Vancouver Street Dance Festival 2015

Vancouver has always been a beautiful city and my second home since I was a kid. Going back this time, not only did I get to see family, but I had the chance to check out Vancouver Street Dance Festival (VSDF)!

Day 1: Prelims.
As a normal battle goes, we all have to go through prelims. To be honest, I was nervous being in another place and battling, but at the same time I wasn't really feeling it because I wanted to enjoy the event! Due to this, plus I was first to go and I didn't know the music at all, I did pretty horribly (in my standards). But hey, every experience is an experience to add to mine so I still got something out of it. To my surprise, there were a bunch of Montreal waackers that came to the event! Most of them made it to top 4 too which was dope!

Day 2: Main Event Day.
Compared to events I've been to in Montreal, VSDF was held a Robson Square which is an open public space with free admission. So there were many non-dancers there and the vibe was just amazing!! I got to enjoy the shows, watch the battles and go into cyphers which was a lot of fun. Waacking is always the most fun to watch haha so here's the finals!!

After the event, we all went to place called Guu Garden that served Japanese tapas! The food was so good and we got to get to know some of the locals from Vancouver AND got to know the members of Konichiwaack. Damn those guys and fun and CRAZZYY!! I had so much fun just watching them that night!! Here's one of my first video's that I saw of them ;)

Day 3: Workshop day

I've actually taken Princess Lockeroo's workshop before when I first started waacking, but I was too new back then to understand what she was trying to teach. This time round I took her advance class and wow it was so damn hard, but so damn good! I learnt a little more about how to train by myself, but I also got a little bit of a deeper understanding of the different elements in this dance style. Now I've got a lot of work to do... However, this class really gave me a lot of motivation and inspiration on how to train myself which is just what I needed. Can't wait to start and get into training mode again!!

Mandatory post-workshop photo

First gig ever!!!

Good things keep coming this summer!! :D Ever since I started street dance, I've always wanted to be a backup dancer. Then for certain reasons, you can refer to my first few posts to see my reasoning, I stopped thinking about it and decided to just focus on my own dancing. It was something that I would've liked to do still, but it wouldn't have mattered if it didn't happen. EXCEPT IT DID.

I got asked by one of my teachers to be a dancer for a singer called Rime Salmi. I never expected this., but she basically made one of my dreams come true! (Thank you so much Axelle <3) Here are some pictures from the show!

I'll be honest, I was very nervous for this because I didn't want to disappoint my dance teacher and I didn't want to mess it up! Rehearsals were hard because two of the girls already knew most of the choreography for the songs so the other girl and I had to catch up! But I think we pulled it off in the end and everyone was very happy with how everything turned out. :) I've gained not only experience through this, but I met new people and learnt more about the industry and myself. Haha this just came to my mind, "Always a student, never a master", it's a very accurate saying. Hopefully, I can get some more gigs in the future cause they were a hell lotta fun!

Queen's Creation Winner!!

Okay what. I totally did not expect to win a jam any time soon cause I still feel like a noob, but it happened!!!

I've been talking to Tarheen, aka Tara, since forever saying that we should pair up in a battle cause we fill each other's weaknesses. I have pretty clean and good technique but lack some soul and performance; She got the performance and feels down, but can work more on her waack to make them stronger. Finally... on this day we did and it was a beautiful partnership.

Watch the rounds here!

Top 8:

Top 4:

Finals:

To be fair, most of the other strong dancers were not there, plus our last round was a hard call to be honest, two ties and one judge voted for us, so I wouldn't consider it a huge deal, but it definitely gave me the extra push I needed to motivate myself to train harder!! I definitely learnt a lot from this jam and will continue pushing myself. I know my mind is ready for more, it's just a matter of making my body react as fast.

