo was 6 out of 10. The reason for the somewhat higher than average difficulty is because I was unfamiliar with the tic tac toe and side walk variation. Outside of these two moves, I was familiar with the other foundational moves (e.g. chase, loose legs, farmer).
Tic Tac Toe variation (right) Tic Tac Toe variation (left)
Side walk variation (left) Side walk variation (right)
Areas of growth
As mentioned above, classes reveal what areas I’d like to work on (there are many). Here are the ones that I struggled with:
Tic Tac Toe – Not only was the positioning of the feet challenging, but the groove and body positioning felt foreign
Transition from dodger (last one) to the tic tac toe – while the dodger move itself was not challenging, theh transition out of this move INTO the tic tac toe tripped me up
The side walk variation – Jevan loves this move and it’s a variation that I haven’t been able to stick for months. In fact, I struggle with this almost every class in which this move is part of the combo. My body is accustomed to a familiar move: the pow wow. That move has been committed to muscle memory so my body wants to default to the pow wow.
The farmer – Though it is considered foundational and something I’ve thrown in rounds before, I’m not quite confident with the timing and feels a bit “off beat”
Syncopated Loose Leg – fan of this variation that he introduced, the first time I’ve danced the move
Freestyle exercise
The freestyle exercise was essentially partnering up with one other person in class and each of us taking turns to perform the freestyle.
After each of performed our combo, our partner would then offer
A positive comment pointing out what they liked out of round and
An area of growth.
For me, the positive comment I received was that my loose legs were the “loosest loose legs” and that it was sublime. For the area of growth, she pointed out my farmer. Though she wasn’t able to precisely offer feedback, I felt even within my body that I was not stretching out the entire downbeat.
Closing – dancing for others AND dancing for self
In a nutshell, you can BOTH dance (for yourself) and perform (for others) — at the same time.
Most of the classes I’ve taken in the United States emphasize that house is a feeling. Instructors often encourage students to NOT perform and instead, dance … to be free. While this belief resonates with me, I find that this assertion can sometimes unintentionally invalidate another aspect of dance: performing.
What I appreciated about what Jevan said was that freestyling is both dancing for yourself AND a performance. I believe the two — dancing for self and dancing for otthers — can (and do) co-exist.
Sometimes I dance without the idea of performance and consider these times rare, consider them “catching the ghost”. Othertimes I’m a bit too in my mind and I find that I am performing. Often, it’s a combination of dancing for self AND for others.
