Vibing Verbs...

Another day, another workshop. Today was more of the same. First we did some warm up exercises, and then we did some improv. Today in the improv we were working with "verbs". Pleading, charming, attacking... The thing with "verbs" is they are so easy to relate to, because we do them everyday. Verbs made the improv so easy because it was so organic, and natural. It felt so real, which was once again so freaky, but so amazing!

Mad Cool...

Today we did improv again and this time I was in a group with Giandri and Shiana. In the improv, they where in the cool gang at school and I wanted to join. When I asked if I could join they turned me down because I wasn't cool enough. At first I was just pleading with them, acting all desperate, but when Giandri started to insult me I began to get defensive, and before I knew it I was "slapping" her and screaming at her and cursing (all things I really never do). I got so into it. I was actually mad at her! It was amazing. It was funny, everyone was so surprised because I'm never like that... I guess that's why they call it acting.

Cryin...

Another workshop, and again I'm sort of speechless. This week we got a little more intense. By the end of the day, there really wasn't a dry eye in the room. Jim Bonni's motto is love your feelings... dont jugdge your feelings... basically allow your self to feel your feelings. The idea of loving all you feelings, bad and good, is new for me. The thing is, all your life, you're taught not to allow yourself to feel bad or unpleasant feelings, and why would you want to? They're unpleasant. So I'm really trying to get myself into this new mindset, and little by little, I'm getting there. 

Dirty Dancin...

Today, we skipped the technique and went straight to the fun stuff; hip hop! I've taken a hip hop class once or twice, but I've never really studied it (although I've always wanted to). What I've learned from my past experiences, is I'm not exactly a natural (to put it gently). The thing with hip hop is that it's the polar opposite of what I've been studying my whole life. You have to completely throw all of your ballet technique out the window (which is so refreshing, but yet so hard). So I went into the workshop hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. I am glad to say, I was pleasantly surprised. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't look like a spastic chicken at all; I was sort of getting the hang of it... and most importantly, I was having fun. 

Jim Bonni?...

I really don't know what to say. I'm completely at a lose for words (so this will be a relatively short blog post)It was an experience like no other, I can definitely say that. I'm not really sure what happened in that dance studio, but something quit amazing happened, something that I don't think any of us could explain. We did these exercises at the beginning of class, which really can't be talked about, but then we did improv. Me and Megan were partners and we went first. We stood up in front of everybody and Jim Bonni asked them, what they thought the "relationship" was. They thought the two of us looked most like sisters, so that's what the improv was based on. Our motivation was that I was the "perfect" , "over-achiever" sister, and megan was the sister who felt like she was living under "my" shadow. I have to admit, improv always scared me a little, don't get me wrong, I liked it, but I would always get a little nervous and unsure. Now I don't know what happened, but during this improv I was completley comfortable, not one bit nervous. It was amazing. And what was even more amazing was how real it felt. It didn't feel like an improv at all. For a few minutes I actually believed that Megan was my sister. All I could say was "wow!"

Dancin'...

On Monday we had our first dance workshop with Matt. I loved it. We started with a mini pirouette lesson. He was really breaking everything down to the absolute basics. It was really nice to go over it step by step because in dance class, you never really have that opportunity. Sometimes, the very basic simple things, are more difficult than the complex things, if that makes any sense at all. So, basically I feel like I'm getting a lot out of this workshop. Then of course we learned a short combination. It's a classic ,high energy fun broadway combo, so obviously, I love it.  

Silent Noise #6...

Wow! That's really all I can say after seeing Gregg mime. He's amazing. When he mimes he makes it look so easy, which I know now first hand that mime is anything but. Now, Gregg didn't just create that "illusion", he did more than that. He made the illusion truly appear. The objects he was creating where actually visible. It was unbelievable.  While he was performing all of our jaws just dropped, we where all so amazed, it was very inspiring. Even though friday will be our last day with Gregg, I've decided it will not be my last day with mime. After seeing what years of practice and hard work can bring, how could I possibly give up now?