I absolutely loved dancing with Tara and can't wait for our next battle together as Double T'z again. :)

Hot Mess 5, Heir to the Throne, jam sessions, training, workshops, lifestyle

Just wanted to do an update since my last post. I've been training hard in my dancing especially waacking while trying to cope with and finish school. Going to session, taking lots of classes and workshops, doing battles, etc. I think has helped me grow. A LOT. Here's some footage of my last two battles:
1) Hot Mess 5 which is exactly one year since my first battle

As I mentioned on Facebook, I think this is probably one of the best I've done even though I didn't make it past prelims. But now looking back at it, even though I killed my character, my musicality was way off and I could have actually done a lot more. So NEXT YEAR imma bring it!

2) Heir to the Throne 2 vs 2 all-styles Master and Apprentice, MSSD's first jam, where I got to pair up with Bboy Toonz. First one was prelims and second one is top 16.

Just saying even though I was waacking all-styles battles are hard because of the music. DJ was mad dope though so he gave us, dancers, some crazy music and energy. Plus, my partner was giving me a lot of energy too! Definitely felt his support behind me and he killed his rounds as well! I am actually so proud of every one of the members in MSSD cause I have seen everyone grow, including myself. Going back to my round, I think my top 16 round was pretty weak cause I was trying to incorporate some house into my waacking, but that was hard... Probably gonna take some house classes over summer.

However, with all that said, we are always the harshest judges on ourselves. I am actually very happy with my progress, comparing those with this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zgf72o6VVE), but I've got lot of work to do! :D

Speaking of house classes, I had the opportunity to go to New York City during reading week and got to get down with my peeps at Central Park then went to a super awesome hustle class and jammed with some OG huslters which was SUPER cool! Then lastly took a house class with Sekou. This is guy is so in tune with his body it's crazy, I learnt a lot from him and can't wait to start taking house classes here in Montreal!

By now, with the amount of dancing that I do, I can say that dancing for me is definitely a passion and a lifestyle. It's a way of life for me to express myself, to create and to escape the harsh reality, break the boundaries and values that our society puts on us since we were young. I absolutely love the culture I'm in and the people around me sharing it.

To end this post, here's a video of Lily (my friend) and I waacking in Brooklyn while we were hunting for graffiti art :D

Workshops, workshops, workshops + New Year's Resolution

With some time to spare I can finally update my blog!! I went to three workshops towards the end of last year, Blueprint workshop 2014, one with Kento Mori & Marc Marvelous who are both Usher's backup dancers and one with Spicey.

Blueprint workshop was something I always wanted to try to do and I finally had enough savings to go to it in November! It was an exhausting day... A total of  5 dance classes on one day with an hour break in between.  I definitely learnt from it, learned how to pick up choreography quick (real quick!) without a mirror with over 100 other people in the same room. For me, it was more like a dance convention than a workshop as it felt like choreography from each teacher was thrown at us and that was it. Personally, I feel like workshops should have more of an interaction aspect to it because I find learning and hearing these famous choreographers and dancers stories are more inspiring than just learning their choreography. Don't get me wrong though, you can still learn how they move through their choreography and I definitely learnt a lot that day. It just may not be my cup of tea.

I took another one later on that month with Kento Mori. Unfortunately, financially I couldn't afford to go to both Kento and Marc Marvelous' workshops so I had to choose one. It was a hard choice, but I ended up going with Kento's. I was able to catch the last bit of Marc's class and when I saw it I quickly regretted not splurging to take his class as well. Before the class started, we made a cypher and I saw Kento and Marc dance (freestyle not choreographed). I was so mind blown! Their vibe was absolutely crazy!! And for once I didn't feel like they were competing or judging anyone in the cypher, a cypher at a studio that usually does choreography. Seeing them dance, I was like, "Now THAT'S how you dance." That's also when I realized I haven't been dancing fully...yet...ever. Till this day I am still amazed at their energy level. After both workshops ended they stayed behind to talk about their stories which was so inspiring for me. To know that one of them just wanted to dance and the other just wanted to meet Michael Jackson and have come this far so absolutely inspiring. Knowing this proved to me that with perseverance, passion and determination you can do what you want.

This would be one workshop I would never forget.

At the end of November, I took my last workshop of the year with Spicey. It was one that was organized by MSSD and worked more on hip hop foundations and grooves which was very helpful for me as I'm trying to become more comfortable in freestyling in hip hop and it never hurts to go back to foundations! She also told everyone at the end of the class to chase our dreams and dare to dream further inspiring me to continue mine! Though mine has changed a little since the beginning, when I started this blog. I will probably update that soon in another post.

