What an awesome time in LA we had being at Camp Hollywood. The weather was lovely, Hillary (the organizer) took great care of us, and the students were amazing!
We taught some new Flash & Trash, Charleston Challenge, fast lindy, aerials, and Jam Routines and the classes were packed! There were about 150-200 people in our two largest classes (OMG). And everyone was so nice. Not to toot our own horns, but Kev and I were given an impressive amount of positive feedback about our material and our teaching style - it was really nice.
On the competition side of things, Kev and I, along with our buddies Juan and Sharon, cleaned house!
1st place - Advance J&J - Lead - Juan
1st place - Advance J&J - Follow - Sharon
1st place - Showcase - Kevin and Juan
3rd place - Showcase - Kevin and Jo
2nd place - Pro Lindy - Kev and Jo
5th place - Pro Lindy - Juan and Sharon
We had so many trophies that we couldn't take all of them home, especially with the new excess baggage fees.
And a special shout out to Nick Williams and Laura Keat for their showcase piece. It was lovely, innovative, musical, and well performed!
Showing posts with label dancing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dancing. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Kiev, Ukraine – Day Three
We barely got our asses up for breakfast this morning, but I was sooooooooo happy we did. I had an awesome breakfast here last year that was jam with a soft biscuit/crumpet/big English muffin thing and we had it this morning. We ate with Olivia and Natasha and talked about politics while trying to guess which country belonged to which flag on the side of the cereal box.
We taught 2 classes, had lunch, and then worked with the Advance plus group again. We messed their stuff up again!
After class, it was nap time for both me and Kevin. I also decided to skip dinner, because I'd rather sleep, but I ended up still nibbling. Immediately after dinner we taught our taster class.
The taster class was enormous. I had no idea we were going to have that many people. I continue to wonder whether it’s the material we are teaching or that we are foreigners (or that we are so darn funny and personable) that brings people in hordes to our classes. We taught the ballroom lift, the loop-de-loo, and the Jeremy. We would demo the move, give the class some pointers on what to look for, and then let them go. Everybody took what they needed from that class; the lower levels were able to absorb what we gave them while the advance dancer only needed the little we gave because they saw what the move took. Nice. I compared that class to a Disney film: there is content for children and the adults that must take them. The layers; the layers!!
After class we headed back to the room and watched some Talladega Nights and slowly got ready. At about 9:45pm we headed down to office and were give Ukrainian costumes to put on. Kev and I were going to open the show along with a few others. We had to sing a Ukrainian song, and truthfully, it was a little bit of a disaster, but it was fun. After that, we rushed backstage, changed back into our performance clothes, and then we immediately got back on stage and did Swingin’ at the Cotton Club. It went well as usual.
And then for the next hour and half we got to enjoy the show. For me, the highlights of the show were the fillers in between each number. There were four characters: wife, Ukrainian man, priest, and a Muscovite. There were drinking games, kissing games, card games, confusion, the YMCA, a baby mix-up, and so on. The four of them were quite the quadruplets!
Instead of going to bed after the performances like I should have, I ended up chatting in the little Ukrainian room with Olivia & Natasha, Terrance, Kevin, and Katia We chatted about holidays, family differences, public transportation, and military. The conversations I have had with this group have been some of the best in a while; very enlightening.
Kevin and I dragged ourselves back to our rooms by about 2:15am or so. Detective Kevin investigated whether or not we had hot water, and low and behold, we did. He showered and announced the water was hot and therefore I should shower while there was hot water. Even though I was in bed with the lights off, I dragged my booty to the shower for a warm rinse, and washed out my performance clothes. That was such a great shower.
Bed time.
We taught 2 classes, had lunch, and then worked with the Advance plus group again. We messed their stuff up again!
After class, it was nap time for both me and Kevin. I also decided to skip dinner, because I'd rather sleep, but I ended up still nibbling. Immediately after dinner we taught our taster class.
The taster class was enormous. I had no idea we were going to have that many people. I continue to wonder whether it’s the material we are teaching or that we are foreigners (or that we are so darn funny and personable) that brings people in hordes to our classes. We taught the ballroom lift, the loop-de-loo, and the Jeremy. We would demo the move, give the class some pointers on what to look for, and then let them go. Everybody took what they needed from that class; the lower levels were able to absorb what we gave them while the advance dancer only needed the little we gave because they saw what the move took. Nice. I compared that class to a Disney film: there is content for children and the adults that must take them. The layers; the layers!!
