Shady Ladies

So yesterday (Sunday 21 Feb), I entered my first dance battle-based competition which was the 2v2 freestyle section at Code Red held at Dance Generation studios by my good friend Lenny the Dragonlord. I saw my fellow Shady Lady – El - outside the studio and asked if she would enter with me, since my other fellow Shady Lady offered but was only doing it as a favour to me and had 2 other showcases on the day (heart you Wendy!) El had just come from yoga and was wearing a dress, looking very much as Chux described, “Mother Earth” but she was down. We thought it would be fun despite the fact it was very last minute and we hadn’t danced in a couple of months, let alone trained for a battle. For both of us, it was the first time battling in a comp.

The nerves were kicking in as we got up for the preliminary round, with El hoping she didn’t have to battle her boyfriend Solo, a 6-foot-something half African/half Samoan (?) yet funnily enough that’s what happened, purely by accident. So she stepped out first to the tunes of a track i’m in love with currently (Boyz II Men – Can’t Let Her Go) while he smiled with that really gross look of love (puke) on his face the whole time. Then he came out, I stepped out and don’t remember anything that I did, up-rocked his partner Dany back during his set and that was that. It’s always fun to battle bboys, to see their intensity and attitude up close and personal, but this battle wasn’t like that at all, they were just smiling the whole time like “oh they are so small, that’s funny, their moves are so girly” type of stuff.

We both got through since the judges were just choosing the Top 8 crews, and what do you know, we get put up against the other Shady Lady crew of Jessica and Anna, in the last of the quarter final battles. I was on the side thrusting and what not as DJ Libre played Janet’s “All For You”, and stepped out doing… I can’t even remember, some waacking and other bs… El freaked the music pretty good and with two ties and one vote to our side by Chux, we were through to the semi’s.

Battling Kou and Eriko was intense, with 2 rounds each person, these guys (as the overall winners) were fierce! Libre dropped the sickest track (Bucketheads – The Bomb) which got me pumping and I launched into it straight away, tiring myself out with all the jumping around and House moves. I thought my legs were going to die and looking back, I don’t actually know why I didn’t bring out waacking halfway. I knew Kou would come out with House/Waacking and he smoked me!!! That dude’s got so much stamina and has so much battle tactics its crazy. El repped so well, it’s hard to tell what she’s doing when you’re watching from the back so I just kept screaming to hype her up. Eriko came out BAM in the face with some punking and just killed the music. The same track was on so I thought “yes now I can start waacking” then after about an 8 count its switched to “COME ON RIDE THE TRAIN (WOOT WOOT) AND RIDE IT!” so hey the music changes I’ll adapt and first thing that came into my mind was some Middle School. WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING I was already tired, dehydrated and my legs almost numb from all the damn jumping, so yeah I pretty much lost focus and just wanted TO DIE. Kou came out, waacking again I think, then El then Eriko with her tank Locking and a huge kick to the face sealed their deal.

They totally deserved to win, I’m just glad to get the battle experience and they were so gracious, I’m happy to get smoked by such amazing talent. The way I see it, both El and I gave our best, came out with the battle attitude, listened to and felt the music, and had a bunch of fun. I tried honestly to show versatility in styles, careful not to bring out too much waacking since that’s mostly what I’ve been doing since I came back from NY in Sept. But when I talked to others about advice on improving, I realised waacking really brought out my character the most, and having my hair out to play with was my thing, whereas I wore a hat on the day, which gave me a different mood like real tomboy-ish. Oh well now I know.

So people have asked me why I waited so long to battle, I guess there hasn’t been an event that I could or was interested in entering. I’m either organising and/or judging the event, or the organisers are wack, or the judges are a poor choice – why put yourself in a position to have your dance ability, performance, etc judged by someone you don’t respect to give you their opinion, let alone let them judge you?! So I’ve made a stance and this was the only event that fit all the criteria. Next one is 360, and hopefully I can get some decent training in.

I’ll add the videos from the event once peeps post them up on Youtube, so feel free to email me, PM me your advice on how I can improve, I’m always open to constructive criticism and feedback and suggestions on how to take my battling to the next level

Trina

This is me thinking... on the pier at Coney Island, NY

I have come to the point where I need to take a break from the dance scene – from attending jams and events, going to clubs (not that I really did anyway), and focusing on other things in my life. I know many people who organise Hip Hop and/or dance related events that regularly take breaks from the scene to refresh themselves and keep them sane.

For a long time I had thought that I should be at every event, be updated in everything that’s going on, etc, but now that I’m experiencing a shift in life, my attitude has changed because I’m just sick of the drama, politics, lack of respect, and all the negative things that come out of the scene, which dominates all the good stuff.

I understand why people have left the scene permanently and gone on to alternatives like other forms of dancing (salsa the most popular) or capoeira and other martial arts. There is so much ego, there are so many cliques, kids wanting to be popular, incestuous relations (dancers dating dancers that other dancers have dated before, lots of common liquids shared *shudder*) and heaps of BS.

So a break is needed, a time for thinking about what’s important and what motivates you, then set new goals and get back into it. Hopefully I can use this blog to continually share stories that inspire and motivate dancers and dancers-to-be (while taking the time to write some crap here and there and rant about some other BS too). Hey, it sets a good balance and gives a real insight into the workings of the scene.

Recently it’s been troubling me that I don’t dance as much as I used to, nor do I really feel like dancing at all. Right now, I think it relates to the fact that I work full-time as an online project manager, then go home and work on my small business – D2MG. In running my own business I am the sole general manager, operations manager, financial officer, event manager, business development manager, sales and marketing manager and website manager. Phew. So after 10-15 hours of working each day, mostly including weekends, there’s little left for me to do but sleep. Oh and the clubs here really suck so that’s a dead-end.