Now to New Year's Resolutions. I definitely have a few goals I want to achieve this year. (which has started out pretty well since I was asked to choreograph a flashmob to help raise awareness for youth cancer patients/survivors. So look out for that post with the video in the near future!)
My 2015 New Year's Resolutions:
1) Improve my waacking
2) Get better at hustle as a follower and learn how to lead
3) When I have time, learn some house, locking and popping
4) Graduate and finish my degree without compromising too much time from dance
5) Learn to speak basic French so I can find a job after I graduate
6)  Make time for friends and family whenever possible

P.S. Happy New Year!! :)

Update

Haven't had time to blog since I got back to Montreal because I've been dancing and working hard ever since. And you know what, my hard work over summer paid off, I've gotten comments from a few teachers and some other students in my dance classes who said that I've improved or could tell that I've been training. This made me feel pretty proud of myself and very happy because I HAVE been working my ass off! At one point though, I thought that it still wasn't enough because I knew in my heart that there's so much more room for improvement. Knowing that I was physically and mentally ready to step my dancing up a notch but not having the time to practice and to do it because I had to do homework and study was frustrating. For awhile I felt pretty down because of it, but it also got me thinking that I may have been putting a little too much pressure on myself and rushing things a little. It also felt like I was trying to prove to everybody that I am good which really was not the right way of thinking because I dance for myself so I shouldn't be dancing to prove anything to anyone. Taking back a step to just breath and relax really helped me get my head in the right place, and I've come up with a few things that I should keep in mind for future references if I ever something brings me down (thought I'd share it with you guys):

• Anything you do and want to do well, will take time
• Don't rush it, just keep doing your thing, work hard and everything will slowly fall in place
• Keep training and keep pushing
• Stop comparing yourself with others. Yes, friendly competition is good, but more so you should focus on yourself and develop your own style. Don't be a photocopy machine ;)

So, overall, I feel a lot better now and I feel like I'm in a better state of mind to actually continue on improving. It's tough trying to balance school work, dance dance classes and everything else, but I'm managing. Also, did my first gig 2 weeks ago, so hopefully those will keep coming! :P

Dance Over Distance

Finally, after two months of filming. It's out!!  Super excited to share with you all a dance short featuring my boyfriend and I :D This guy is just amazing. Credits goes to him for doing all the editing. We worked hard on this! Enjoy!!

Share it if you like it!

Note: This video does not have extras. For some reason I can't upload the version with extras.

Watch the full version here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg2tXADnXds
Or go to my wall on my Facebook page :)

Dilemma

Well, WAS having a dilemma, but I think I've made my a decision now.

So what happened was a last week I got an email from the head therapist of McGill's Track and Field Team which made me think about my coming term at school. There is so much that I want to do with my dancing starting September, getting more involved with MSSD, taking extra dance classes on Sundays, hustling, taking my usual dance classes at Studio MP and staying with my dance crew. On top of that I have school and I'm going to be a volunteer student therapist for the track and field team... I wish I could say that I have the time to do everything, but I don't and this is going to sound bad, but I am not willing to sacrifice my dancing for my grades just yet...

However, I have been talking to some friends about what I should do and doing some thinking myself. I also managed to talk to a guest dance teacher from Broadway Dance Center who is giving classes at my studio in HK right now and she gave me that extra confidence in making my choice. She told me this, "If you're not planning to become a ballerina then you've got a long ways ahead of you. I went to collage too and you just gotta do your thing, definitely finish undergrad, but keep dancing and don't let it stress you out too much."

After all this thinking and debating on what to do, my decision is really to play it by ear and make choices as I go because there are just too many things that are uncertain right now. Will I still be able to do a master's in physiotherapy? Can I balance my time with all the things related to dance that I want to do and with school?
Another question that was brought up during my discussions with friends is that do I want to commit to things that I don't really want to do just for the sake of making my resume look 'nicer'?

