Today, I was re-inspired.

There were a lot of takeaways from today’s class.

1. My friends are crazy, and it’s really the reason why I love them

As usual, I went for DDC dance prac and today’s instructor was Alex Teo. He is one of the local instructors that I actually really like as a dancer (plus he cute) and being myself, I was very open about expressing my love for my dancecandy to my friends, especially those in DDC. So, even before today when we knew he was coming to teach us, I got texts from my friends being hyped about me being hyped for this upcoming prac.

Today, EVERYONE was just amplifying all the love. From the moment class started, everyone just kept on calling out  ‘Umi’ loudly right after Alex said a line of introduction, trying to make me stand right at the front of the class (where I ended up in the end). Alex actually had to pause for a few minutes until they had all calm down from the euphoria of shouting my name in class. OK, got the hint guys.

The one epic moment was when we were near the end of class. After learning the choreography, he told us to split into half to video us down. So, naturally the group split into two halves, and I was in the middle. I was heading to my right, but he tugged at my sleeve to stop me for a while to make me join the other group on my left. At that moment, everyone else had this ‘OMG, they touched’ face with their eyes wide opened, and the moment I turned to join the group, they all went beserk, asking me (loudly) ‘omg are you okay?’ ‘how are you feeling?’ ‘do you feel that spark at that moment?’.

This is the story. Of my friends.

2. It’s better to start with no experience, than with prior dance background.

On to a serious note, this was the main reason I wanted to blog this out. (Just thought I should add the humorous part at the front, because why not?) At the end of class, he was saying how our club’s standard has really improved and he feels very amazed and proud of us. As a club, we were all grooving in the same style. He said that it is good, what we are doing now. That we take in people with no dance experience at all, because that when we can just ‘whack’ the person to improve leaps and bounds. As compared to a seasoned dancer, where there is a smaller room for improvement and one might already have our own notions of dance. This is how we do it, and everyone learns a lot more and grow together. He then continued to tell us that we should be proud of ourselves. Be proud of being uniquely you.

And that’s it. That was the point where I just went ‘wow how did I never realize this?’ Up till now, I feel that DDC as a club has just been exponentially growing and we never really stopped to take it all in, and really to properly embrace our uniqueness. We have been hustling hard, and we constantly compare ourselves to a lot of the clubs out there as we grow in prestige and talents and numbers. And right at that moment, I felt the immense pride and love for this club once again. It felt like everything that I ever wanted was right in front of my eyes, and that I don’t need to look elsewhere. It’s right where I want to be. It doesn’t matter how we started out, but all I know is that we joined this together and really, what he said is true. I learnt a lot more from these people with no prior dance background, who are not only passionate but hardworking, and that they grew together with me.

So, thank you my friends for being here with me through this journey together, we’ve been through lots of ups and downs and definitely lots of laughter, and I’m immensely proud of my friends’ growth 🙂

This is the story. Of my friends.

3. Groove & Psycho-Motor Skills

• Our groove comes from the pelvis
• Groove is essentially an up and down bounce, which means your body will naturally hunch (imagine your body is your arm, and you keep pivoting your hand up by the elbow

I was really inspired by the new things that he taught us today. And I finally felt like wanting to self-prac again to work on it, which I haven’t felt for a really very long time. (At the same time, I think I fell in love with him again cause he looks really cool, as always hah, with the new moves that he taught us for the first time.) I was simply rejuvenated with dance, all thanks to his class today.

Note to self:

• Lollipop Combo (with accent)
• Texture of Groove (Expanding into 2 opposing circular flow using your backs simultaneously)
• Pscyhomotor: Level 1, 2 and 3 (Serve pizza, Put on Jacket, Punching Combos) 

SO, Happy Alex Day everyone.