In the dance world there is nothing better than feeling of dancing in your element. And when I say that I simply mean the feel of the dance matches the confidence that shows within and throughout your body. The music hits each move you make at just the right moments and the style is something that just feels good. As a dancer in the hip hop community I felt as though it took some time for me to really find what I was good at. I started hip hop at the age of 13 and slowly progressed and figured out how to dance bigger and with more style…my own derived style that is.
The funny thing about New Zealand, and being in the dance community that exists across the world instead of the small place I found it in Southern California, is that I feel stripped of my element. I feel like i’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my body and so unlike the other dancers in the class surrounding me, let alone the choreographer. I’ve watched the famous Parris Goebel on youtube and at dance shows a thousand and one times and have witnessed her unique style and tweak to hip hop, or Polyswagg that is; but attempting to learn and perfect it is a complete other story. My body feels untrained, weak, and incapable of moving as fast, big, and powerful as she and her dancers do.
I look around the room at the end of class as group by group the dancers go up and I watch the way they dance like her. The crazy thing about it, is often times, they look nothing like her, they have their own distinct style with differentiation of the movement as well, but their vibe matches her just perfectly. The textures, the timing, the ability to sit in the pockets that she requests and has demonstrated… it’s all right there, in their bodies before they’ve even realized they understood the movement so well.
And here am I, a former dancer of the hip hop community, feeling like i’ve never set foot in a class before. It is so strange to come from the community in California, feeling like I rightfully earned my spot there, with a familiar face on the majority of the teams found at each show or competition… to then travel here, to a similar community and group of people, and feel like a complete outsider.
I am not meaning this to sound so sad, or for any of it to form pity in the eyes of readers, but it is honestly just something I was very surprised and humbled by. I’ve never thought I was the best dancer in any advanced class, i’ve always seen flaws and things I could work on, but i’ve now realized it even further. The amount of styles in hip hop is so enormous, I don’t know that there is one dancer who has mastered every single one of them. Dance inspiration can be pulled from close to anything found in the world, and that’s just the beauty of it. Dance, even hip hop specifically, is an ever evolving movement that cannot be mastered. Something that I wish so many of the dancers in today’s industry could realize. There are people doing amazing things in unknown places, so similarly to what we do somewhere else, and some of them are not getting paid for it, and are still beyond outstanding and never asking for recognition.
All I am trying to say is that I am forever humbled to witness this new dance community in another country, and feel amazed by the talent that surrounds me in each class. I can not wait to use this time to my inner dancer’s advantage and train to the fullest extent while I am here.
Polyswagg…I see you 😉
Joyful Thinking 