So I get how many dancers before me have stopped completely and focused on other things as they matured and took on more responsibilities. I just refuse to ever let myself get to the point where I stop dancing; even if it’s just me in my room for 10 minutes.

My longing for New York doesn’t help my situation. The culture is just so much more vibrant there, the passion is more evident and shared, the talent is world-class and opportunities to learn are endless. So being halfway across the world, we’ll have to rely on local sources, online sources and once in a while get a glimpse of international level dancers… I hope to contribute to the improvement of all these sources in some way, shape and form. I think we need to jam more too.

Trina

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
— Anais Nin

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.
— Unknown

Although there’s not a lot of content on the site as I am writing this post, I would still like to take this time to thank those who really inspired and motivated me to revive this blog and turn it into a much bigger site than I’d ever imagined in the next year. When I wrote my blogs back in 2006, I was highly self-motivated; now I need an even bigger boost since I juggle full time work as a project manager with running a dance studio and its associated events, workshops and whatever ad hoc things we can think of, as well as training with my dance crew Shady Ladies and then trying to keep up a social life. And at one point I was studying part-time while doing all the above.

I realise now that blogging is so therapeutic, and I did it more for myself and didn’t think I’d have an audience, which is why I’d write lots of posts on random topics with lots of swearing and hating – this I shall continue to do.

So my thanks goes out to:

• Jerome V. from Critical Hype - you are the first person on my list because it was only last night that you told me about how you really enjoyed reading my stuff, and would go through my archives on my blog. Your passion and effort dedicated to the Australian street dance scene really inspires me.
• Lenny - We don’t talk much these days but I will never forget or take for granted all the friendship, love and support you gave to me all these years. I hope we can reconnect like before, someday.
• Darrio - you talk way more than I do, but that makes me feel comfortable with talking as much shit as I do because at least I know that somewhere out there in the streets of Sydney, is a person far more outspoken than me. You are also my mentor and part-time life coach it seems! Even though you overtook my event and yelled and cussed at people for a good 15 minutes and told people that it was my idea, then walked out before the battles started which you were supposed to judge, you are still my friend and I still respect you hahaha.
• Chux - I love how you talk even more shit than me but less than Darrio, and are willing to step up to anyone who calls you out because of what you say or do. Your belief in me as a dancer and in general helps give me confidence and reassurance in what I do and what I can become.
• Link - It’s crazy how long we’ve been friends and while most people consider you royalty in the Hip Hop dance scene, to me you are just a really cool guy who supports my rants and shit talking and blows my mind with the immense amount of knowledge and wisdom you have.
• Anna Kim – The only person whose full name I write since there’s so many Anna’s out there… you know me the best out of all my friends and don’t judge me so quickly. Thank you for your hospitality in the city where we left our hearts and thank you for being such a great sister.
• My family – who have given me incredible support when I need it, they probably won’t ever read this but I am doing this all for them!
• Luke - my bestfriend, my other half, you are my rock when its awkward and when I’m in a hard place, you have had the most profound influence on my life and on me as a person in every aspect.

Ok it’s getting a bit too sentimental and I don’t usually show this soft side of me so let’s get back to the Hippin’ and the Hoppin’! There are many more people to thank which will come eventually, but these people are the ones I can think of right now and have been there for me for longer than everyone else…

And so I leave you with my favourite quote of all time… one that I can look at everyday thanks to Lenny’s thoughtful gift:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

— Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

As the first post on the revamped blog which is a combination of my old D2MG blog, my hiphop.org.au which turned into hiphopn.com, and dancing.net.au, I thought it fitting to write about how far we’ve come as D2MG since I took over in 2006.

Over the years it’s been a struggle, many sacrifices but also many joys that came with running D2MG as a dance academy in Sydney City, and there’s so much more to come for us in 2010. Lots of drama, lots of politics and rivalry were balanced with the good times we had, and the growing support that we receive from the dance community and beyond.

D2MG has grown its presence in the Sydney dance community and Hip Hop community, giving talented dancers the opportunity to spread their passion, and giving those new to the scene a chance to be part of our community. Our events have created opportunities for up and coming dancers to experience dance on another level, with the aim to motivate them to continue training and dancing.

D2MG is all about taking things to the next level. The way we do things is constantly being assessed and re-assessed; feedback from everyone is welcome and considered seriously and mostly incorporated into what we do – because we believe in having our supporters and members guide us in everything we do. So far, our innovations include:

• Next Generation Jams – an event for the next generation of dancers (since we don’t wanna call them newbies or amateurs) to showcase their skills in battle, while giving them the experience and motivation to aim higher each time they enter the event. They are given the opportunity to dance alongside the more established dancers and meeting all kinds of people in the Hip Hop scene in sydney.
• Breaking BY REQUEST classes – every Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm, the Breaking class is open to everyone of all dance experience levels, taught by a different teacher every fortnight, based on who the students want to learn from. Requests for teachers are made by emailing D2MG, and we organise those teachers to come in for a 2-week period, so that students can gain a variety of lessons from active bboys and bgirls within the community.
• Hip Hop Intermediate BY REQUEST classes – These classes follow the same structure for the Breaking BY REQUEST class, and a new teacher is invited to teach every 2 weeks.
• Street Dancer Alpha Jams – These jams are just for dancers of all styles, ages and levels to come to the D2MG studio once in a while and just dance, make friends with other dancers and learn some new moves.

It’s tough work, but I love it and refuse to give up! I thank all my biggest fans and supporters, most notably Luke, my family, Seymour, Froggy and the D2MG staff for sticking with me through the tough times and encouraging me to keep at it!

Trina