I don't know if this is the right way I'm going, but I want to make the best of my time while I'm still in school, do what I want to do now before it's too late and enjoy myself. So I'm planning to give everything a one month trial and if I really start to struggle, I may cut back on the physio thing (because really, I'm only doing it for my resume) and maybe take a few less dance classes, hopefully that'll be enough... If you were me, what would you do?

Hong Kong (Part 2) - a little update

I've been in Hong Kong for around 2 months now... doing some training by myself since I've been back up until July, then I finally went to my old dance studio and started taking classes again. It felt so good!! Though I have to admit, I miss living a 10-minute walk away from my dance studio. I also managed to find another studio that offers waacking classes. Currently taking classes from a HK waacker called Virago Carmen and I've been learning some new stuff! Hopefully, I can take in what I'm learning here, put my own twist to it then use it when I'm back in Montreal!

However, lately I've been feeling like I've hit a plateau (which is a normal process of learning in my opinion). It feels like I'm learning new things, but I'm not actually fully taking it in if that makes any sense... But I know I just need to push through and I'll continue to grow and improve. Just need to keep dancing ;)

Also, I've noticed two things this summer. One, the dance styles, waacking and hip hop, are different in Hong Kong compared to Montreal. One seems more about technicality and tricks, the other seems to be more about feeling and living the music. This may or may not be true, but it is what I've noticed. If you've seen/think anything different or the same please comment! I'm curious to know!! Two, my life would be so empty and boring without dance. It's one thing to just say it, but I can actually feel it. I don't even know how to describe how bored and just bleh I am when I don't dance for a few days, but once I start dancing and moving, I feel whole again. Even after work, when I am exhausted, as long as I know I'm going dancing I have this extra boost in energy and feel all happy inside! I think it's safe to say Dance is here to stay, for good.

On a side note, Julien and I have been working on a little project called "Dance Over Distance".

The video's gonna be out early August so make sure to look out for it! It's gonna be dope~

Studio de Danse Montreal- Paris MP3 Dance Show

It's that time of the year again, my studio's end of the year dance show! 

Great teachers, great music, and great choreo. Can't ask for anything more :) I absolutely had a blast performing this year even though I didn't do as many pieces as I would've wanted to due to finals in April... One thing I noticed this time though is that I was able to enjoy myself more on stage than before. I've always liked performing for people, especially hearing the crowd clap and cheer afterwards, but this year I really understood how to have fun on stage as well as channel certain emotions through my facial expression and body movement. This is all thanks to the classes I've been taking, the competitions and my new experience in freestyling. I totally forgot to take pictures backstage cause I was too busy dancing to the music on stage... But here's a photo of me in the opening piece where I was playing an 80's nerd! I look like such an ugly nerd haha but I still loved the costume and this look on me :P

Photo by Mickaël A. Bandassak

After the show I got to talk to one of my dance teachers and she told me that I improved a lot and am going down the right track! (Yay!!) So I just need to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully I'll become even better soon. I am so grateful for all the help I've been getting this year and the amazing people I've met who has in some way contributed to helping me improve so thank you to all of you!! And to those who came to watch me at the show, you know you are, thank you!! I love you all <3

Hit The Floor Levis 2014

Finally finished our last competition of the season! Given the tough competition that we had, we still managed to come 2nd!! :D Also, knowing that Rockwell family and District Mao are studios that have won in the past, being in top 3 with them makes me proud to be part of my troupe!

Everybody watch out cause next year at Hit the Floor, first place is going to be MPress!!

Now that I think about it, we placed in every competition we went to! I must say this is thanks to not only my troupe members  for working extra hard but also our choreographers and coaches. Without them we would not have done as well so just want to do a big shout out to them!! I love you all <3

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time dancing and competing this year and am excited for the next! Unfortunately I can't make it to Hip Hop Canada and can't be with MPress to promote the new Step Up movie, but those in Montreal, keep a look out for them! :)

Reality Check

Have I been dreaming too big?