After class we headed back to the room and watched some Talladega Nights and slowly got ready. At about 9:45pm we headed down to office and were give Ukrainian costumes to put on. Kev and I were going to open the show along with a few others. We had to sing a Ukrainian song, and truthfully, it was a little bit of a disaster, but it was fun. After that, we rushed backstage, changed back into our performance clothes, and then we immediately got back on stage and did Swingin’ at the Cotton Club. It went well as usual.
And then for the next hour and half we got to enjoy the show. For me, the highlights of the show were the fillers in between each number. There were four characters: wife, Ukrainian man, priest, and a Muscovite. There were drinking games, kissing games, card games, confusion, the YMCA, a baby mix-up, and so on. The four of them were quite the quadruplets!
Instead of going to bed after the performances like I should have, I ended up chatting in the little Ukrainian room with Olivia & Natasha, Terrance, Kevin, and Katia We chatted about holidays, family differences, public transportation, and military. The conversations I have had with this group have been some of the best in a while; very enlightening.
Kevin and I dragged ourselves back to our rooms by about 2:15am or so. Detective Kevin investigated whether or not we had hot water, and low and behold, we did. He showered and announced the water was hot and therefore I should shower while there was hot water. Even though I was in bed with the lights off, I dragged my booty to the shower for a warm rinse, and washed out my performance clothes. That was such a great shower.
Bed time.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Kiev, Ukraine – Day Two
We skipped breakfast and decided to sleep in because we were beat. Our dance day started with the Advance-plus class and it took us about 45 minutes to break them. What I mean is that it took that amount of time to help them realize that they weren’t really leading, following, and/or balancing on their own. It was an awesome moment when the students realized what it took to actually move a follow and what it took to stay balanced. Fabulous!
By the end of class I was starving so we rushed up to lunch. We had chicken of some sort over rice and some beet salad (as in, just beets). We left lunch early so we could work on our routine a bit more and then hustled back for our advance class. But it was in vain because the teacher before us went over about 17 minutes (but who’s counting anyways?). I was not very pleased because that ate into our time with the advance dancers. Grrrrrrrrrr. Perhaps what perturbed me the most was the fact that the instructor didn’t acknowledge that Kevin and I were there for about 15 minutes, waiting. He didn’t look at us, say hi, say he was almost done…nothing. Not cool.
We ran the advance class 15 minutes into the next time slot and then did the same for the intermediate level too. I was really antsy until we started our final class because I don’t like running classes that late. I feel bad about making people wait that long because it’s rude. Now, that said, I myself and not a terribly punctual person, but 15 minutes without a heads up is inconsiderate. I am done sitting on my high horse. :-D
We ate dinner and headed back to the room for a quick nap. At 8pm we taught our Slides Taster and it was the most work I’ve ever done in a class. We taught the Slip Slop Shim Sham which means Kevin danced it and I put words/mnemonics to it so people could do it. At the beginning we had a bunch of students, but as the class progressed, we started losing people. We still had a fair number at then end (started at 75, ended at 50) and they were all drenched! It was awesome. Hopefully a video of it will be posted and then I’ll link it.
After class we came back to our darling little room, I showered and did laundry while Kev watched a movie, and then it was nap time. We needed to judge J&J prelims and finals which were going to start around 1am again.
At 12:30am people came to knock on our door to wake us up. We were already awake, but it was helpful. Many of the campers were dressed as witches, fairies, goblins, or other such fanciful characters while Kevo and I were in all black. We were also told that we missed out on all of the shows that were put on. Sigh – you can’t win them all.
The J&J was fun to watch and all the judges’ scores were very similar. A jam soon after broke out and Kevin did some handstand stuff….the pictures are sure to be great. I found some butter in the kitchen to put on some bread which made me a happy camper. And now we are off to bed.
Goodnight.
By the end of class I was starving so we rushed up to lunch. We had chicken of some sort over rice and some beet salad (as in, just beets). We left lunch early so we could work on our routine a bit more and then hustled back for our advance class. But it was in vain because the teacher before us went over about 17 minutes (but who’s counting anyways?). I was not very pleased because that ate into our time with the advance dancers. Grrrrrrrrrr. Perhaps what perturbed me the most was the fact that the instructor didn’t acknowledge that Kevin and I were there for about 15 minutes, waiting. He didn’t look at us, say hi, say he was almost done…nothing. Not cool.
