Food For Thought : Popping is like driving

Hey guys, its been awhile...anyway just wanted to share a thought i had the other day.

I was teaching poppin class and while i was trying to find a good way to explain why we pop, i came across this "metaphor".

Well, when u are dancing, its like driving a car. You are driving along the highway which is the music. And on this highway(of music), you come across many humps along the road. These humps are your drumbeats aka Pops. So as a car, you drive on continuously until u hit a hump on the road, and then resume your driving. You dont purposely plan to stop every 10 secs to meet a hump, you just drive and let the hump come naturally.

So its the same with popping. While u dance, the drumbeats/snare comes naturally along. You let the beats affect you and make you pop. You dont plan to pop. You dont plan to pop at say every 2 counts or 4 counts. You just do it, you react to the sound of the pop....all the while dancing. So sometimes u pop at this count, sometimes that, sometimes in between movements. It gives u the ability to really dance, while still having pops.

So always imagine yourself driving along the highway and meet humps as u go. Dont plan for humps :):)

And final note, as always, eat food for thought in moderation :)

-Marzipan

Eventful June!

Hey guys! Its been awhile since i posted, but June was another crazy month full of events.

In case anyone missed it, Bobby Mileage from Elite Force Crew was intown!DAaaaaaaayuuumm! Finally EFC man! His course was very enriching and i hope itll help lay down the foundation of Hiphop in Singapore. Please spread the love and knowledge people!!!

Alright, in case you missed it (You will regret and smack ureself on your forehead!),

You missed :

1) Super Jam(s) at Music Garage

2) EFC workshops n course at YMCA (Courtesy of Da bomb)

3) Swagg out! 2 with Kyle, Ellen and Lyle

4)Elm workshop at Danz People

5) Mileage High Party!

6) And lastly, you missed the tribute jam for Wild Cherry... Lets take a moment to reflect on this OG of Funk and Asia. He truly was an inspiration and great forefather of Asia's streetdance scene. Rest in Peace Wild Cherry, the world will not forget you...

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Ok to end this off in a brighter note,

Somethings not to miss in July :

1)TBG workshops!! OMG

2) Crazykyo+Woong Workshops at Dope studio!

3) The Big Groove!!!! Yeahhhh! Cant miss this man, all the big names coming down, you will see the whole dance scene at the same event..hahaha cant wait to see all u guys man

Cya guys and peace out!!

-Marzipan

Events!!!!!!

Yo just a heads up for the most happenin events this EVENT'FOOL' APRIL :)

SBDC was just over!!!!

now here are the next few things to look forward to!!!

Fuyo Interschool and warmup party! 9 and 10th April!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108348385856259&ref=ss

R16 SEA Preliminaries for poppin, lockin, breakin 1v1! 10th April

www.r16southeastasia.ning.com

What The Funk vol. 10!!! 11th April!!

http://whatthefunk.blog.com/

Singapore Dance Delight Vol.1 Finals! 18th April

www.dancedelight.com.sg/

yeah!!!! Its really eventful man!!! Come support all the events :):)

-Marzipan

Food For Thought : Knowledge and Teaching

Just a personal reflection....While thinking about how we learn and the different knowledge that has been going around, Ive realized that the story is always told from different point of views, each almost as equally biased. BUT, Facts never lie or never tell stories...so i guess its best to just rely on those :)

One point id like to bring up is that, What does it take to be a good teacher?

Skills? Well yeah skills matter to a certain extent, as you cannot teach what you do not know. So with that in mind, yeah you can be a great teacher and teach 100% but you can only teach so much.. For example, if you know only 1 chapter of math, but you teach it damn well, you are a good teacher but you only know chapter 1....whereas if you knew the whole book, and you dont really teach very well, you are considered a not-very-good instructor.....but is it really fair to see it this way? Im sure you have to balance both out :)

Perspective. One thing i always stress on is perspective. When you teach, while its good to teach in your own opinions, you should always give a third party or neutral/non-biased form of information to your students. NEVER SAY THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT OR YOU CANNOT DO THIS N THAT. If you have to advise a student against doing something, tell him the real facts, and then tell them that maybe this can be done as a variation or something new etc etc...If everyone said that hiphop can only be downbeat....then u will see great singapore workout instead of hiphop dancers.

That is why, being a teacher is giving your students their direction and freedom of growth. It is nurturing them into their potential, rather than teaching them rules and making them slaves.

If you dont educate your students openly, they will never grow as much as they could or they will be equally as closed minded as yourself, and the scene wont grow.

Lastly, Attitude. The most important aspect of Staying a teacher. lol. Attitude is what makes you survive the lousy days, the bad days, and keeps you going, staying true to why you want to teach. Teaching for fame is a wrong way to go and fame will teach you a lesson one day. Teach because you like to teach, not because you feel that you are good enough to teach or feel that you want to be recognized :)

Yeah nowadays alot of new dancers are getting teaching opportunities and please, remember to ask yourself alot of questions like those above. You may think you are helping the scene but you MIGHT just do the other way around. That is why teaching is a scary burden...bear it before you take the step.

-Marzipan

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