I recently gave myself a small assessment on whether or not I CAN actually improve as much as I want to within a year's time. At some point while I was doing all this thinking, I've come to realize that to dance and to make a living from it at the same time is almost impossible, especially for where I am at now. Not only is it really difficult and it would take a lot of time and a lot of practice, but you also need to be good enough and get recognition from other people. Now that I've come to think of it, even though my dance teachers are all amazing at what they do, they all are either still in school or they have part-time jobs. This just shows that even at their level, to just dance and make a living from it is not easy.

As I was giving myself this small assessment, I've also rewatched the few videos that I have of myself waacking and all I can say is that I am so blessed to have amazing dancers/teachers around me and helping me because man have I improved! Hopefully, I'll continue to progress this way. There is still so much for me to learn, but I'm determined to show the world that I can do this. I will keep my dream alive, but probably be more realistic about it from now on. Don't get me wrong, this still means that I am going to give it my all, but I do need to finish school so that I can find work to support myself and my dancing. Whether or not my dancing can take me to where I want be... I guess we'll have to see :)

On a side note, I will be going back to Hong Kong soon for summer. Definitely going to miss Montreal, but I also contacted one of the waackers in HK so can't wait see what the dance scene is like there!

Here are my videos, first one is of me practicing before Hot Mess this March which is also the first time I filmed myself and second one is the one from Bust A Move.

Age, money and talent

I've been meaning to post something about this topic for awhile but haven't had the time to get to it. Now that I do, I want to share with you guys my feelings on dancing regarding age, money and talent.

Age. When I was in Hong Kong, so many people have told me or given me the idea that being young is really important when you decided to pursue dance as a career. Up until then, I've always thought that by now I would be too old to try to pursue dance, however, coming to Canada and talking to people, so many have said to me that I'm still young and I should/can do it. Yes, I agree that those who start at a much younger age have an advantage, but that doesn't mean that those who are older shouldn't start at all. I believe that hard work and determination are the two key factors for success. This obviously goes for everyone, but I think that with age and maturity we have a deeper understanding of how much work we need to put in in order to get to where we want to be. After much thought, I've come to this conclusion when dealing with age: what really limits us is not our body but our mind.

Money. I won't lie, dancing is expensive. You have to pay for training, dance classes and costumes, and on top of that workshops if you want to take them. Right now, I am still depending on my parents and I really need to start finding my own way to pay for dance classes. Parents have the responsibility to raise and educate their children, but once that goal is achieved, we need to start taking charge of our own life. For now, I know that I will need to find a part time job (or a back up plan) while pursuing dance. The problem is finding the balance between work, school, dance practice and dance classes.

Talent. Am I good enough to make it? Honestly, even though I've been dancing for a few years (not including my ballet training), I really only recently decided that I want to pursue this path. Given the improvement I've seen so far, I would say that I'd need at least another year of hard work to assess myself and decide whether or not I think I should continue along this path or if I should fall back to my back up plan and only do dancing as a hobby.Whether it be professional or not, dancing will always be a part of me now. I just want to learn as much as I can within this time frame and be the best dancer that I can be! It's going to be a busy and tough year, but I'm ready for it. I'm ready to give everything that I've got so hopefully it will take me to right place.

To all dancers out there, let me know your views! If there is anything that you want to add or think that I should also be considering also send me a comment :)

Bust A Move 2014 - Day 2

Day 2, the finals!! I went to a panel discussion that was held before the battling started where the judges discussed some issues or questions people have about dance. They talked about traditions in dance, commercial vs underground dancers, the business side of dance, etc. Their views were interesting to hear and I loved how Storm (bboy judge) said it is a matter of how we use our words because the opposite of commercial is non-commercial and the opposite of underground is upper-ground/above ground, yet people see commercial dancers and underground dancers as opposites. To what I understood from the discussion, we shouldn't see the two like that because a dancer is a dancer, underground dancers may not be able to do what commercial dancers do and vice versa, so instead of putting them into categories, we should all respect each other. At the end of the day, it ALWAYS comes down to respect.

After the panel discussion it was time for some battles and showcases. I'd have to say that the highlights of the night were definitely the hip hop final battle and Foret Noire's waacking showcase.