We ran the advance class 15 minutes into the next time slot and then did the same for the intermediate level too. I was really antsy until we started our final class because I don’t like running classes that late. I feel bad about making people wait that long because it’s rude. Now, that said, I myself and not a terribly punctual person, but 15 minutes without a heads up is inconsiderate. I am done sitting on my high horse. :-D
We ate dinner and headed back to the room for a quick nap. At 8pm we taught our Slides Taster and it was the most work I’ve ever done in a class. We taught the Slip Slop Shim Sham which means Kevin danced it and I put words/mnemonics to it so people could do it. At the beginning we had a bunch of students, but as the class progressed, we started losing people. We still had a fair number at then end (started at 75, ended at 50) and they were all drenched! It was awesome. Hopefully a video of it will be posted and then I’ll link it.
After class we came back to our darling little room, I showered and did laundry while Kev watched a movie, and then it was nap time. We needed to judge J&J prelims and finals which were going to start around 1am again.
At 12:30am people came to knock on our door to wake us up. We were already awake, but it was helpful. Many of the campers were dressed as witches, fairies, goblins, or other such fanciful characters while Kevo and I were in all black. We were also told that we missed out on all of the shows that were put on. Sigh – you can’t win them all.
The J&J was fun to watch and all the judges’ scores were very similar. A jam soon after broke out and Kevin did some handstand stuff….the pictures are sure to be great. I found some butter in the kitchen to put on some bread which made me a happy camper. And now we are off to bed.
Goodnight.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Lindy Leap Year - Sunday
What an extraordinary way to end a workshop. Today was a day like no other.
We started our teaching day with the warm-up we normally do at home. We run around in a circle, then kick our heels up, kick our knees up, do the elephant, and then crab walks. As we were running, students started to join in (we love those sorts of students). As we cycled through, finally we got to crab walks - this is where you look like table top; hand and feet are touching the floor, and you are looking - and all of a sudden, a Crab War broke out! Kev scuttled around the floor as if he was a crustacean! He knocked my feet out from underneath me and then continued to attack the other students. One by one they all went down. However, a few students got their crab legs underneath them and went 2-on-1 with King Crab Kevin. One went for the legs while the other went for his hands. Kevin pulled out his best Sammy Davis Jr (check the end of the clip), avoided the take down, and then ATTACKED again! It was a momentous occasion.
Round 2 - Lunch Special:
Our first two Charleston classes went really well. We taught the yo-yo, a syncopated yo-yo, Charleston Jumps, and then trucks (or skates). Next we had two aerial classes (more of a tricks, then an aerial) where we did a climbing exercise I like to call "the Monkey and her Tree", a Frog (where we explained prep, jump, and landing technique), the Lu-Kang (a trip that turns into a throw; named after a Mortal Combat character), and then we did the Fly (a favorite of ours). Finally, we finished off with a Blues Class.
Highlights of the day:
We started our teaching day with the warm-up we normally do at home. We run around in a circle, then kick our heels up, kick our knees up, do the elephant, and then crab walks. As we were running, students started to join in (we love those sorts of students). As we cycled through, finally we got to crab walks - this is where you look like table top; hand and feet are touching the floor, and you are looking - and all of a sudden, a Crab War broke out! Kev scuttled around the floor as if he was a crustacean! He knocked my feet out from underneath me and then continued to attack the other students. One by one they all went down. However, a few students got their crab legs underneath them and went 2-on-1 with King Crab Kevin. One went for the legs while the other went for his hands. Kevin pulled out his best Sammy Davis Jr (check the end of the clip), avoided the take down, and then ATTACKED again! It was a momentous occasion.
Round 2 - Lunch Special:
Our first two Charleston classes went really well. We taught the yo-yo, a syncopated yo-yo, Charleston Jumps, and then trucks (or skates). Next we had two aerial classes (more of a tricks, then an aerial) where we did a climbing exercise I like to call "the Monkey and her Tree", a Frog (where we explained prep, jump, and landing technique), the Lu-Kang (a trip that turns into a throw; named after a Mortal Combat character), and then we did the Fly (a favorite of ours). Finally, we finished off with a Blues Class.
