Food For Thought : Understanding how to learn

Hey guys! Marzipan is this month's food for thought. But please don't head over to your nearest Candy empire and buy a box of it to eat ok? Might turn you into a rounder you! Haha. Hope everyone's been doing good, this month has been really hectic for me.

Caught the flu on my last day in Korea( yeah i know, scary huh. Its red alert there for H1N1). Spent the first weekend home down n out of action. Thankfully its just a normal flu. But flu wasnt the only thing that caught up with me. Had to prepare choreographies for show, performances and prepare workshop/class choreo as well. Hectic man! Oh and do support us for Spotlight Boogie ok? Its a poppin 3 on 3 event this Fri!!!! hooray... ALL YOU POPPERS BETTER COME

Ok i realized this is turning into a too personal post :) Now onto the article proper

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Before i start let me say this again that any reference i make is mostly based on my own learnings and heavily referenced on the style : Popping. :)

Now the beef about this month's article is on understanding the various learning resources/channels available to you

Sounds cheem? Let me break it down.

First you need to know what you can learn from, and this comes mainly in the following forms:

1)Workshops

2)Classes

3)Courses

4)Sessions

5)Performances/Competitions/Battles

I can tell you without a doubt that all the above are essential to maximizing your learning potential. There are alot of people who say that "Sessioning is the best to learn" or "Taking classes is the only way to go" but i say, "DO IT ALL"

Why? you say.

1)Workshops

Workshops are a good one-off learning opportunity. They are useful for giving an introduction to something new, or like an update of something old. Think of it like an advertisement. Going for workshops will most of the time open your mind and open yourself up. You never know, a workshop might change your direction completely. Its also a nice way to test what you like (If you are a new dancer).

2)Classes

Classes to me, is learning about Inspiration, or rather, getting inspired. You do learn when you go for classes but the main thing is getting inspired by the instructor's style. When you go for a class, you learn how the INSTRUCTOR learnt it. You take home a part of the instructor. And when you do choreography, in some way you BECOME the instructor. You cant learn all these in a session, you SHOULDN'T!

3)Courses

Courses are the best way to get started once you know what you like. Think of it as primary+secondary school. It will be like a compulsory period to learn all your foundations. Open classes are too random to really learn foundation in a logical flow. So courses are your best bet in getting a set of basics down and ready to rumble!!! Courses can also achieve the same aim as workshops, but it lasts for a waaaaaay longer period. :P workshops are good for updating things as well.

4)Sessions

Ok....this is like probably the only thing we Poppers look forward to. I admit its a good place to "learn" but it is not the only thing you should do.I repeat its not the ONLY thing you should do to improve. Now what are you supposed to learn during a session? And how is it different from taking a class? Well to me, a session is learning about YOURSELF. It is discovering your own style and understanding how music manipulates your body. KEYWORD : DISCOVERY. It is like a mini journey of discovery in every session.

So how is it different from a class? As i said previously, in class you learn about OTHERS(Your instructor), but in a session you learn about YOURSELF. So please dont make a session like an informal class. Dont keep asking questions about techniques, but rather, just go dance and explore yourself. Keep the learning and stuff for classes. Moderation people!

5)Performances/Competitions/Battles

Ok the last bit is basically learning about the non-technical parts of dance. When you take part in competitions or do performances, you learn how to handle stress, handle other people, expectations, make-up, competitor stress, peer pressure, wardrobe malfunctions, Jittery nerves, etc etc...there are like a hundred of factors out there that you might not learn through class/sessions/workshops.

Yeap so to sum it up, your learning is never ever completely just through ONE source. Go find as many ways to learn as possible. Do not restrict yourself, give yourself the potential that you deserve. LEARN BABY!!! WHOOOOO!

-Peace,

Rainbow-Rice-Coated Chocolate Marzipan

-Marzipan