Hip-Hop Workshop...

Hip-Hop is a new passion of mine, I came to the style late, and because of that sometimes my authenticity looks a little to graceful when I attempt this dance style. To harden the edges I try to take as often as I can, and I like to experiment with my own Hip-Hop style.



This last Friday I jumped at the opportunity to take a Hip-Hop workshop.





Amy O'neal is a visiting artist/performer/presenter/teacher from Seattle. She's in town to perform for PICA's TBA festival. While here group's presentation for TBA is multimedia/modern dance (I think), she offered a Hip-Hop workshop at Conduit.



I haven't taken a Hip-Hop class in about...3 months, but I figured since I start teaching it again later this week, I should brush up on my moves. I usually take from Mariecella Devine at her studio Devine Funk.



Amy O'neal's style is described as "bottom-heavy funk" (sounds like fun), but I think it's more of an Old School subtle pop Hip-Hop. Either way I had fun and my brain definitely got a work out.



If you're in the Seattle area, drop by Amy's class at Velocity. And if you're in Portland stop by Mariecella's at Devine Funk.

The Beer of Poland...

I am not a big drinker. When I do partake, it's usually a fru-fru girly cocktail or a glass of wine. Of course there was that other time I was abroad and I grew quite fond of the beer, however it didn't much like my Spanish, my taste for it evaporated. Similarly this time abroad I found the taste for beer again. The Unknown will be so happy. I enjoyed a coctail and a glass of wine, but I mostly drank beer, Polish beer, and it was good. I know here in Portland we're a bit spoinled with our own numerous local varieties, but what the Polish lack in food, they make up for in quality beer.




Here's a list of my top 3:

Warka Strong
Ococim
Zywiec

If I encounter any of these here at home, I'll have to pass on the cocktails and enjoy a beer.

An Education in Preparation...

Here is a piece of Krakow public art in the center square. Can you tell what's "funny" about this picture?







When I was younger I always identified myself as a dancer, yet I was aspiring to be a school teacher...well I haven't strayed much from that point of view.


In my real life I'm a dance teacher. That's how I pay bills and spend most of my time. I enjoy dissecting dance and discovering different ways to instruct the art form and technique. (Wow that's a lot of alliteration.)

When the opportunity came to possibly teach one of the workshop classes we were giving in Nowa Huta (just outside Krakow), I was tickled, yet hesitant. I deferred to one of my fellow dancers/dance instructors, S, who accepted the offer. I went to Poland to dance and perform, not teach. (Truthfully I was looking forward to the break.) Evening came and as a group of us are sitting around listening and dancing to Salsa and Merengue music while enjoying a few beers, and S confesses that she has nothing planned, but that she's going to make it up on the spot the next morning. I say okay, and if she needs help I will. I say my goodnights around 2:30 am and await the Lyrical Jazz class S has promised.


The following morning at breakfast I was greeted by S's roommate who tels me she no longer wants to teach class because she's unprepared. Apparently the festivities continued until 6am. At this point class was in less than an hour...so I cheated. I accepted the offer and thought of one of my favorite modern teachers here in Portland, Gregg B. With a disclaimer, I "borrowed" some of his classic exercises and modified them for those inexperienced (everyone except A and I) in his movement style. It worked, class was great, and I even received a few compliments from my fellow company members. And while teaching in Gregg's style to a room full of 20+ dancers who've never tried that particular movement was daunting, I hope I pulled it off.

Teaching a new technique to a large number like that is always difficult, do you spend time fine-tuning and correcting for a one time gig, or just let the students experience the movement style and have fun?

So, thank you Gregg B. for teaching such memorable classes. If you're ever in Portland check out his class.

Last Day in Poznan...

Now that I've woken from my jet lag coma...here is a story from my last day in the city of Poznan. (Poznan is one of the oldest established cities in Poland)

Our last performance was finished the night before and a not so shining review was in the paper in the morning (Saturday)...apparently neoclassical ballet was old news and the reviewer wanted to see more choreo-drama (which turned out to be what the bulk of the performances presented during the festival). The day was technically free and the evening was filled with hopes of seeing the host company's (Polish Dance Theatre) most recent work. We enter the same theater we had just abandoned the previous night, to find a bedroom set and a woman fiddling with a vacuum cleaner. She screams in frustration, and the show starts.

Now...I find it difficult to articulate, but this evening's work (which closed the International Dance Festival) had two dance phrases in it, and not everyone had a turn executing the movement. The majority of the show centered around a script, written in poor English, where phrases, words, and actions were repeated at least 3 times (someone had a serious case of OCD). After the first hour of squirming in my seat, I began predicting the next obvious pattern.

I hate to say it...IT WAS THE WORST SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN. The most memorable moment was a repeated speech, "I do not want one of your spaghetti in my mouth, down my throat, and into my stomach. I do not want two of your spaghetties in my mouth, down my throat, and into my stomach," repeated three times followed by a dance phrase with a spoon in each hand.

The saddest part about the show was not the poor English (I study Applied Linguistics, and that stuff is interesting to me), but it was seeing such highly trained dancers do so little movement. From the sprinkled dance bits shown, you could see the dancers' training and evident technique. In the end that's what I wanted to see more of.

After the show we found food and set off for the train to Krakow.

How romantic. An actual sleeper train through the Polish country side...I hope I didn't get bedbugs. Imagine six people stacked three to each side and their luggage stuffed into every corner for eight hours. It was one of the most physically uncomfortable experiences ever.

Take a look at our compartment.

Portland to Poland and back to Portland...

Here are all of my comrades in the Krakow airport awaiting our flight back home.








Well I was unsuccessful at writing something everyday. The last week was like living in a pressure cooker (performance preparation) inside a refrigerator from the 50's (the Nowa Huta Cultural Center).

Well...really our rooms looked like this.

Yes those are sheets on the windows...apparently curtains are just a suggestion in Poland.

Overall this experience was great. I loved working with all of the dancers...and I truly hope to see them all again.

Here is a list of my favorites about this dance adventure:

• working with Las Pleyadas and being able to watch them up close
• going to Europe for the 1st time
• getting to know my fellow dancers better
• performing
• teaching a "master class"
• experiencing a new culture

I have two other lists I'd like to share along with actual photos from Poland...but I think I'll wait and leave you with the suspense.