Everyone loves a good Before and After. It’s shiny and exciting cause it shows you what’s possible! It’s something that makes you stop and say, “Whoa! Is that her?! That’s incredible.” Seeing a transformation side by side like that can be very powerful.
Over the past few years we’ve shown a few different examples of my growth as a dancer by highlighting videos of me dancing from over 10 years ago all the way through examples from today. And you better believe there is a difference! We shared those old dance videos in conjunction with current dance videos so you can see that we all start somewhere and that growth is possible. But HOW? That’s something we haven’t specifically talked about in relation to my dance journey. How did I go from someone who was clearly passionate about dance but had little to no technique and looked out of control in her movement to the dancer I am today?
Before I can answer the “how” for you, I have to discuss the “why.” Why was my dancing so spazzy? Initially, yes it’s because I was never truly taught technique. But one day, I started taking classes from this guy named Rishone, and he started teaching me about groundedness and paying attention to my feet and how to create movement by pressing into the floor. But here was the problem – I was getting the education, but I WASN’T LISTENING. I thought I knew better. I was so stubborn! More specifically, I created a learning block for myself. The way that Rishone taught choreography back when I first met him was solely through “feel.” He didn’t use counts or really any measure of timing at all while he was teaching. He choreographed based on how he felt so when he taught it, the timing would change throughout the class, and that infuriated me. I was all about the counts and the timing. He was all about the feel. Because of that clash between us, I put up this barrier in my learning process that stopped me from being able to take in the choreography unless I knew what the timing was. And my dancing suffered for it. But again, I thought I knew better.
So what changed?
Nothing did. At least not for a long time. My mindset about the learning process stayed the same for several years, and so did my dancing – spazzy and lacking control.
It wasn’t until I let my guard down and opened myself up to the learning process and allowing myself to be comfortable with moving and learning choreography without necessarily knowing the timing first. That was hard! It was going against how I am wired. But once I stopped holding on so tightly to what I thought was the right way to learn, I was able to actually take in the information and technique I was being taught. And slowly but surely, I could start to see a difference in my quality of movement. There was more control and more finesse. I had more range of motion and dynamics instead of just one flat tone of movement. Because those things that Rishone tried to teach me back in the day – the groundedness, the use of my feet, pressing into the floor to generate the move ment – I was finally implementing them.
That is why you can see a clear difference in a ” before and after ” in my dancing between 10 years ago to now. I had to get rid of the chip on my shoulder thinking I was better or smarter than the process. I had to open myself up to trying new things and new ways of looking at dance. I had to be okay with not being perfect.
Now let’s put up a mirror. Have you been feeling stuck as a dancer?
Every week, we give you the “how.” We’re teaching you all the technique and skills you need to grow as a dancer. But right now, I want you to look in that mirror and ask yourself, what is your “why?” If we’re telling you how to get better, but you’re still feeling stuck, why are you not progressing? For me it was my stubbornness in the learning process and being afraid of not being perfect. But it may be something different for you… Maybe it’s an uncomfortability with looking at yourself in the mirror. Or maybe It’s a mindset you can’t get out of that’s telling you that your not a (hip hop) dancer.
Whatever it is, if you have something that’s preventing you from being able to learn and implement the technique we give you in class, you’ve got to address what that is before you’ll be able to move forward and make any real progress on your own dance journey. Once you can figure out the why that’s been stopping you, that’s when the real work begins. And no, it’s not glamorous. It’s not the shiny “before and after.” But it’s the consistent work that’s required in order for you to be able to reach that “end goal.” And we’ll be here to guide you along that journey. But you’ve got to come open to the process ready to learn! When you can do that, you’ll be unstoppable.