June 24, 2011

“Beam Me Up Scotty” - Nicki Minaj

Well!  This is the first “hip hop” class that I’ve ever taught (what a milestone, right?).  In the past I’ve always had songs that I imagined choreographing to, but I never had a reason to act on my vision, which was frustrating at times.  And then, when I finally get the opportunity to teach…I am scared shitless.

You think with all my ideas, stuff would be easy.  Fook no!  There’s so much stuff to consider, especially in hip hop.  You have to think about who you’re teaching to - easy or hard?  Swag or cunty?  Groove or more musicality-based?  It was hard to find a song that could offer something for everyone, both boys and girls.  I feel like it’s so much easier for a guy to teach sometimes than a girl.

Once I chose the song, I then had to figure out what beats I wanted to use and when; it’s true when they say you have to listen to a song about 100 times just to hear the beats and then translate it into movement.  The same goes for the lyrics.  I find myself to be very lyric-oriented mostly because of my dance background in contemporary (or as we used to call it, “lyrical”), so it was sometimes a challenge for me to pick and choose.  Beats then lyrics, lyrics then beats.  Maybe some whole counts in there for a change of pace (ironic, right? LOL)!  I was afraid of having a repetitive pattern.

Then…it was time to add movement.  This was the scariest part.  I haven’t taken a “community” class or even a BDC class in AGES.  I don’t religiously watch YouTube so I didn’t really even know how much had changed since I’d been on Juniors.  I was afraid of making dated, generic choreography.  I was also afraid of biting (you know how we all get about biting).  I don’t really think I escaped the generic part, but give me some credit.  For a girl who has been doing hair flips and whips the past 10 months, I think I did well.  I spent hours working on this thing (at one point I think I spent a whole two hours trying to decide what in the hell to do for “I know it ain’t math/but I carry the one”), and I think it turned out decent.

CLEARLY, there is much to be worked on; control, timing, MY FLAILING MONKEY ARMS…but it’s a start.

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  1. whatislloyds reblogged this from kobywulf and added:
    proud of you! i miss dancing with you...dance (is there any way that last part can not...
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