This whole week I haven't danced AT ALL and I actually felt quite okay, apart from sudden bouts of guilt and frustration.
Before I get to what I really want to say I'm going to talk a bit about the various classes I've been to.
Carol
When I first started out dancing at O School, it was with Carol. We – Zeikei and I – took her courses and her pint-size stature really fooled us; she's incredibly fit and energetic. Classes then were probably the first time in months or even years I seriously exercised. I began dancing a while after poly started and all the time before that, I never exercised regularly. When the courses ended I felt this sense of apprehension cos we had to move on to open classes and Carol said she felt that it was then where the process our growth would really peak. During the courses, watching people who already had experience and a fair amount of swag dance, I felt somewhat envious (I still do now) but I had no grasp on how to attain swag. Actually I still don't understand, but as I dance more I learn a bit more.
Fredy (Street Jazz)
Zeikei decided she wanted to go to Fredy's classes cos she watched his videos and liked his style. I watched his videos and while I liked some of them, I didn't quite like some of the songs he used (and thus couldn't quite relate to the choreos). But I was afraid to go for classes alone so I went to Fredy's classes with Zeikei and Carolyn.
What I like about Fredy is how he's so encouraging, he has this really tender and kind passion for dance that really shines through him. Before or after we split into groups to perform he always gives us advice and tells us how we can all improve, I always learn a lot listening to what he says even though sometimes I don't quite get it at first and it takes him weeks of repeating the same thing before I realize what he really means. He's also really friendly and easy to relate to. Again with the point on him being encouraging – when we split into groups to perform you can always hear him shouting and cheering us on in this really upbeat manner omg.
What I don't like is his style... His lessons are almost always a hit or miss for me, if I don't like a particular choreography it usually means I really dislike it, but for the ones I do like and can catch, I would love a lot. I find his choreographies a bit too advanced and flamboyant for the Beginners' classes sometimes :/ I also feel like sometimes his choreographies don't really bring out the feel of the music, but then again one can argue that maybe his choreographies are his interpretations of the music and thus wouldn't be in line with how I feel about the music.
Clarice (Contemp Jazz)
Took a Contemp Jazz course with Clarice – it was her very first time teaching at O School, ever. I didn't go on for Contemp Jazz open classes although I was quite interested – however there was one week where she took over Fredy's class and she did a choreography to Beyonce's End of Time which I LOVED (but Zeikei didn't like). I feel like she really is a very, very good dancer, she has a lot of swag but it's in her own style which I really like... I love to watch her dance. However, despite so many years of experience in dance (she started when she was a kid), I feel like she doesn't really know how to facilitate the class and convey her choreographies very clearly yet, probably because she hasn't had much experience teaching yet. But I actually like her style more than Fredy's!!! What I admire most about her is her control – her drags, accents, jerks, the way she lets her body moves and stops – it's stunning.
Anan (Hiphop)
Went to An's classes only a couple of times... Probably less than 5 times. I can't say much about her but once I was talking to Jiting – this was before I went for An's class – he mentioned that she's very groovy. I agree, it sort of makes her class seem more like a groove class than hiphop.
Can't say much about her classes except that they're always very crowded and since she's short, it can be pretty hard to see her and catch steps.
Eve (Street Jazz)
Only had her once when she took over Fredy's class. She's really funny and nice. I like her choreographies, they're very stylish and mature and subdued enough. I like that she gives people who might not be the best chances to perform. Sadly I screwed up her choreo although it really wasn't that hard, this was the class where Zeikei and I embarrassed ourselves.
This is the choreography in question:
Ryan (Contemp/Street Jazz)
Ryan is like the king of O School. He's the creative director and co-founder, and he's one of the funniest guys around hahaha. I love how he tries to make everyone feel at ease, and I can really understand his choreographies (they bring out the feel of the song really well) although I might not be able to execute them (which is my own fault). He gives solid advice on how to improve and because of how much experience he has, he is really able to tell you clearly what to do and how to get there – something many of the other instructors don't and can't do. My jaw totally dropped when I saw him perform at the O School Recital... Damn this guy was owning it. Even as I recall it now I'm in awe.
He took over one of Clarice's Contemp classes cos she was having exams and couldn't make it. It was in this class that I found out why I sucked at pirouettes and had so much trouble doing them. A couple of weeks back when I decided that I wanted to try out Allegra's class (on Saturdays), I turned up and he was there because what do you know, Allegra was in France for workshops. The choreography he did that week was not that hard and I loved it even though I found the song quite lame.
Weijie (Popping)
Not much to say, it wouldn't be fair for me to criticize or say anything bad because I don't really like popping. But Weijie is really good at what he does! Although I always feel quite awkward whenever he stands near me and tells me to change whatever it is I'm doing wrong, because he's not the funny-guy sort like Ryan, nor is he the friendly-and-eager-to-help sort of person like Fredy is. This isn't to say he isn't friendly or eager to help but I feel like he's probably just kind of more reserved.
Bryan (Street Jazz)
I've only been to Bryan's classes maybe twice? Or thrice? But I LOVE them. I feel like of all the classes I've been to, I can relate to his the most. I understand his choreographies and they're never too difficult to execute.
Maybe it's because I'm lousy and I want to rest on my laurels but because his choreographies aren't that hard, you can really focus on however it is you're moving and just make yourself do it right. But at the same time, his classes are difficult because he's focused on making sure you get every single movement right, that you accurately convey however each move is supposed to look and feel like. He's a perfectionist and sometimes instead of moving on to the rest of the choreography, he revisits steps he has already taught over and over again, each time re-emphasizing the feel of the step and how it's supposed to be done. That's what makes his classes so hard – you have to really feel it.
I love his classes because although his choreographies don't make you go "wow" the way Fredy's might (because Fredy has a pretty fast-moving, hard-hitting flamboyant style), Bryan's choreographies are always tasteful and subdued without being too bland. It doesn't hurt that he's funny, although he can show small bouts of diva-like frustration when we are unable to execute the feel of what he wants. I think what I love most about his choreographies is how tasteful they all are.
One thing I realized about Bryan's choreographies is that they follow the lyrics and flow of the songs he uses, whereas Fredy's ones seem to focus on hitting various beats more. I guess this might be why I like Bryan's classes more.
Sadly though because he's a perfectionist, he doesn't give out compliments easily and doesn't encourage us a lot. I mean he tells us how to improve and all but he doesn't go like "Just have fun!" the way Fredy does.
Xuehui (Girls' Hiphop)
Only been to her class once, don't quite like it but it's still too early to judge. Don't think I'm going back anytime soon though... I do like her though, she's really friendly.
Darn it I had planned to write a post about reassessing my priorities and I ended up writing this long spiel about dance.
Final note:
The video below shows the choreography I would have learnt had I gone to Bryan's class this week.
At first, the week before this when Bryan announced that he was going to be using Where Have You Been by Rihanna for his subsequent two classes, I allowed myself to harbor the thought of giving his next two classes a miss because if I went it would mean doing a choreography to the very same song for the third time round. But watching this video, I can't help but feel like I should have gone :(
Compare it to the choreography we learned from Fredy below –
(I did a shortened version of the choreography from this video when Fredy took over Bryan's class one week, and then there was this other week where Fredy had a simpler choreography to this song for his Beginners' class)
The video above has garnered over a million views on YouTube – a whole damn lot compared to Bryan's version which has only a paltry 300 views. Although I like certain parts of Fredy's version, it really isn't my style and I like Bryan's take a whole lot more. This is very apparent at O School itself as well – Fredy's classes are always extremely popular (leading to a very crowded studio, ugh) whilst Bryan's classes don't have that many people (it has a fair amount).
