OH MY GOD when I grow up and have my own house in the suburbs with little tinies and a hubby, I will have a grand piano. I am in love with my family's piano. To the point where I dropped 2000 dollars to get a keyboard equivalent for my apartment. But the sound of this piano just rings through my SOUL! I've been madly putting together piano covers of songs of my friends. Jamming out and losing my mind in music. The keys of this piano are real ivory. Some of them have chips. The sound has a twangy tin flavor to it, and the whole piano vibrates with the bass notes. Every piano has its own character. This one is warm, inviting like a hot cup of cocoa. I secretly hope to one day inherit this one. I've lived with this piano my whole life and it's a beautiful thing to come home to. Sorry keyboard back in New York, nothing compares to the real thing, even if you do have weighted keys.

So ever since I started reading The Elegant Universe and reading about Einstein's theories of relativity, I've started to lose my sense of distance over time. I missed my stop today on the train (which I NEVER DO) and as I was walking back from the library to the school where i volunteer I over-walked a block. I pride myself on having good spatial awareness but this is ridiculous. I think I'm standing in warped spacetime.

On the way home I saw a man who looked like Pop Master Fabel sitting in front of my local laundromat eating a subway sandwich. I laughed to myself as I walked by thinking that this guy really looked like him..,. and it turned out it WAS him... weird.

After the Beat Freaks workshop I hurried back to Queens on a local bus, which meant I wasn't hurrying at all. I nearly threw up from bus sickness, which was weird because I was fine on the way there. I guess it was the heat too. The studio for the class was also really hot, and it didn't help that the bus felt like a fiery furnace.

But I made it back to the Port Authority in one piece and then rushed to Queens on the L train.

When I got to the event the jam was already underway. Who Can Roast the Most is a jam that is held by Ground Zero Crew from Miami. They've hosted this event in different cities around the US, but this was the first time they hosted in New York. I came just in time to see the two on two battles start. I did manage to get into a few cyphers, but I felt really weak since I had been dancing all that morning and afternoon. But it was nice to at least attempt to get down a few times, even if I couldn't feel my legs. I saw A-Bgirl there and told her how tired I was but she gave me a positive vibe anyhow saying it didn't really matter.

The battles were DOPE! OH MY GOD. The MC, Zoob from GZC, was really funny, and most importantly was great at hyping the crowd. Everyone crowded around the dance floor and started cheering and yelling. It was awesome just being in the audience. The two on two battles were hit or miss. Unlike the 1-1 exhibition roast battles, these battles were just one round each. Which meant that none of the dancers were holding anything back. Two of my favorite bboys ended up winning the whole thing. Meen 187 is one of those fun bboys to watch. He clowns around with everyone, but has the skills to back it up too. He calls himself an abstract bboy. His partner, Kid Glyde is more traditional in the sense he has crazy power and footwork, but he, as well as his crew, are really fun to watch. They beat a duo called 4H, Toyz and some other bboy, to win the whole thing.



The highlights of the night were the 10 round EACH exhibition battles. This is where Who Can Roast the Most sets itself apart from other jams. This is the marathon of bboying, and many of the bboys didn't have enough stamina to make it past their first few rounds (sorry Xzist). When you have a 10 round battle you have to think differently. Each round is shorter. You have to say more with less because if you use up too much energy you'll fail by the end. The cool thing was that there were no judges. The audience gets to decide, but even so, no winner is announced. Even so, it was pretty obvious who got roasted.

The only thing that sucked was the bgirl battle. Quiet, from GZC, was good, but the battle only went 5 rounds each, and Connie wasn't really that great to watch. She got tired after a while and started repeating moves. I almost felt like it was a joke, which is sad because there were some really good bgirls there that night who would have been more fun to watch (A-bgirl, Yaya, Bounce etc).

My favorite battle of the night was Gravity Vs Richie Rich. Richie is a great bboy, but he got tired out by the end of the 7th round or so. He was dancing a lot before the battle, which confused me. Maybe he forgot that he had a 10 round battle coming up? Gravity was also matching him move for move. If Richie did a back flip, Gravity did a layout backflip. The audience, myself included, was going completely nuts. The energy was so intense! I talked to Gravity at the end of the night and said he looked like he could go another 10 rounds. He smiled and said he actually almost puked from overexertion, but he took that as a compliment. He's the kind of bboy who throws everything out there and holds nothing back. He's awesome to watch and that night was no different.