Highlights of the day:
- Crab Wars
- Randomly singing "The Good Ship Lollipop" and then having Kevin turn it into being attacked by pirates, which I then turned to our favorite pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow. Oh Johnny Depp.
- Telling the students they could only have the doors open for a few minutes, and after a bit I said that the window had to be closed now....and it was. I wondered if my "wishing" powers would extend beyond closing doors, and so I wished for Johnny Depp. Unfortunately he was a no-show.
- After aerials, we did a cool down and then some of the boys started to work out. At one point, they were all standing on their heads (on a towel). Sommer sees this and joined the fun. She was standing on her head and moving her legs about. She is a total yoga star and the boys had NOTHING on her.
- After aerials, I thought we were done. I was wrong.
- Kevin on his soap box: He told the room that girls like to dance and learn how to move their bodies at a young age. Boys learn how to throw, hit, kick, and catch (stereotypically). Girls dance and they want boys to dance. Not only that, but they want them to lead as well. Boys don't always know how to control their bodies, but they need to learn to control theirs in order to control someone else. It. Was. Awesome.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Lindy Leap Year - Saturday
What a stellar day of classes!!
We started the day off with 2 beginning classes, and they were packed! I think there was something like 120 students in each of them. It was incredible. And they all learned something, which was even more incredible. We worked on connecting to your partner from open and closed position, how to change weight across the body, how to lead rock steps from open and close, and how to lead triple steps. There were more nuances in there, but that is a general overview.
The class was very receptive to our humor and that really revved us up. Nothing gets us going more than having a group of enthusiastic students who want to learn, are receptive to the information, and are ready to laugh with us.
We then moved to The Great Hall, and it was just beautiful. And on a side note, the John Hopkins Campus is just divine! There is red brick and green grass and street lights, and little paths leading off yonder.....uh! Just great! Anyways....the Great Hall has a Great Window and a very slick floor. It wasn't as big as the room we were in for the beginner classes, but still sizable. Our third class of the day was Flash & Trash (named after our DVDs), followed by a routines class.
Highlights of the day:
- During the beginner class, while trying to explain what to visualize while leading a triple step, we did the motions and asked the class what it looked like. Normally we get something along the lines of a "W"; however, this time someone shouted out that it looked like a lowercase omega. Kevin and I were so surprised by the brilliance of the answer (notice I didn't say it was right or wrong), that Kevin conceded and then moved on.
- During Flash & Trash, I received more questions that I have ever gotten during a workshop. I took the first couple and then Kevin tried to step in, but the question was for me!!!!! This is huge, because most often the girls don't ask a lot of question, but everything was asked! Footwork review, timing, leading (the leads should have asked about this), was it a variation, how did we know, weight distribution, etc. In hindsight, this leads me to believe that I also must not have taught very well, otherwise these questions wouldn't have been asked. Hmmmm......
- During the routines class, I was showing the girls the timing on a forward swing out with kicks on 7 & 1. I didn't tell Kevin that I wanted to do the next swing out, so he assumed that we were going to stop on 1 like we had been doing. I, however, made the assumption that Kevin would "just know" what I wanted and then I went for it. Because the floor was slippery, I wasn't in sticky shoes, and I didn't inform Kevin about what I was doing, I totally bailed. I was on the floor! It happened so slowly too, but I couldn't stop it. Then I was on the floor, Kevin couldn't help me, and then I started wiggling around in order for me to try and make my fall into something graceful. Needless to say, I tried, but not much else happened. I used this as a lesson to show that the leads should not stop to watch a variation, but continue to lead through to the next move.
After classes we headed home and then took one car to sushi. And it was great sushi too. We ordered so much sushi that a sizable boat arrived with our dinner! I used almost all of the Japanese I remembered in order to get some special service (and impress Dorry and Sommer) and only ONE person responded to my "Sumimasen" yelp. As I later found out, only one person spoke Japanese there. After eating more than necessary, we headed back home, got into our performance clothes and then headed to the dance that night.
Almost minutes after arriving at the dance, Kev and I got ready to do a social performance. We performed live to Sac au Lait, who were just phenomenal, and Dorry sang Dinah with them. We had such a fun time performing with them, even when they sped up the tempo on us. And Dorry's voice was amazing as always!
A few hours later we were ready to head home and get into bed. We could hardly wait for the fun that was in store for us on Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