Just look at them! So gorgeous, all white and glowing, like angels <3 I teared up after their performance, it was absolutely beautiful.

Next up, the final battle for hip hop. It was SO HYPE!! The music was good and the dancing was crazy!! The video does not do it justice at all since you can't feel the energy through the monitor. So I'll say it again IT WAS CRAZY!!! It was like watching the final battle in the Step Up movies but live.

I ended up staying for the after party because everybody was vibing, cyphering and dancing, and I mean actually dancing. This was so much better than going to a club/party at a club where people just jump up and down. (I personally find that extremely boring, just saying.) Next year, I will for sure be staying until the break of dawn so that I can dance my heart out for the whole night.

The whole of day 2 was absolutely amazing, watching the different styles of dancing and so many good dancers dance was inspiring. Also, seeing the judges dance, some who are in their 40s, doing some crazy moves, emphasizes the fact that age does not limit you in your dancing. After going through Bust A Move 2014, I now not only want to improve my waacking but I also want to try out different styles as well. Next year, if I get my training and practice hours in, hopefully I can also try doing either house or locking battles. I seriously can't wait.

Here's a little recap of the night for all  you readers out there. :)

P.S. I did not film the hip hop finals and the recap videos.

Bust A Move 2014 - Day 1

Bust A Move this weekend was CRAZY!! I was expecting something pretty epic but coming out of the two days, pretty epic is an understatement. These past 2-3 days were probably the best time of my life.

Day 1 of BAM were the prelims which I battled in. Even though I had to wait five hours before it was my time, I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching other dancers battle, some of which were my teachers. Being able to watch all these dancers live makes me feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people.

The kids hip hop battles were absolutely inspiring to watch as well. These kids really do not hold back and give it their all!! Their facial expressions were so crazy... I need to learn to let go just like them and use it when I compete and perform.

Finally it was time for waacking battles. I was faced against Mautassime (aka Mariah) and I was so glad to be able to battle someone that I know.

I didn't make it past prelims but considering this was only my third battle, I am actually really proud of myself and very happy to see that I have improved! Also, Mautassime/Mariah said so many nice and encouraging words to me after our battle. Out of all the things we talked about, this was what stuck,  "Don't listen to what others say, if you want to dance then just do it." I may just go with what he said.

Last thing that I want to say about Day 1 is that I am so happy to see so many MSSD members getting down and  I feel so proud of them! I'm not sure how it happened really, but they've played a big role in my dancing and I don't think I would be doing this if it wasn't for them. Love you guys <3

On the fence

I guess you could say I have been a dancing since I was young. Did ballet for eight years, stopped, then started hip hop at 17. Came to Montreal for university, and rediscovered myself after learning about waacking and freestyling. Many dancers, me included, started dancing by learning choreography. I love it. But because of freestyle, I am loving dance more and more every day. As a person who has stepped out of my teens, I've often felt that the type of carefree, innocent happiness you experience as a child can't be found again because of responsibilities, stress, etc... I thought I'd never find that happiness until I started freestyling.

In the beginning, I actually hated it because I felt like I had to move a certain way to make the freestyling look good, but slowly, thanks to my friends in McGill Student Street Dancers (MSSD), I am enjoying it to the point where all I want to do is dance and to improve. And that is all that I can think about. I'd say I'm an okay dancer, I can pick up choreography well, but when it actually comes down to pure dancing, I still need a lot of work. Yet being surrounded by people who are amazing dancers, who share the same passion as me and who inspire me, at times I feel that maybe, just maybe, I could become an actual professional dancer.

Photo by Jojo Ariwi

However, being Asian, the typical thinking is to find a stable job, earn enough money to support yourself and your family. I know that if I decided to go for dancing, my parents would not be happy (obviously!). But what about our dreams? Do I play it safe and become a physiotherapist like I plan to be? Or do I take my risk, give my all and try to be the best dancer that I can be? 

All these questions always bring me back and forth which is one of the reasons why I created this blog! I will be posting other things related to dance, but I hope you can share your thoughts on this topic with me so feel free to comment and give your opinions :)