Another battle I really enjoyed was Ken Fury Vs Heps Fury. Ken Fury's style is so unique that it's hard to describe. He puts moves together, hits freezes and moves his body in completely unique ways. I would almost describe his style as "classy." Heps Fury was wearing purple pants and crazy socks. I'm not even sure who won that battle, but it was fun to see.

This was the most energetic battle I have ever been too. I'm so glad I got to see it. At the end of the battle everyone went crazy and had an uprocking battle. It was like all the energy of the night was just let loose and everyone went wild (in a good way of course!). I can see how back in the day, when life in New York was gritty and depressing, a battle like this would be a good way to release tension and negative energies. Even though the bboy scene has become more positive and widespread, it's nice to see bboying go back to its roots here in New York. I had so much fun at this jam and I can't wait for my next one.

Tags: adventures in breakdance

So this past weekend I took my butt out to Jersey (Bergenfield to be exact) to take a workshop with Lady Jules and Lindsey of the Beat Freaks. I woke up early and went over to the Port Authority. This is the bus station that feels and looks like an airport. Thank God the New Jersey transit's website has good information otherwise I would have been completely lost. I got on the express bus to Bergenfield and I was on my way.

The workshop took place in this TEENY TINY studio. The studio, called Creative Image Dance, is where a dance crew called Rythymology practices. I got there early enough to see them going over various choreography. As an aside, I really don't get the idea behind competitive dance teams' choreography. Recently, to be fair, I saw a video of Fr3sh Juniors that had really good choreography, using layers and staggered movements, but other than that it all looks the same to me. If you don't know what I'm talking about think of So Real Cru and Team Millenia. These are two other crews in the same vein. It's almost like it takes the joy out of the dance. It's too crisp, too precise. There's no freestyle soul in it.

But anyhow, first was the workshop with Jules. For some reason I thought she was taller! But she's actually about my height. She didn't really teach me anything I didn't know, but gave me some better ideas of how to practice. She said don't worry too much about drills, but just figure out how your body can move. Bgirling is about innovation and how your body moves through space. I personally think there's a time and a place for drills (especially for stamina and form) but I agree that it's more about creativity than drills. We did CCs and she taught us an elbow freeze (because "everyone teaches babys" :)). I could tell from the start that she was one of Ms. Vee's teachers because a lot of the toprock steps she taught us were the same. She also talked about "rock" in the same way. The workshop was fun though, and getting to dance with one of my idols was super-fun.

Then came the class with Lindsey. She actually taught us the choreography from the first episode of America's Best Dance Crew. We got a chance to actually learn the moves that they open with on the show. I told Lindsey that I was really nervous that the class was going to be too hard for me, but she told me not to worry about it. She also said if you throw yourself in there and just get a few moves, then that's better than nothing. The choreo turned out not to be too hard for me. She gave everyone a really good note about using levels and how adding levels can make moves that much stronger. In the end, I felt like I really got it, and I feel like my dancing has come along pretty far in a year.

At the end we got to take pictures with the two of them. I also got a chance to let them know that they successfully completed what they set out to do on the show; they showed the world that women can dance just as good as men can, and they inspired female dancers just like me. Jules said she was thankful I said that. I also told them that I appreciate the fact that they don't just shake their booties all around. Lindsey responded by saying that when she used to dance with Phi of of the Jabbawockeez, he would yell at girls who got in the circle and just shook their asses. She said he'd say "if you aren't going to dance then get out of the circle." I think its great that Phi and other dancers respect women as dancers and not just booty shaking video girls.

I got a T-shirt and a bandanna with the Beat Freaks logos on it. All in all it was a great day. (Then it was off to Who Can Roast the Most but that's another post all together!)

Tags: beat freaks, bgirling, dance

I think I may have just had a revelation about counts. Thanks Phil of Fanny Pak. He said something that made me think about counts differently, as a way into the beat. All of this is new to me, but I think I'm on to something.

-YAY!

So tonight on kind of a whim, I took a dance class with Phil and Cara from Fanny Pak. I had a friend who was promoting two events this week and I decided to go out in support of him. Also I haven't taken a hip-hop class in a while so I thought it would be good practice. It turned out that only six people showed up for the class. But this ended up being nice because it meant we all got more face time with them. I talked to Phil a little bit before class and let them know not only would I try my best but that I'd ask a lot of questions and try not to funk up their choreography. He was really nice in person, and reminded me of a lot of my gay friends from college. Very flamboyant and a good dancer :p

The class itself went pretty well. I was surprised to find that after filming myself, I wasn't actually all that bad. The choreography was FAST! as in Fanny Pak fast! Which is fast... and at first I thought I couldn't keep up, but it actually went well. Phil was really funny the whole time and made the class fun. I actually enjoyed the small size of the class and I felt really comfortable asking questions. The best thing was that they choreographed without counts. Just to the words of the song. Which is how I learn choreography the best. I asked Phil about it after the class and he said that he'd rather not do counts either and that's how he learns. I asked him what goes through his head when he has to do counts for a routine or a class and he said that "oh man we have to do counts" was what was on his mind. :) I feel exactly the same.

We took pictures after the class and I got to talk to Phil a little bit. I asked about the Fanny Pak clothing line and he pulled out this really nice tank top. I asked if they could make me a shirt with a built in Fanny Pak. Phil seemed to think the idea was kinda neat, so who knows if we'll see that in the future. I found out that the Fanny Pak are actually putting together an album (which means Phil from Fanny Pak is going to be "compared" to Phil Collins again XD) and their shoes should be released soon.

At the end of the night my friend Darwin, the promoter, and I walked out with Cara and Phil. I kinda wanted to hang out with them, but since Darwin didn't end up going, and I didn't want to be that "weird groupie hanging out" with them, I walked Darwin to the bus terminal instead. We talked about ABDC and how he "gained lots of 'friends'" when they found out he had met Quest crew and knew So Real Cru. Some "friends." But we had a great time talking and the whole night was a huge success.

I'll have an update about the Lady Jules and Teresa Espinosa workshops on Friday. Until then Freak the Dream!

Tags: abdc, dance, hip-hop legends

So I started training windmills on Wednesday. All I have to say is:


this was my practice both yesterday and today: Baby freezes::twist wobble::swing leg:: fall over onto back attempting to windmill::holds arm in pain::

Actually Ms. Vee pointed out something that actually helped me a great deal. And here I was thinking I couldn't learn anything from her XD She also brought out some old choreography which made me feel good because I finally got everything! SWEET! Even the hippy hippy shake toprock!


::pats self on shoulder::
::ouch::

Tags: adventures in breakdance

So I know I haven't posted in a while, but life gets me sometimes and I can't do two blogs at once. Anyhow I guess it's time for an update.

I've been bgirling for about a year now! I can't really believe it, but I know I've come a long way from when I started. I have a lot of moves in my arsenal and now it's time to start training windmills!! But I also feel like I've reached a plateau and I'm a bit stuck. That said I had two really good classes this week. Thursday I thought might be my last Ms. Vee class if it didn't go well, but she actually asked me to the front and I finally got what was wrong with my top rock! Hips don't lie :)

I sometimes find myself not pushing hard enough at practice and it bothers me. I get lazy and have to kick my own ass. I need to find my own inner Nemesis (a bboy who drills hella hard), and kick my own ass into gear. I also need to put a few choreographed sets together to take to jams.


I went to this jam in Staten Island yesterday and it was fun. It was my first time taking the ferry and I was such a tourist. I stuck my head out of the window and stared at the statue of Liberty. The jam itself was fun but since I came late I only really got to see the battle. I got into three cyphers which was my goal, but not really a big deal since it was at the end when nobody was looking. The cool thing was I got in the circle with one of my bboy idols, phantom, and actually laughed with him when I brought out the party dances :)

Right now I'm learning windmills and swipes. I just need to keep my head and practice like crazy. Pushing myself harder and focusing can only help me in the long run.

Tags: adventures in breakdance, bgirling, dance

I ran into Gravity last night and he said he's going to ::wait for it:: ::wait for it::


Be TEACHING AT BDC!!!!!

Granted I wish he would have trained me for free...

BUT THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Ok now I have to run to work on 4 hours of sleep... Gwah!

Tags: adventures in breakdance, dance

-last night at Sin Sin someone saw me dancing and asked if I teach dance classes :)
-I finally found my "jack" in house. I can now groove. :)
-I still, however need to work on my apache toprock. (Apparently it's all in the hips and my hips don't like to bgirl)
-Rhapsody's class was hard but really fun. I realize now that intermediate choreo comes in three parts. Beginning middle and end. I'm getting better at catching things, but need to work on the overall picture. Looking in the mirror would help if I could do it.
-I also need to learn how to spot. Ballet anyone?

Tags: adventures in breakdance, dance